Chinese shipowner Fortune Ocean has sold two bulk carriers over the past week at firm prices.
Brokers report the owner divested the 82,204-dwt kamsarmax Xing De Hai (built 2017) for $37m, which had been leased from owner Minsheng Financial Leasing since delivery.
The buyer is reportedly India’s Tolani Shipping, which owns and manages nine bulkers up to kamsarmax in size.
The ship was constructed at Oshima Shipbuilding to the yard’s OS-Max 82K MK II design. It has a ballast water treatment system (BWTS) and a modern eco-electronic engine.
In a market report on Friday, Clarksons called the $37m price tag “a notably firm price” when compared with the sale of the 81,703-dwt BW Kobe (built 2019), which is two years younger but sold in June for the same price.
The reported price for the Xing De Hai is only $500,000 below the newbuilding price Clarksons estimates for 82,000-dwt to 85,000-dwt kamsarmaxes.
Clarksons’ estimates for five-year-old vessels of this specification are even higher at $38.5m.
Second sale
Fortune Ocean, headquartered in Dalian, also sold the Japanese-built, 60,498-dwt ultramax Xing Xi Hai (built 2017) to unidentified Greeks for between $32m and $32.5m last week.
The sale price includes the balance of an ongoing time charter until the first quarter of next year, pegged at 115% of the Baltic Supramax Index.
The vessel, built to Mitsui’s Neo60 design, has a BWTS and an eco-electronic engine.
The two sales leave Fortune Ocean with a fleet of 16 bulkers across all sizes.
Last May, the owner signed newbuilding contracts with China’s Hengli Heavy Industry — formerly STX Dalian Shipbuilding — for four 85,000-dwt kamsarmax bulkers, priced at about $32.5m each.
The ships will be delivered this year and next and be operated by Bohai Ocean Shipping.
Current market earnings
Kamsarmaxes built to fuel-efficient, “eco” designs such as the Xing De Hai can expect average earnings of $16,234 per day as of Friday, according to the latest estimates from Clarksons.
This represents roughly an 18% premium over a non-eco, 2010-built standard panamax, estimates show.
One-year period rates are pinned at $17,600 per day, based on a standard 76,000-dwt panamax, according to Clarksons. This has been trending upwards for the past year or so.
Eco-ultramaxes built around 2015 can expect average spot earnings of $20,312 per day as of Friday, the brokerage said.
One-year period rates currently stand at about $15,000 per day, according to Clarksons estimates. This is about $5,000 per day more than 12 months ago.
