As time passes, the buyers behind the surge of deals that have been sweeping across the secondhand bulker market over the past few months are gradually beginning to emerge.
George Dellaportas-led Meadway Bulkers is one of them.
The Athens-based company has confirmed that it has taken over two vessels known to have changed hands in December.
The first is the Chinese-built, 61,600-dwt Star Bovarius (built 2015), which US-listed Star Bulk Shipping already confirmed offloading to undisclosed buyers in the final days of 2023 — probably for about $25m.
The second is the 80,600-dwt Melodia (built 2013), which several brokers reported Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp as disposing of in December, to undisclosed buyers for about $22m.
Both vessels are in the process of joining the Meadway Bulkers’ fleet and already feature on its website under their new names of Londra and Fiesta, respectively.
Meadway Bulkers does not just engage in immediate growth but also long-term strategies through newbuildings.
The company’s website separately reveals that Dellaportas has placed an order for a pair of 40,050-dwt bulk carriers at Namura Shipbuilding. Both units are due for delivery in the first quarter of 2026.
TradeWinds understands that even though the company disclosed the order only recently, the actual contract was signed a few months ago.
The value of the Namura deal remains undisclosed.
Some price orientation is provided by Seacon Shipping, which is known to have ordered a pair of such newbuildings at Namura in September 2023, for $33.4m each.
Dellaportas’ brother, Costas, who independently runs separate company DryDel Shipping, formerly known as Meadway Shipping & Trading, has ordered three, slightly larger 42,500-dwt handysizes at Oshima.
The latest handysize newbuildings are not the only orders Meadway Bulkers has on its books.
In August, the company will take delivery of a 40,000-dwt handysize from Japan’s Onomichi Dockyard.
In the first and third quarters of 2026, a trio of 66,200-dwt Aeroline-design ultramaxes from Tsuneishi Shipbuilding in Zhoushan will follow.
All the expansion moves detailed above have brought the size of Meadway Bulkers’ fleet to 14 ships on the water and six under construction.
The company is not only expanding but also trimming its fleet in the intermediate ship size between panamaxes and post-panamaxes.
As TradeWinds already reported, the company sold two such ships to Dubai-based players last year: the 78,200-dwt Integrale (renamed Orient Vision, built 2014) and the 78,100-dwt Dennisan (renamed Orient Harmony, built 2012).
That leaves its fleet on the water with seven handysizes, four ultramaxes, two kamsarmaxes and a single supramax.
All Meadway Bulkers’ ships, except two, have been built in Japan. The average age of the fleet is about 10 years.
The company is known to be generally employing its ships on period employment with major charterers.
One of its two oldest vessels, however, was employed twice on Black Sea spot trips late last year, in Ukraine's grain corridor.
