A turnaround in bulker freight markets in February seems to vindicate owners who benefited from an earnings dip last month to pick up secondhand vessels at declining prices, and whets appetite for new deals.
The revival is particularly noticeable in larger ship types. Deals for capesizes and newcastlemaxes had largely come to a halt as the Baltic Capesize Index collapsed from a 13-year high in October.
Then, Safe Bulkers struck on 25 January, announcing the purchase of the 181,300-dwt South Trader (built 2014) at a 20% discount to what the same ship was worth four months before.
President Loukas Barmparis commented that Safe Bulkers bought the ship at “a competitive price, capitalising on the capesize market’s seasonal weakness”.
Aristides Pittas, chief executive of another US-listed company, EuroDry, cited “temporary” market weakness as well, when explaining why he had acquired yet another panamax and would continue expanding his fleet.
It now transpires that sale-and-purchase spirits had been stirring well before January in newcastlemaxes, the biggest type of bulker.
In a deal from late December that is surfacing just now, JP Morgan bought the 207,700-dwt Hemingway (built 2017) from Petros Pappas-led Oceanbulk for about $52m.
That compares with a price of between $53m and $55m that JP Morgan spent in late September to buy the sistership Conrad (built 2017) from the same sellers. According to ship management sources in Athens, the price gap between the two ships does not reflect any perceived market weakness but rather the fact that the Conrad was delivered promptly to its new owners.
The newcastlemax market seems to have spawned even more deals lately. Greek player George Economou was linked late last month to the purchase of the Japanese-controlled, 206,300-dwt Baosteel Elevation (built 2007) for about $18m.
Brokers now link Economou to the acquisition of sistership Baosteel Evolution (built 2007) as well, for around $19m.
Managers at Economou company TMS did not respond to a request for comment.
If confirmed, the deals would mark a continuation of a steady dry bulk expansion drive in which the major Greek owner has bought two capesizes, two panamaxes and one kamsarmax since August 2021.
Even owners absent from larger bulkers for years are returning to the sector.
According to ship management sources in Athens, Nick Savvas-led Cosmoship Management has swooped on the 93,100-dwt Sicilian Express (built 2013) for a price close to $20m.
The company is flush with cash from some lucrative asset plays with container ships and handysize bulkers last year. Cosmoship is now keen to expand in the bulker sector with larger type of vessels, TradeWinds is told.
Such buying appetite is welcome to Vroon, the seller of the Sicilian Express, which was its last vessel of that size. Asked by TradeWinds for comment, the Dutch owner declined to discuss “potential or ongoing transactions”.
Buying appetite is probably equally welcome to managers at Bain Capital, who reportedly completed the fleet wind-down of traditional Italian outfit Giuseppe Bottiglieri Shipping.
The 93,300-dwt Bottiglieri Franco Vela (built 2010) and the one-year-younger sistership Bottiglieri Giulio Borriello are said to have fetched $35.5m combined. Bain declined to comment.
Costamare redux
There has also been a fair amount of Greek buying in smaller bulker sizes, where S&P activity never really paused, as those vessels’ earnings did not suffer as big a blow in January as capesizes.
Chatzis family-controlled Newport is in the process of acquiring its fifth vessel since May 2021, the 76,700-dwt Nord Fortune (built 2008) for about $15.5m.
US-listed Costamare is adding yet another vessel to its buying binge of more than 40 bulkers last year, spending between $16.5m and $16.9m on the 58,000-dwt Magda (built 2010).
On the selling side, asset plays continue unabated.
According to brokers, new player Moderna Marine — a Greek company whose name was probably inspired by a vaccine against Covid — is reportedly selling the 80,300-dwt Spetses Spirit (built 2011) to Chinese interests for just above $20m.
Moderna bought that ship a little more than a year ago for $12.8m.
An unidentified Greek buyer is said to have bought the Japanese-controlled, 82,500-dwt Navios Prosperity (built 2007) for $16.4m.
Such deals would not have been possible without perky buying interest.
Several players hope to pick up ships with charters secured at the soaring rates of 2021, while others plan to employ them on period business themselves, Athens’ Doric Shipbrokers said.
((This article was amended after original publication to correctly identify the sellers of the kamsarmax Navios Prosperity))
