Norden has reportedly sold some of its youngest bulkers and oldest tankers to cash in on high asset values and renew its fleet.
According to Greek brokers and Chinese shipping sources, the deals include the sale of three modern ultramaxes, including two newbuildings, to Pacific Rim Shipmanagement — an expanding Singapore-based owner.
Norden is also believed to have sold an MR and a handysize tanker that passed the 10-year age mark.
A spokeswoman at the Copenhagen-based company declined to comment on the information, in line with standard company policy to report all its sale-and-purchase transactions on a grouped, quarterly basis.
Managers at Pacific Rim were not contactable for comment.
If confirmed, the deals should not come as a surprise. Norden has already confirmed selling seven bulkers earlier this year. Its latest guidance issued in early November suggests the company was planning more sales going forward "to capture value increases".
TradeWinds already reported in late November about Norden likely selling the 60,400-dwt ultramax Nord Colorado (built 2018) to undisclosed buyers for $31.25m.
The company is now believed to have offloaded a Japanese-built sistership as well, the Nord Columbia (built 2018), for between $32m and $32.5m.
Norden's sales campaign extended this month to two of the five newbuildings it has under construction at Nantong Cosco KHI and which are due for delivery next year.
These are, according to brokers, the 61,000-dwt Nord Arpeggio and Nord Adagio (both built 2022), respectively with Hull Nos 355 and 356. The two ships are believed to have fetched between $33m and $33.8m each.
Norden ordered these newbuildings in 2020.
Speaking to analysts in a conference call early last month, Norden management expressed satisfaction at the low prices at which it inked the two units.
Gains from asset plays help fund Norden's ongoing programme to reward shareholders through dividends and share buybacks amid the company's best quarterly profits in more than a decade, chief financial officer Martin Badsted said.
From pulp to shipping
Market sources are tying Pacific Rim to the purchase of both Norden newbuildings and the Nord Columbia.
Singapore-based but Chinese-owned Pacific Rim is known to be seeking to expand its bulker fleet with resale newbuildings.
Last month, it was believed to be swooping in on a kamsarmax quartet of such ships sold by China Minsheng Trust.
That deal, however, is understood to not have gone forward, since the ships were tied to a sale-and-leaseback agreement with CSSC Leasing and are now on charter to food giant Cofco.
Pacific Rim probably decided to seek other expansion avenues instead.
The company is believed to be the buyer of the 61,600-dwt ultramax Noni (built 2015), which Greece's AM Nomikos sold last month for $27.5m, as TradeWinds reported.
Chinese shipping sources said Pacific Rim will be using any ultramaxes it buys as woodchip carriers.
That fits with the company's history. Pacific Rim's owner Yang Zhen Xing was previously involved in the pulp and paper business as the major shareholder of Shanghai-listed Shandong Bohui Paper Industry.
Yang, however, is said to have sold his shares to pulp and paper company Sinar Mas Group for CNY 2.6bn ($407m) last year, to focus on shipping.
Data firm IHS Markit lists Pacific Rim with 12 ships — nine woodchip carriers and three kamsarmaxes.
Busy in tankers as well
Its busy bulker activity apart, Norden is also believed to have shed two tankers — the 50,300-dwt MR Nord Gainer (built 2011), for more than $18m, and the 37,100-dwt Nord Highlander (built 2007), for about $8.6m.
However, given the flux state of tanker markets, not all deals linked to Norden are likely to materialise.
Late last month, a planned sale by Norden of the 51,300-dwt MR2 sisterships Nord Skate (built 2008) and Nord Stingray (built 2009) to Bergshav failed after investors in a Pareto syndication got cold feet over a lacklustre tanker market.
Norden seems to be interested in adding younger tankers instead. In late October, the company was linked to a purchase of the 50,200-dwt MR sisterships Eco Los Angeles and Eco City of Angels (both built 2020) from US-listed Top Ships for $36.5m each.
However, neither Norden nor Top Ships have confirmed any such transaction yet. The two modern tankers are still listed in the Top Ships fleet.
