Turkey’s Bekmezci family — an owner of eight dry bulkers — is now pushing into tankers.
Beks Ship Management and Trading, which is led by Ali Bekmezci, has emerged as the new owner of an LR2.
Joining the ranks of players positioning themselves for a hoped-for turnaround in the market, Beks is lining up yet more deals to expand further in the segment.
In a message to TradeWinds, Bekmezci confirmed it had acquired the 105,500-dwt Minerva Indiana (built 2007).
The deal was concluded earlier this year, possibly in June, without raising the attention of brokers.
The Japanese-built vessel used to trade in the fleet of Greece’s Minerva Marine. However, the Andreas Martinos-led company deleted the vessel from its website in early August.
At about the same time, on 9 August, shipping data platform IHS Markit listed the vessel as part of the Beks fleet under its new name, Beks Indiana.
According to Bekmezci, Beks is making arrangements to buy two more tankers — an MR and an aframax.
“We are planning more agreements in the future,” Bekmezci said.
Bullish for tankers
The approach is characteristic of the confidence that some shipowners have in the sector's prospects, despite sluggish freight rates that led major companies to post deep losses recently.
The Bekmezci family, which made a fortune in the Turkish textile and garment industry, picked a similar countercyclical moment when it entered shipping in the first place, in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.
Founded in 2011, Beks made its shipping debut with a string of bulker newbuildings.
STX Dalian Shipbuilding delivered three supramaxes to the company at the time. A year later, SPP Shipbuilding completed construction of a Beks kamsarmax. In 2015 and 2016, it was the turn of China's Yangfan Group to deliver a pair of ultramaxes to the Istanbul-based company.
All six bulkers that Beks started business with are still trading in its fleet.
The company stuck to bulkers even when it made its first foray into the secondhand market in early 2021, when its latest bout of expansion began.
In yet another deal that slipped below the radar, Beks acquired a pair of supramax sisterships from Turkish peer Marinsa Denizcilik.
The 57,600-dwt Densa Leopard and Densa Panther (both built 2011) are currently trading in the Bekmezci fleet as Beks North and Beks Sky, respectively.
Price details for that transaction remain undisclosed. However, the value of both ships has certainly climbed since then.
Out with the old
Beks’ first tanker — the Minerva Indiana — was among the two oldest of the six LR2s owned by Martinos company Minerva Marine.
The Minerva Indiana becomes the eighth tanker that Minerva has sold since mid-2020, the others being six aframaxes and one VLCC. The Minerva Indiana is also the first tanker built after 2003 that Minerva has sold.
In other moves this year, Minerva owner Andreas Martinos bought two capesize bulkers and also replaced some of his company's outgoing tanker capacity. During spring, Minerva took delivery of two aframax newbuildings from Daehan Shipbuilding.
Minerva Marine owns 60 tankers and 10 bulkers. Sidekick company Minerva Gas owns four LNG carriers and has a fifth under construction.
