Italian shipowner Michele Bottiglieri has decided to keep two panamax bulkers that he has been circulating on the sale-and-purchase market for some time.
Bottiglieri told TradeWinds that the 93,300-dwt MBA Giovanni (built 2010) and MBA Rosaria (built 2011) will remain in the fleet of Michele Bottiglieri Armatore (MBA) due to an improving dry bulk market.
“I am keeping the ships,” he said when asked to confirm reports by brokers last week that the pair had been sold to Interocean of Argentina in an en-bloc deal worth $29m.
“That is completely incorrect. Fake news,” he stated emphatically.
This is not the first time the MBA Giovanni and MBA Rosaria have been linked to deals that never materialised.
In August 2023, the pair was reported as being sold to Samudera Indonesia.
Bottiglieri said at the time that brokers were likely confused by Samudera’s acquisitions of two former Rizzo Bottiglieri De Carlini Armatori (RBD Armatori) panamaxes.
MBA was set up by Bottiglieri in 2008 after he left RBD, the family shipping business.
The company completed a financial restructuring process in 2022 after running into difficulties the year before. It emerged debt-free and with a fleet of three bulkers.
In August, the veteran shipowner said he was selling the panamaxes with the intention to rebuild the MBA fleet by acquiring tonnage in the smaller size segments.
It is understandable the company has opted to hold onto its panamaxes for the time being as broking sources say values for such vessels are on the rise due to improving market conditions.
VesselsValue currently estimates the MBA Giovanni to be worth $17.8m and the MBA Rosario $18.17m, figures substantially higher than brokers reported they had been sold for.
Values for panamaxes have been steadily rising this year on the back of a brighter immediate outlook for freight markets.
Period rates in particular have seen a notable push over the past week with a string of deals concluded last week at firmer levels than seen in previous weeks.
Last week, a 82,000-dwt kamasarmax newbuilding delivered from a Chinese shipyard reportedly achieved a daily rate of $21,000 for one year’s employment, according to brokers’ reports.
This is almost $3,000 per day more than a similar kamsarmax hired for one year at the beginning of March, when Montfort fixed YZJ Shipping’s 82,399-dwt Yangze 22 (built 2022).
Optimism in the period market has been buoyed by rising spot rates for panamaxes, which have increased by just under 30% since the beginning of March.
The average spot rates across five key panamax routes were assessed at $20,106 per day on Friday, up by $909 from the previous day.
Daily rates of just over $20,000 are predicted for the second quarter, falling to just under $18,000 for the third quarter of this year, and about $16,000 for the final three months, according to Baltic Exchange data.
The beginning of 2025 shows characteristic seasonal weakness, with contracts currently trading at about $14,000 per day.
