An Athens-based tanker company that started building a bulker footprint more than a year ago has now notched up a fresh acquisition in the sector.
Broking and market sources in Athens have tied Paschalis Diamantidis’ bulker arm Velos Dry to Nissen Kaiun’s 82,200-dwt Sammy (built 2012).
Managers at the Greek firm do not publicly discuss their commercial transactions.
If confirmed, it would be the fourth bulk carrier bought by the company since November 2022, with three of the acquisitions taking place since September 2023.
Throughout its buying campaign, Velos Dry has been focusing on panamaxes, kamsarmaxes and post-panamaxes built at Japanese-controlled shipyards, preferably with scrubbers.
Three of its four vessels have been equipped with such a device.
In the case of the Sammy, its scrubber and Japanese pedigree as an Oshima Shipbuilding vessel do not seem to have driven up its value.
The price of about $24m is markedly below the $24.9m and $26.6m that VesselsValue and Signal Ocean estimate it is worth.
The price looks especially advantageous when compared with another deal for a comparable though somewhat younger kamsarmax.
According to several broker reports, unidentified Greek buyers spent $29m on the 81,800-dwt Scarlet Island (built 2014) — owned by Japan’s Shikisima Kisen and built at Tsuneishi Heavy Industries Cebu in the Philippines.
Both the Scarlet Island and the Sammy are Tess82 IV-design vessels. The Scarlet Island, however, is not equipped with a scrubber and has a special survey due in May.
The $29m at which the Scarlet Island reportedly changed hands is in line with market trends.
According to Clarksons, this is the current average price for a 10-year-old kamsarmax — the highest level for that type of ship in 13 years.
According to VesselsValue, the Scarlet Island is on a three-year time charter with China’s Comerge Shipping that expires in August.
Velos Tankers, the company Diamantidis originally went independently into business in 2019, specialises in product tankers of which it has eight units in its fleet — five MRs and three LRs.
On its website, Velos says it targets “balanced long-term growth through an expanding diversified fleet of product and chemical tankers and dry bulk carriers”.
