The last time handysize bulkers had such a good market, the 34,600-dwt Malen (built 2011) did not even exist.
As freight rates for such ships now reach an 11-year high, the vessel is bringing Greek shipowner Kristen Marine a juicy $7m profit.
According to US brokers, the Constantinos Krontiras-controlled outfit has agreed to sell the Malen to unidentified Chinese interests for $14.2m.
That is twice the figure reportedly paid to buy the ship in October last year from UK-based Marine Capital. The vessel was trading as Rainbow Quest at the time.
Managers at Kristen Marine were not available to comment. However, a deal at such levels would be hardly a surprise in a market ripe with opportunities for such profitable asset plays.
Another sale was pulled off by Athens-based Alma Shipmanagement & Trading, which is believed to have offloaded the 28,500-dwt handysize Despina Angel (built 2007) for $8.25m to Greek peers.
That is more than the $7m the company reportedly spent to buy the ship four years ago.
Athens-based Thalkat Shipping bought the 32,200-dwt Konstantinos M (built 2012) in the market doldrums of 2016 for $6.6m. Brokers said it is now offloading the ship in a sale to other Greeks for $11.8m.
The Baltic Handysize Index closed at 1435 on Tuesday, its highest since June 2010.
Some brokers find these levels dizzying.
“Looking back at the same day last year when the market was four times lower … it kind of feels like standing on the top of Mount Everest, gazing down in the Marianas Trench,” Athens-based Doric Shipbrokers said in a report last Friday.
“It seems the upward trend in freight rates along with market prospects are intriguing quite a few shipowners to get into the second-hand market arena.”
One of these players is containership owner Costamare. The company announced on 15 June its return to the dry bulk scene after more than three decades, with the purchase of 16 bulkers.
That includes an as yet unidentified number of handysizes, two of which may be the 37,200-dwt Interlink Acuity (built 2010) and Tufton Oceanic Assets’ 33,700-dwt Orient Adventure (built 2011), according to US-based brokers.
Managers at London-listed Tufton said last month that bulker prices “didn’t make sense for [them] anymore,” and that their company would switch from buying to selling or to long-time chartering in that particular corner of the market.
Another Tufton handysize pair that was reported sold to unidentified Greek shipowners since then consists of the 34,400-dwt Manzanillo (built 2010) and the 33,500-dwt Orient Alliance (built 2012).
Navibulgar’s 37,300-dwt Sredna Gora (built 2010) has been linked to an $11.85m sale to Greeks, as has the Chinese-owned 33,800-dwt Spring Scenery (built 2013) at about $14.5m, brokers said.
The same goes with the Chinese-built, 37,300-dwt Interlink Comity (built 2012), which is said to have fetched $12.8m and the Japanese-built 33,300-dwt Grace Ocean (built 2013), which is believed to have changed hands for about $15.4m.
Unknown Piraeus players are reported to be behind an $18m deal to buy the 28,300-dwt Japanese-built Love Island (built 2010) and Crystal Island (built 2011).
