The Nicholas George Moundreas group (NGM) has sold a mid-aged capesize at a huge markup to the price the Greek owner paid to buy the vessel nearly four years ago.
The deal provides further evidence of the heady state of the current secondhand bulker scene — to the point that some market players are expressing concerns it is overheating.
Several market sources are saying that NGM’s 180,100-dwt Epic (built 2010) is changing hands for more than $32m.
The Piraeus-based company bought the vessel in July 2020 for just about $18.5m.
The ship’s reported sale price now is way above the $29.9m that VesselsValue estimates the DH Shipbuilding-built unit is worth.
However, it is much closer to the $31.7m that Signal Ocean is estimating as the Epic’s current value.
A sure sign of value appreciation is that a sister ship, the 180,100-dwt Sealink (built 2010), was reported sold last month by Greece’s Thenamaris to United Arab Emirates-based Kisamos Shipping for $31m, even though it was equipped with a scrubber while the Epic is not.
Special, ship-specific considerations do not seem to have played a role in the price the Epic is believed to be fetching.
The amount does not seem to include consideration for any ongoing time charter. The vessel also has not passed a special survey recently. A chance remains that the price level might reflect its eventual prompt delivery to its new owners.
Chinese heat
Some Greek brokers believe the buyers of the Epic are Chinese.
This would be in line with intense buying interest for bulkers from that country, which is underpinned by a more optimistic outlook on its economic prospects.
Unidentified Chinese interests have been linked to the purchase of several bulkers of all sizes lately from Greek, Japanese and Turkish owners.
This has been a significant factor behind a surge of bulker sale-and-purchase deal-making.
The value of such transactions surged in February to $2.21bn, according to Clarksons — their highest monthly level since before the 2008 global financial crisis.
NGM managers were not available for comment.
The fact that the company is selling will be seen by several players in the market as a good time to divest ships.
Led by founder Nicholas Moundreas, NGM is a seasoned player with decades of experience in shipping markets and a reputation for well-timed moves in both bulkers and tankers.
TradeWinds reported as recently as in January how the Greek company sold the modern, scrubber-fitted 156,600-dwt suezmax Bella Ciao (built 2020) to Indonesia’s Pertamina for $86m after ordering the vessel five years ago for about $60m.
