A Bermuda-based shipowner backed by private equity power the Carlyle Group appears to be marketing the majority of its remaining fleet of handysize bulkers for sale, market sources say.
Interlink is circulating the 2015-built and 2016-built units and is believed to have attracted a handful of bidders, said sources in the bulker trade.
Four of the handysizes were built in 2015 and eight in 2016, the sources added, all at Chinese shipyards.
TradeWinds has contacted Interlink, which is led by shipping veteran Paul Gurtler, for comment.
Interlink's history
Gurtler, with an earlier 14-year career in international banking, established Interlink in 1979 and is managing director.
His early ship portfolio included everything from aframaxes to chemical carriers, container ships to an LNG carrier, but all investments were liquidated by the first half of 2008, according to the company's website.
The outfit in late 2009 embarked on a plan to build and operate a fleet of handysize bulk carriers.
Its orders at three Chinese shipyards in the following five years grew to a fleet of 30, built at Huatai Heavy Industry, Taizhou Kouan Shipbuilding and Zhejiang Zhengzhou Shipbuilding, the website indicates.
VesselsValue shows Interlink with 16 remaining owned units after 13 vessels were sold between February 2018 and last October.
A major buyer has been Costamare of Greece, the container ship owner that has opted to diversify into dry bulk. It purchased five handysizes last June and July, VesselsValue indicates.
The handysizes of 2015 and 2016 vintage in Interlink's fleet are assigned a value of between $22m and $24m a copy by VesselsValue.
Sales in 2021
The units sold to Costamare in 2021 were older: the 37,300-dwt Interlink Equity (built 2013), Interlink Parity and Interlink Verity (both built 2012), Interlink Acuity (built 2011) and Interlink Comity (built 2010).
The combined sale price was just below $70m, VesselsValue indicates.
Handysize bulkers are coming off a year of strong rates performance, helped by the spillover trade from container ships.
"That has helped valuations and thus this would appear to be an opportune time for Carlyle to make their exit from the investment," said one dry market source.
Carlyle, based in Washington DC, is a global private equity firm that reports having $293bn in assets under management.
