Chinese owners have offered a trio of non-scrubber-fitted capesizes for sale — just as the vessel type earns their best money in a decade in the freight market.
The first is the 176,300-dwt ASL Earth (built 2005), which Athens-based brokers said was circulated for sale by Agricore Shipping.
The low-key Chinese company could be looking at a potential asset play. Agricore bought the ship 15 months ago for about $11.3m.
With a special survey passed in December 2020 and a ballast water treatment system (BWTS) installed, the ASL Earth could fetch at least $19m now, according to brokers' estimates.
The Japanese-built ship can be delivered charter-free in the first quarter of 2022.
Any profit from a sale of the ASL Earth could replenish Agricore’s coffers after it bought two vessels earlier this month, as TradeWinds reported — the 174,100-dwt Mineral Beijing (built 2004) and the 82,400-dwt Fortune Iris (built 2009).
Agricore is not the only Chinese player that has been busy as a seller and buyer.
China Development Bank Financial Leasing (CDB Leasing) on 15 September emerged as the buyer of seven handysizes sold by John Fredriksen for $100m. Now, according to brokers, it is preparing to offload the Chinese-built, 176,000-dwt sistership pair Bulk Peace and Bulk Integrity (both built 2010).
The two vessels have BWTS on board and passed special surveys fairly recently, in April 2020 and March 2021 respectively.
Agricore and CDB Leasing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Bekmezci redux
The planned sale of the three Chinese-controlled capesizes comes hot on the heels of another three concluded deals, which includes the first ore carrier transaction for 2021.
Japan’s NS United fetched about $18.5m from the sale of the 233,600-dwt NSS Dynamic (built 2002), according to several brokers in Europe and the US.
That is $5m more than what NS Kaiun raised almost a year ago, in October 2020, from the sale of the younger 229,500-dwt NSS Honesty (renamed Cape Apollo, built 2007), which went to Greece’s Cape Shipping.
The NSS Dynamic is believed to have been bought by Chinese interests instead. The ship has neither a scrubber nor a BWTS installed and is due to pass special survey by the summer of 2022.
A serial Turkish buyer emerged behind the second capesize deal concluded earlier this month.
Ship-management sources in Istanbul confirmed the acquisition by Beks Ship Management of the 179,100-dwt Prosperous (built 2011), a vessel sold by Hong Kong-based Teh Hu Steamship for about $31m.
This is the fourth and biggest bulker that Beks has acquired over the past eight months in an impressive acquisition spree that saw the company also expand into tankers.
The Sungdong Shipbuilding-built Prosperous has no scrubber but it is fitted with a BWTS and passed its special survey in May.
In the third capesize deal, several suitors vied for the 173,500-dwt CHS Magnificence (built 2006), which has its special survey due in December. Chinese buyers are believed to have prevailed at $18.5m.
Some UK-based brokers identified Greece’s Navitas Compania Maritima as the buyer of the CHS Magnificence. A senior company manager, however, dismissed that information as “completely inaccurate”.
Lucy Hine contributed to this article
