Oslo-listed bulker owner Belships has now sold a second supramax in a month as it continues to clear out its oldest vessels.
Brokers said the company has sold the 50,000-dwt Belorient (built 2008) for $7m.
That comes after TradeWinds reported in January that the company sold the PT Pal-built sistership Belfort (built 2008) to a buyer based in Asia for $6.2m.
Chief executive Lars Christian Skarsgaard confirmed the Belorient sale.
Belships is in the process of renewing its fleet.
The company has one bulker — the 55,000-dwt Belfri (built 2007) — that is older than the PT Pal vessels and could be another sales candidate.
The Kawasaki Heavy Industries-built bulker is likely worth more than $9m.
Meanwhile, the company took delivery of three ultramax newbuildings last year and is in the process of nearing handover of two more: the 64,000-dwt Belmar and Belfast.
Skarsgaard said: “We plan to add more vessels to our fleet this year as our plans to grow our company further remain intact.”
The executive, who took the helm in 2019 after heading the sale-and-purchase department at shipbroker Fearnleys, said 2021 has started strongly for the company.
The PT Pal-built bulkers entered Belships’ fleet as part of the company’s merger with Frode Teigen’s Lighthouse Navigation in 2019.
Today, Belships has a fleet of 23 vessels, which includes owned bulkers and chartered-in ships. All of its vessels are supramaxes or ultramaxes. On average, they are five years old.
