Taiwan's Eddie Steamship has picked up two veteran capesizes at bargain prices.
The CC Hsu-controlled dry bulk shipowner has bought the 175,800-dwt China Steel Integrity (built 2002) and China Steel Responsibility (built 2003) for $9.2m and $9.3m, respectively.
They were the two oldest capesizes in the fleet of Taiwan's China Steel Express.
Their prices are well under the last done deal for capesizes of that vintage, the $10m sale of the DSME-built, 172,400-dwt Mineral Antwerpen (built 2003).
By coincidence, the seller in that deal, Eddie's neighbour Sincere Navigation, is controlled by another branch of the same family as the buyer of the China Steel Express ships.
The sale leaves Taiwanese state-linked China Steel Express with a more modern fleet of 18 capesizes, none built earlier than 2006 or smaller than 200,000 dwt.
The unreported Eddie Steamship purchase is understood to have been done last week.
Sources close to the sale said no new names have been chosen for the as-yet undelivered vessels.
Along with a sistership sold this summer, the two former China Steel Express capesizes will sail under charter to Shandong Shipping Asset Management (SAMC).
The pair will join the 175,800-dwt SAMC Eddie (ex-China Steel Excellence, built 2002) in serving Shandong Shipping's contracts of affreightment (COAs). TradeWinds reported this summer that Eddie had purchased that vessel for bareboat charter to SAMC.
Going live
SAMC, a joint venture between Taiwan's Eddie and mainland Chinese state-owned partners, was announced two years ago but went live only recently.
TradeWinds has previously reported that the venture's strategic shareholders include Eddie as financial shipowner, provincially-owned industrial shipping company Shandong Shipping Corp as chartering operator, and Ocean Capital Shipping Corp, an entity believed to be backed by Chinese state-owned leasing companies.
The partnership bareboats in tonnage acquired by partner Eddie and then time-charters it out again to partner Shandong Shipping.
TradeWinds understands that the ships will earn a flat rate for Eddie over two years. SAMC will then have options to extend for two years or to purchase the ships.
Family business
The Eddie deal makes three Hsu-family capesize transactions in close succession, with CC Hsu buying and his cousins selling.
TradeWinds reported on Monday that Taiwan's Sincere Navigation had sold the Mineral Antwerpen, its oldest capesize, for some $10m to Greece's Nicholas G Moundreas family group of companies.
Private Eddie is controlled by CC Hsu and unrelated to Taipei-listed Sincere Navigation, which is controlled by CC Hsu's cousins, shipowner and agriculturist Steve Hsu and son Jack Hsu.
