A new Greek outfit set up in Piraeus just a few months ago has entered the shipping scene with a group of bulkers previously owned by Pioneer Marine, an Oslo-listed company that has sold its entire fleet.

VG Shipmanagement lists four vessels on the fleet list of its website. They include the 36,900-dwt Gabriella (built 2013), the 36,900-dwt Liberty Bay (built 2012) and the 36,900-dwt Betty (built 2011).

All three vessels used to trade with Pioneer Marine before the company's former owner, private equity group Garrison Investment Group, cashed out from shipping last year amid rising bulker values.

The Gabriella is the former Monterey Bay, which Pioneer Marine announced selling charter-free in June without disclosing any further details.

Pioneer Marine sold the Liberty Bay in March. The Betty, which was previously known as Alsea Bay, changed hands in April.

VG Shipmanagement's fourth ship, the George, used to trade as Ocean Honesty in the fleet of Japan's Meiho Kaiun before changing hands in March for $14.2m, according to IHS Markit.

Experienced principals

VG Shipmanagement describes itself on its website as "a privately-owned ship management company with a pure focus in the dry bulk sector", which "capitalises on more than 25 years of ship management experience accumulated by its principals".

The company did not respond to a request for comment about the identity of its principals and its strategy.

VG Shipmanagement's address and listed telephone number, however, are identical to that of another Greek company called Strand Management, which shut down in 2020 and the legal representative was Athanassios Valsamis.

In the past, Valsamis was linked to ferry company Access Ferries, which resided in the same building, as well as to tanker outfit Polar Tankers.

VG Shipmanagement's clients seem to have financial backing by Oaktree Capital Management.

Equasis lists Oaktree Capital-related entities as registered owners of three out of the four vessels that VG Shipmanagement manages.

Pioneer Marine has said it will sell its final bulker, the 37,000-dwt Resolute Bay (built 2012), by the end of December or early in January. Its subsidiaries will continue managing the vessel following a management buyout of the company by its chief executive Jim Papoulis and chief financial officer Korinna Tapaktsoglou.

VG Shipmanagement is not the only buyer of former Pioneer Marine vessels. TradeWinds has already reported that Norwegian investor Arne Fredly took over six of them last year.

These vessels were the 30,000-dwt Aspasia Bay, Jupiter Bay and Kyri Bay (all built 2012), the 32,300-dwt Ha Long Bay (built 2007) and Emerald Bay (built 2008), and the 32,400-dwt Mykonos Bay (built 2009).