Greece’s Vafias family interests have acquired their third capesize, more than doubling their presence in that shipping sector in the span of just a few weeks.
At the same time, the Greek shipping group has begun capitalising on the spectacular price appreciation seen in the tanker sector with lucrative asset plays for two of its oldest oil carriers.
According to ship management sources in Athens, Nikolas Vafias-led Brave Maritime has acquired the 181,700-dwt Aquataine (built 2010) from Monaco-based Goodbulk for about $25m.
The Aquataine is a capesize built around 10 years ago in Japan or South Korea
The move chimes with the recent capesize purchases by the same company reported by TradeWinds earlier this month.
They are the 175,000-dwt Aquafortune (renamed Cape Aria, built 2011) and the 179,300-dwt HL Shinboryeong (renamed Cape Good Hope, built 2010).
Underpinning these acquisitions is the expectation that subdued economic activity in China eventually will rebound.
Uncertainty about Chinese iron ore imports — the mainstay of the capesize trade — has recently caused earnings and secondhand values of such ships to swoon.
According to the sources, Vafias deems that prices for such high-quality ships have sunk to a sufficiently low level to start betting on a Chinese recovery underpinned by looser coronavirus restrictions and fiscal stimulus boosting construction projects.
By investing in capesizes, Vafias is revisiting familiar ground. Capesizes had been among the first shipping segments the Greek owner entered in the late 1980s.
Before switching its attention to capesizes, Brave was busy with handysizes. The company bought six such vessels on the secondhand market or at auctions between February 2021 and April 2022 — all of them were Japanese-built.
Tanker asset plays
Some of the liquidity used to finance the company’s capesize expansion may be coming from a pair of highly profitable tanker sales.
According to the sources, two vessels managed by Vafias outfit Stealth Maritime have gone to unidentified buyers at sky-high values.
In a straight asset play, the 50,300-dwt MR Clean Imperial (built 2007) was sold for $20m.
Vafias interests spent just about $8.5m to purchase the South Korean-built ship in September 2021 during the liquidation of the Xihe Group’s fleet. The ship was trading as Ocean Mars at the time.
The sale of the other Vafias vessel, the 105,000-dwt aframax S Puma (built 2005), is equally remarkable.
Vafias spent about $35m when he ordered the ship as a newbuilding at China’s Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding. The Greek owner is now recouping close to $24m of that amount after trading the vessel for 17 years.
Brokers report that the buyers of the S Puma are based in the Middle East.
Brave Maritime is the company in charge of managing all the Vafias family’s bulkers — regardless of whether Brave Maritime directly owns them or not.
In the same vein, Stealth Maritime is the Vafias family’s management arm for oil and gas carriers.
