US-listed Safe Bulkers has joined a growing band of Greek firms in signalling that ship prices have risen enough to make them stop large-scale acquisitions.

After ordering eight kamsarmaxes and post-panamaxes in Japanese yards since late last year, Safe Bulkers has completed its current newbuilding programme, the company's president Loukas Barmparis told analysts in a conference call to discuss third-quarter results.

Management added that Safe Bulkers is also largely content with the four Japanese-built ships — from capesize to panamax size — it has acquired on the secondhand market this year for a total of $91.5m.

“In terms of secondhand vessels there might be some opportunities still, however, we have done the big volumes,” Barmparis said.

Polys Hajioannou, chief executive and majority owner of Safe Bulkerss, said that despite a recent drop in capesize freight rates from very high levels, the dry bulk market is still in rude health and ship values will hardly budge from their current plateau.

"I don't expect asset prices to correct to give us opportunities to step in and buy cheap vessels like in the first quarter of 2021 — they may not go higher but I don't expect them to drop," Hajioannou told analysts.

Safe Bulkers' newbuilding orders and secondhand acquisitions are part of a fleet-renewal campaign that also saw the company sell seven ships of similar sizes on the secondhand market over the same period.

These ships, which were either older than the ones acquired or were built in China, raised the company about $110m in total.

Following deliveries of the newbuildings, Safe Bulkers said a quarter of its fleet of 40 ships will have been renewed by early 2024.

Barmparis said the priority next year will be to reward shareholders. However, he stopped short of actually promising that the company will reinstate a dividend.

The buy stops here

Safe Bulkers' reluctance to invest in additional tonnage at current prices is in line with the policy of some Greek peers.

Costamare and Castor Maritime, two US-listed companies that moved early in the cycle to invest at least $750m between them on 52 secondhand bulkers, haven't announced a ship buy in months.

Stamatis Tsantanis, chief executive at Seanergy — a company which expanded its fleet by 70% through acquisitions in the last year — said on 2 November that it would hold off on any more purchases for the time being.

Diligent Holdings, a low-profile private owner of smaller bulkers that cashed in recently on an ageing set of handysizes it had purchased after the market slump of 2016, said on 22 October that it would invest in ships again only in the "next cycle".

However, some other Greek owners continue pouncing on vessels, especially for newbuildings to be delivered soon.

Athens-based brokers have linked unidentified Greek interests to two kamsarmax resale deals recently.

One 82,300-dwt vessel under construction at Jiangsu Yangzi-Mitsui Shipbuilding — Hull No 2686, which is due for delivery next year — is said to have fetched about $38.5m, according to reports.

Another vessel built at Oshima Shipbuilding — the 84,500-dwt Ramanas Rose (built 2021) — is reportedly changing hands for $44m.

Moving on to secondhand ships, Economou-owned company TMS is said to have swooped on the 77,100-dwt Orient Violet (built 2015) for about $30m.

Managers at TMS were contacted for comment by TradeWinds.

Other Greek interests reportedly agreed to buy the 82,200-dwt Key Discovery (built 2010) for about $24m. Some brokers identified Athens-based Swissmarine as the buyer, but company managers were not immediately available to comment.

"Given that sentiment is still at overall robust levels, more activity is expected to emerge," Allied Shipbrokers said in a report on 1 November.