Newport SA, a busy buyer and seller of bulkers, has wrapped up a string of deals that sees it renewing and enlarging a considerable part of its handysize fleet.
The Greek owner has made strides towards that goal in recent weeks with the acquisition of a Japanese-built sistership pair from Lauritzen Bulkers.
Market sources in Athens identify Newport as the buyer of Lauritzen’s 38,200-dwt Milau Bulker and Eva Bulker (both built 2012) for about $44m in total.
Of the two ships, the Eva Bulker is already listed as part of Newport’s fleet under its new name, Agia Fotini.
Lauritzen Bulkers has been in something of a sale campaign of such ships recently.
TradeWinds has already reported how the Danish company divested the sistership Anne Mette Bulker to Turkey’s Devbulk for $23m, in a deal that includes a time charter back to Lauritzen.
These sales would appear to leave Lauritzen without any owned bulkers.
The Niels Josefsen-led company, which charters in about two dozen vessels — many of which it has purchase options on — has told TradeWinds in February it is switching to an asset-light operating model.
This didn’t mean, however, that the company would cease owning ships. Chief executive Niels Josefsen said that Lauritzen would retain expertise by building its owned fleet instead.
This contrasts with the moves undertaken by Newport, which are very much in line with the traditional Greek fleet renewal model.
In pursuing this path, the George Chatzis-led company has been focusing hard on Japanese-built, 10-year-old handysizes.
The Eva Bulker and Milau Bulker are the third and fourth such ships the owner has bought since May 2021, following purchases of the 38,200-dwt Clipper Bettina (renamed Agia Filothei, built 2012) and the 29,100-dwt Bay Fortune (renamed Agia Ekaterini, built 2011).
These acquisitions have gone hand in hand with sales of three older units.
In the most recent of them, Newport divested the vintage 27,800-dwt Pagona (built 1999) for about $10.5m to undisclosed buyers.
Early in February, the 28,400-dwt Tramontana (built 2010) left the Newport fleet for about $14.2m. Before that, the 28,500-dwt Triades (built 2005) was sold.
As TradeWinds reported, Newport has also been expanding in kamsarmaxes.
