An Athens-based outfit, set up as an asset play vehicle when dry bulk markets were still in the doldrums four years ago, is taking the first step to cash in on its investment with the sale of a 10-year-old supramax.
Several brokers in Athens, London and the US reported that Ivy Shipping is divesting the 55,900-dwt supramax Ivy Delta (built 2011).
Managers at Ivy — a company led by Paris Kassidokostas-Latsis — declined to respond when asked for comment.
In late 2018, Ivy Shipping was previously reported to have sold the 55,900-dwt supramax Ivy Unicorn (built 2011). However, no such deal materialised.
As bulker prices started climbing earlier this year in the wake of soaring freight rates, Ivy Shipping showed its hand by circulating the Ivy Delta as a sales candidate in July.
About two months later, the Japanese-built ship found a buyer for $20.4m, according to brokers. That compares with the $16m that the Ivy Delta was approximately worth when it entered the Ivy Shipping fleet in September 2017.
That was about the time when Kassidokostas-Latsis and another couple of “global investors” — the identities of which are not yet known — founded Ivy Shipping as an asset play vehicle.
They assembled a fleet of four supramaxes, which consist of the sisterships Ivy Delta, Ivy Unicorn, Ivy Delta and Ivy Blue. The fleet’s value has nearly doubled since the beginning of the year to more than $85m, according to current prices on the secondhand market.
Most brokers mention Oskar Wehr as the buyer of the Ivy Delta. Managers at the Hamburg-based company did not respond to a request for comment.
If Oskar Wehr is indeed involved in a deal, it would not be a surprise if the Ivy Delta turns up with Selmer Bulk AS, a recently founded shipowning vehicle that raised $102m in a private placement in July. Oskar Wehr holds a 25% stake in the venture.
In May 2016, in the depths of a severe dry bulk slump, Oskar Wehr sold the 56,800-dwt supramax Frederike Selmer (built 2009) to Greece’s Technomar Shipping for about $5m. It has been renamed Skylight.
Technomar owner George Youroukos has now sold the ship at a much higher price. Ship management sources in Athens said the Chinese-built ship has fetched $16.35m in a sale to Far Eastern interests earlier this month.
AE Nomikos, another Greek owner, is understood to be in talks to offload the 56,000-dwt Atalanti SB (built 2006) to Bangladeshi buyers for about $16m. A company manager, however, said it is too early to talk about conclusion of any deal.
