Greece’s Brave Maritime has embarked on a growth spurt, expanding in three different arenas simultaneously.
The private Vafias group company has spent nearly $140m on five ships — from secondhand vessels to newbuildings and from bulkers to tankers to gas carriers.
Its single biggest move has been in gas carriers.
Market sources in Athens are linking Brave with a $72m order for a pair of 11,000-cbm ammonia carriers due for delivery in 2025 and 2026.
The Vafias family has ordered its new gas carriers at a Japanese yard, which could not be immediately identified. In the past, Vafias group companies placed orders for midsize gas carriers at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard.
A trio of such 40,000-cbm vessels is already under construction at the South Korean yard: two are due for delivery to Brave this year and the third in 2024.
Brave’s second-biggest expansion move was in bulkers.
TradeWinds reported on Tuesday that the company spent $23.8m on the 174,800-dwt capesize Suigo (built 2011), signalling a renewed faith in this segment.
Brave has been one of the biggest capesize buyers on the secondhand market, acquiring seven ships since November 2022. However, the last time it bought a capesize was six months ago.
Brave’s renewed bulker confidence is not limited to capes. It has also increased its handysize exposure, with a $14.4m purchase from Nagashiki of the 38,500-dwt Takeshio (renamed Eco Cathar, built 2012).
Bearing fruit
The Takeshio deal took place a couple of weeks ago and is already bearing fruit for the Greek company. According to VesselsValue, the Japanese-built ship is worth $16.4m, far higher than its acquisition value.
As for tankers, TradeWinds reported last week about a Vafias group company, which has since emerged to be Brave, prevailing in a Malta auction for the 40,200-dwt MR Dominia (built 2009) with a €23m ($24.1m) bid.
The former Morfini vessel was hotly contested, with more than 20 bidders. Its main point of attraction is its ice class, as fewer and fewer such ships are available in the secondhand market.
Brave is familiar with ice-class vessels, managing several such tankers and gas carriers.
The owner’s latest growth spurt is part of a much wider expansion drive that began about three years ago, in which it has expanded by more than 30 vessels across several ship types.
