Agricore Shipping has reportedly acquired its fourth capesize this year, fuelling an expansion drive that has seen the Chinese shipping group piling up secondhand ships and newbuildings.
Brokers in Greece and the US identify the Qingdao-based company as the buyer of Nissen Kaiun’s 180,600-dwt Iron Phoenix (built 2012) for $35m ($35.5m).
Agricore managers did not respond to a request for comment, but a purchase would fit with its recent moves.
Agricore, or its clients, are known to have bought two slightly older capesizes in January and are believed to have added a third in May, as TradeWinds has reported.
The group, founded in Hong Kong eight years ago, has also turned to the shipbuilding market to widen its footprint with an order in June for four ultramaxes at Jiangsu New Hantong Ship Heavy Industry.
With the purchase of four capesizes and the order of four ultramaxes, Agricore is believed to have spent more than $250m on expansion this year.
Agricore’s website says it manages 10 bulkers comprising three capesizes, one post-panamax, five kamsarmaxes and one supramax.
The list does not yet include the company’s latest capesize acquisitions.
The two confirmed deals are for the 177,800-dwt ASL Sun (ex-Seamate, built 2010) and the 169,100-dwt ASL Loong (ex-Genco Commodus, built 2009). The two unconfirmed transactions involve the Iron Phoenix and the 181,400-dwt El Grasso (built 2012).
It is not clear if Agricore is doing sale-and-purchase deals on its own account or on behalf of funds and clients.
According to the S&P Global and VesselsValue data banks, the company owns fewer ships than it features on its website.
S&P Global, for example, lists financial players Xiwang Fund VCC and Bank of Beijing Financial as the new owners of the ASL Sun and the ASL Loong, respectively.
Xiwang also seems to be moving independently of Agricore. The Singapore-based fund has emerged as the owner of another capesize sold earlier this year by US-listed Genco Shipping & Trading, the 169,000-dwt Genco Claudius (renamed OTSL Akso, built 2010).
In wider market terms, the reported sale of the Tsuneishi Cebu-built Iron Phoenix is among very few capesize deals of late.
The only other capesize bulker known to have changed hands this week is the somewhat older 178,000-dwt Ocean Courtesy (built 2008), which was snapped up by Jinhui Shipping & Transportation for $24m, as TradeWinds reported.
The relative lack of deals may be due to elevated prices for such ships.
Athens-based broker WeberSeas described the price fetched by the Iron Phoenix as “in line with last-done” deals amid steady strong demand for capesizes.
