After a series of transformative internal deals that turned it into a shipping giant with nearly 190 vessels, Navios Maritime Partners seems to be resuming its old fleet renewal habits.
One of its oldest vessels, the 76,500-dwt Navios Alegria (built 2004), is up for sale.
Some brokers in the US reported on 5 September that a deal for the Japanese-built panamax had already been concluded at $13m. Greek brokers contacted by TradeWinds this week, however, said it has not been sold, although it remains on the market.
Managers at the New York-listed company headed by Greece’s Angeliki Frangou did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
According to Navios Partners’ website, the vessel was on a charter that expired in July 2022, earning 99.5% of the Baltic Exchange Panamax Index 4TC average.
A sale of the Navios Alegria would be Navios Partners’ first bulker disposal in a year.
Navios had been a frequent seller of older bulkers as part of its fleet renewal strategy.
Those sales, however, came to a halt in September 2021, when it offloaded the 74,500-dwt Navios Altair I (built 2006) for $13.5m. The vessel has been trading since as Atheras in the fleet of Greece’s Sea Trade Marine.
The resumption of Navios Partners’ sales drive may suggest that the company is slowly resuming business as usual after a series of internal deals that have turned it into the Navios Group’s main, diversified shipping vehicle.
Bubbling below the surface
The back and forth about the sale of the Navios Alegria is emblematic of the fragile state in which the sale-and-purchase scene for dry bulkers is currently.
Falling freight rates for much of the sector have visibly affected S&P volumes and ship values, which have been on a downward trajectory.
“Activity is modest and intention is hesitant,” Athens’ Doric Shipbrokers said in its latest weekly report.
The relative paucity in deals, however, suggests a tug of war between buyers and sellers rather than a total lack of interest to engage in transactions.
Among the rare deals reported by TradeWinds recently, Nasdaq-listed Pangaea swooped on the 55,600-dwt Clarke Quay (renamed Bulk Sachuest, built 2010) for $17m.
Eagle Bulk Shipping, another US company, is being linked to the purchase of the 61,200-dwt Ultra Trust (built 2015), a scrubber-fitted ultramax, for a price below $28m.
Analysts, however, said there is a lot more activity, bubbling just below the surface.
Despite their fall, ship values are still high enough compared with long-term averages to encourage owners to put their vessels on the market.
“We have witnessed a significant number of vessels that invited offers during the past week,” Athens-based Xclusiv Shipbrokers said in a report on 5 September.
Potential buyers are intrigued enough to at least check things out.
“Buyers are lurking and circling, hoping this is their long-awaited chance at reasonably priced ships,” Doric said. “They are asking about ‘last-dones’ and ‘owners’ price ideas’ in order to formulate what accurately comprises market levels.”
Despite that interest, the only other panamax sale reported this month was on the fringes of the market.
In the latest in a series of Chinese online auctions, the 73,700-dwt Zhong Lian Si Fang (built 2000) is said to have fetched $10.6m, probably from local buyers.
