Ultramax specialist MX Bulk has sold a four-year-old vessel to White Sea Navigation — a Piraeus and Monaco-based company that has been quietly increasing its exposure to the sector.
Brokers and market sources in Athens said the two low-profile companies concluded a $32.5m transaction for the 63,900-dwt Erin Manx (built 2020).
Managers at MX Bulk and White Sea Navigation have been contacted for comment.
The Tsuneishi Zhoushan-built ship does not have a scrubber and the reported price is below VesselsValue’s estimate of $33.7m and Signal Ocean’s estimate of $35.9m.
One factor that could explain the discount is that the Erin Manx is due to undergo special survey by May. Another is the general price decline observed lately across all types of bulkers, except capesizes.
A deal for the ship would be in line with the latest sale-and-purchase patterns displayed by MX Bulk and White Sea Navigation.
Despite its young age, the Erin Manx is the oldest among the five ultramaxes currently in the MX Bulk fleet and the company has already shaken out another pair of slightly older sister ships.
In July 2023, the 63,900-dwt Mona Manx (renamed Amoy Dream, built 2017) was sold to China’s Amoysailing.
In February this year, MX Bulk sold the 63,900-dwt Scarlett Manx (built 2017), which has been trading since as Gemma with Theodore Veniamis company Golden Union.
Flying below the radar
White Sea Navigation, by contrast, has been buying modern ultramaxes frequently.
The John Kehagias-led company paid Fukujin Kisen about $55m about a year ago, in an en-bloc deal for the 61,200-dwt FJM Glory (renamed Edessaikos, built 2019) and the 63,800-dwt Lowlands Mimosa (renamed Thermaikos, built 2018).
White Sea bought a similar ship in October 2022, spending between $32m and $32.8m on the 61,100-dwt Berge Tronador (renamed Makedonikos, built 2020).
The purchases it made over the past two years boosted the size of White Sea’s fleet to nine supramaxes and ultramaxes built between 2009 and 2020.
MX Bulk’s fleet, by contrast, has shrunk to four ultramaxes delivered to the company by Tsuneishi Zhoushan in 2022.
It remains unclear who is behind MX Bulk.
The company’s managing director, Shawn Dawson, used to be an executive with Lars T Ugland and when TradeWinds first reported about MX Bulk in 2018, it presented it as a rebranding of the Norwegian company.
However, Lars T Ugland later denied being involved in the operation.
According to VesselsValue, Pacific Basin owns a small 2.5% stake in MX Bulk.
