Vafias family-controlled Stealth Maritime has boosted its presence in the capesize bulker sector, adding ships recently sold by JP Morgan and South Korea’s H-Line Shipping amid declining prices in the sector.

The ships were bought by Brave Maritime, the dry arm of the Vafias group, but will be managed by Stealth Maritime, sources told TradeWinds. The two ships join the 12-strong dry Brave fleet that now totals four capesizes.

The Greek ship manager, which was founded by Nikolaos Vafias, has listed the 175,000-dwt Aquafortune (built 2011) and 179,300-dwt HL Shinboryeong (built 2010) on its website.

The fleet list amendments came as shipbrokers had already named the Vafias family’s private interests as the buyer of the Aquafortune. VesselsValue also identified Stealth Maritime as the buyer in a $27m purchase from an arm of JP Morgan.

That came after TradeWinds reported on 8 November that the US banking giant’s asset management division had sold the vessel — constructed at Japan’s Namura Shipbuilding — for $26.5m to $27m.

At the time, JP Morgan Asset Management Global Transportation Group chief executive Andrian “Andy” Dacy confirmed that the ship had been sold.

But he declined to identify the seller or provide other details, other than to say that the transaction was part of the JP Morgan unit’s “fleet mix rebalancing strategy”.

Stealth Maritime did not respond to emails seeking comment on reports of the purchase and could not be immediately reached by phone.

But the company added a vessel now called the Cape Aria to its website, with a photo showing the vessel’s former name brandished on its bow, leaving no doubt that the bulker is the until-recently-named Aquafortune.

That was not the only addition to Athens-based Stealth Maritime’s fleet list.

The Cape Good Hope has also been included, and its photo on the fleet list makes clear that it is the until-recently-named vessel HL Shinboryeong.

In recent days, US and UK brokers said H-Line sold the ship, which was built at Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries in South Korea, for $24.8m to undisclosed buyers. An H-Line representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The reported price tag represents a significant decline since the spring. VesselsValue estimates that the ship was worth $31.7m at this year’s peak in late May, and the price is significantly lower than the June price for the Japanese-constructed, 180,000-dwt Honorship (ex-Mineral Haiku, built 2010).

Stealth Maritime’s latest capesizes join the 178,000-dwt Transworld Navigator (built 2010) in a managed fleet that is otherwise made up of LPG carriers and tankers.

The ultimate owner of all three vessels is not immediately clear. Stealth Maritime operates as a commercial and technical manager for both third parties and Vafias group companies, including New York-listed and Harry Vafias-led StealthGas and Imperial Petroleum, in addition to sometimes owning ships.

Seanergy Maritime Holdings chief executive Stamatis Tsantanis (right) speaks at the Capital Link Shipping & Maritime Services Forum in London in October 2022. Photo: Capital Link

Stealth Maritime is not alone in seeing opportunities in the current sale-and-purchase environment.

US brokers and the VesselsValue deals database reported that New York-listed Seanergy Maritime Holdings purchased the 181,000-dwt Navios Obeliks (built 2012) from Japanese tonnage provider Nissen Kaiun for $29.5m.

Nissen Kaiun could not be immediately reached for comment, and Seanergy chief executive Stamatis Tsantanis said he could not comment on whether his Greek company bought the vessel.

But he said whoever did buy it benefits from a quality, 10-year-old ship that has a scrubber and was constructed at a Japanese shipyard.

“Given the recent reported transactions of similar capes, my opinion is that the acquisition of the Navios Obeliks appears to be a good deal for its buyers,” Tsantanis told TradeWinds.

VesselsValue estimates that the ship has a market value of nearly $31m, down from a 2022 peak of $38.2m in May.

The last sale of a Japanese-constructed vessel of the same age saw the 183,400-dwt Frontier Triumph (built 2012) go to Winning Shipping for between $29.7m and $30m, as TradeWinds reported in late September. That ship had no scrubber unit installed.

If Seanergy emerges with the Navios Obeliks, it would mark the company’s 19th capesize bulker. For Nissen Kaiun, the reported sale comes after the ship ended a long-term charter to Greece’s Navios Maritime Partners that has lasted more than 10 years.

The recent bulker sales came amid the continued erosion of pricing indicators in the dry bulk S&P market.

The latest weekly report by shipbroking giant Clarksons showed 10-year-old capesizes worth $28.5m on 11 November, down $1.5m from the prior week’s estimate.

That is the lowest value for the measure since May 2021.

Lucy Hine contributed
to this story