Turkish iron and steel products maker Izmir Demir Celik (IDC) is likely taking advantage of uptick in bulker values to profit from shedding its low-profile shipping arm.
Market sources in Istanbul are saying the company is about to commit all three bulkers of group company IDC Denizcilik, in an en-bloc deal worth about $25m.
Managers at the Izmir-based company did not respond to a request for comment. However, the $25m price tag is broadly in line with what VesselsValue estimates the three ships are worth.
These are the 53,500-dwt IDC Diamond (built 2006), 52,200-dwt IDC Pearl (built 2002) and 48,400-dwt Halil Sahin (built 2001).
Halil Sahin-led IDC spent about $73m to buy the three vessels in 2009, the year it entered oceangoing shipping.
It also spent $31m on a fourth ship that year, the 55,800-dwt IDC Falcon (built 2006).
However, the Turkish company sold the IDC Falcon in the summer of 2022 for $18.2m. The vessel has been trading with Middle Eastern interests under its new name, Chandrakant.
It is not unusual for industrial Turkish firms to have a sideline in shipping.
IDC was founded in 1975 in the Aliaga industrial zone. Its shares have been trading on the Istanbul Stock Exchange since 1986. It is mainly active in the production of reinforcing bars.
Apart from mother company Akdemir Celik, the group includes IDC Liman, which operates a terminal at Nemrut Bay, near Izmir.
The buyer of the three IDC ships remains unclear. Some market sources believe that a London-based company called Sea Pioneer is behind the deal.
According to UK Companies House, Sea Pioneer’s two active directors are British nationals Cemil Tumkaya and Ali Cem Tumkaya.
