Days after taking delivery of an eight-year-old capesize, major Greek owner Alpha Bulkers switched sides of the sale-and-purchase fence to offload an older vessel.
The Athens-based company confirmed earlier this month that it had acquired the 181,100-dwt Herun Global (built 2016) in the summer. TradeWinds reported the vessel sold in July for about $49.5m and it has now joined the company’s fleet as Alpha Force.
While taking delivery of the Herun Global on 29 August, Alpha Bulkers set in motion a parallel deal to offload the second-oldest vessel in its fleet of 19 capesizes.
Market sources in Athens say it has agreed to divest the 178,000-dwt Alpha Prudence (built 2008) for $24.75m.
It would be the first capesize that Alpha Bulkers has shed since 2020, when it agreed to sell a pair of 20-year-old units — one for scrap and the other for further trading.
Alpha Bulkers, controlled by Anna Angelicoussis-Kanellakis and co-led by her sons Frangiskos and Antonis, was probably encouraged to engage in a limited fleet renewal move by firm capesize prices and impressive freight rates.
At $31,976 per day last week, average spot capesize earnings hit their highest level since late March, according to Clarksons.
This has prompted interested buyers to keep bidding for relatively older tonnage and maintaining secondhand values at elevated levels.
Although data from Seaborne Shipbrokers shows average prices for 15-year-old capesizes to have dropped by 1.4% month on month in August to $28.6m, prices are still far above the $20m that Clarksons says such ships were worth in the same month last year.
Doric Shipbrokers said in its weekly report on 6 September: “On the selling side, shipowners are in the pleasant position of having high expectations on price, and in many cases, they are getting close to their asking prices.”
Owners such as Alpha replace outgoing tonnage with younger ships rather than newbuildings, the prices of which have gone through the roof at close to $77m apiece on average.
Similar considerations have led other Greek owners to make similar moves
TradeWinds reported last week how Angelicoussis-controlled Maran Dry Management sold the scrubber-fitted, 174,200-dwt capesize Maran Prosperity (built 2006) for about $21.5m, shortly after buying the 181,000-dwt Courageous (built 2016) for about $50.5m.
Some brokers have since linked Maran to the purchase of a second vessel as well — the 181,100-dwt Herun Zhejiang (built 2017). This deal, however, has not been confirmed and some market sources believe it has not taken place.
