Russian-linked interests continue to accumulate panamax bulkers and multipurpose tonnage as clients of Turkey’s Clan Shipmanagement grow their fleets in serial sales.
Istanbul-based Clan, or Klan Gemi Yonetimi, was established around the time of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The unidentified or obscure shipowning clients behind it have now assembled a fleet of at least 20 vessels.
Clan has a website that advertises its services as both technical and commercial manager and pictures an all-Liberia-flagged fleet of four capesizes, nine panamaxes and five handysize open-hatch or multipurpose vessels.
But its clients remain out of sight.
The 92,700-dwt LC Planchet (ex-Helvetia One, built 2012) is the latest in a long series of panamax and post-panamax coal carrier purchases by Clan or its clients. Enterprises Shipping and Trading sold the ship late last year for an undisclosed price and it emerged in the Clan fleet in January.
That made the eighth middle-aged panamax or post-panamax sold since September to Dubai-based Rapax Ship Management, one of the low-profile owners behind Clan.
Rapax, from the Latin for “aggressively acquisitive”, has taken the ships in mostly one-off deals with Greece’s NGM Energy, Meadway, Gleamray, Enterprises Shipping and W Marine, plus Hong Kong-based Ming Wah (two ships) and Wah Kwong. All are built between 2011 and 2014. The post-panamax and panamax acquisitions all now bear the LC prefix, with registered owning entities beginning “Elsi Shipping”. The beneficial ownership is unclear.
Rapax has also targeted multipurpose (MPP) tonnage, most recently the 28,300-dwt Sergey Bodrov (ex-Huanghai Glory, built 2012).
It is one of three MPP sisterships that Clan’s clients have picked up from Tianjin Xinhai International Ship Management, also known as Tianjin New Legend. The Sergey Bodrov, sold for an unknown price to an unidentified owner last year, was delivered this month to Rapax. Rapax had previously taken the 28,300-dwt Danila Bagrov (ex-Huanghai Pioneer, built 2012).
But another Tianjin Xinhai ship, the 28,300-dwt USG Zurich (ex-Huanghai Developer, built 2013), went to another Clan client, Bulgarian-based Rostrum Fleet Management, controlled by Russian operator Universal Solutions Group (USG).
Sofia-based Rostrum shares the address of Clan’s Bulgarian branch, and also that of USG itself. But it is understood to be separate from another USG-controlled entity called Rostrum Ship Management, based in the UK.
Vessel | Seller | Reported price |
79,800-dwt LC Constance (ex-La Donna I, built 2014) | Moundreas (NGM) | ? |
92,800-dwt LC Rochefort (ex-W-Eagle, built 2011) | W Marine | ? |
81,500-dwt LC Aramis (ex-Fiorela, built 2011) | Meadway | ? |
93,750-dwt LC Milady (ex-Lara Venture, built 2011) | Wah Kwong | $20.6m |
93,250-dwt LC Porthos (ex-Great Glen, built 2010) | Ming Wah | $18m |
93,200-dwt LC D’Artagnan (ex-Great Animation, built 2011) | Ming Wah | $19m |
87,400-dwt LC Athos (ex-Athanassios GO, built 2011) | Gleamray | ? |
92,700-dwt LC Planchet (ex-Helvetia One, built 2012) | Enterprises | ? |
Dubai-based Rapax Ship Management, Sofia-based Rostrum Fleet Management and Istanbul-based Clan did not respond to requests for comment.
Clan’s fleet started with two panamaxes, the 74,500-dwt Egor Letov (ex-NS Energy, built 2012) and 74,600-dwt Viktor Tsoi (ex-NS Yakutia, built 2013), which had earlier been reported sold by Sovcomflot to unknown Russians in August 2021, well before the Ukraine invasion made sale-and-purchase a difficult exercise for Russian shipowners. They subsequently appeared in the fleet of Rostrum.
In addition to the MPPs and the more recent series of Rapax panamaxes, Clan’s fleet includes four out of the 12 capesizes sold last year by Monaco’s Goodbulk, and a series of MPP ships now trading with the prefix of Lodestar in their names.
Reference source IHS lists Clan itself as the beneficial owner of some Lodestar MPPs, but Clan’s website identifies them as managed ships.
No contact information is available for the owners of the four capesizes or the Lodestar MPPs.
