San-E Maritime of Japan is widely reported by brokers as having sold its last ship, a supramax bulker, to an undisclosed buyer this week.
The sale of the 55,500-dwt Queen Busan (built 2010) for $17.15m has set “a new price benchmark” for mid-age supramaxes, according to shipbroker Fearnleys.
VesselsValue data indicates that supramax values have been on a steady upwards trajectory since the beginning of the year, when San-E sold the 55,400-dwt Queen Kobe (built 2009) to Karya Samudera Insani of Indonesia for $15m.
The surge in values is being driven by extremely positive earnings sentiments within the supramax sector. Demand across all main trading areas for this vessel type has been rising, with rates steadily increasing.
This is prompting buyers to get in on the cycle early and expand their fleets before prices for ships peak.
Brave Maritime, the private arm of the Vafias shipping family, is one such shipowner. Last week, TradeWinds reported that the 55,600-dwt dwt Melia 1 (built 2011), a vessel reported in February as being sold for $17m, had emerged in the Brave fleet under the name Supra Duke.
Last week, Brave was also being linked to the 55,800-dwt Aulac Vanguard (built 2012), a supramax owned by Vietnam’s Aulac Corp that was reported as sold to Greek buyers for $18.8m.
For tonnage providers such as San-E, whose two supramaxes have spent their whole careers under the control of South Korea’s TS Maritime, rising freight rates have little direct impact on earnings, but they derive benefit through sales when the ships come off charter in a rising market.
Established in 1969 as a tugboat operator and salvor, San-E transformed itself into a dry bulk tonnage provider in 1993, building ships against long-term charters.
Shipping registers and databases indicate that the sales of the Kawasaki Heavy Industries-built Queen Kobe and Queen Busan leave the company with no vessels, and it has none on order.
Executives were unavailable for comment on the company’s plans.
