Richard du Moulin-controlled Intrepid Shipping has been linked to the sale of a handysize bulker that would leave the Connecticut shipowner with no remaining owned vessels in its fleet.
Brokers in the US and Greece said the Stamford-based company has sold the 33,800-dwt Intrepid Eagle (built 2013) for $15m to $15.6m.
That is in line with wide-ranging market expectations for a charter-free sale, with VesselsValue predicting that the ship is worth nearly $15.7m on the open market and Maritime Strategies International estimating its value during the first quarter at just $12.5m.
But shipbrokers indicated that the vessel has a charter attached until June or July at $24,250 per day, which is above the Baltic Exchange's $20,900-per-day estimate for average spot charter rates in the handysize sector.
Du Moulin declined to comment on reports of the sale. The buyer is not known.
Intrepid bought the bulker in a resale transaction for $19.8m when it was still a newbuilding at Samjin Shipbuilding Industries in China, according to data from VesselsValue.
Its sale comes after the shipowner offloaded two vessels in 2021, the valuation platform's database shows.
Intrepid describes itself as an owner and operator of bulkers and parcel tankers but offers little additional information of its remaining operations on its website.
The company keeps a somewhat lower profile than its owner. Du Moulin is a fixture of Connecticut's shipping community who had been chairman and chief executive of Maritime Transport Corp before it was sold to Crowley in 2000.
President and partner of Intrepid Shipping since 2002, du Moulin is currently chairman of Pangaea Logistics Solutions and transport advisor to Hudson Structured Capital Management.
