Thailand’s Precious Shipping is said to be lining up a deal to buy four handymaxes from Nisshin Shipping of Japan.
The Khalid Hashim-led shipowner is understood to be paying about $78m for the 39,000-dwt bulkers Western Durban, Western Lima, Western Miami and Western Paris (all built 2015).
Although some brokers have reported the en-bloc deal has been concluded, sources close to Precious told TradeWinds that final negotiations were still underway and closing was imminent.
Hashim declined to comment, citing stock exchange disclosure requirements.
“We announce any deal we have done to the Stock Exchange of Thailand as soon as it has been done. Until then, we cannot comment on any market reports,” he said.
Precious Shipping is in the process of overhauling its fleet and has been active as a buyer and a seller.
In February, it bought the 38,600-dwt bulker Interlink Amenity (built 2018) from Interlink for $25.25m and followed in March with the $18.5m purchase of Nisshin’s 39,000-dwt Western Panama (built 2015).
In June, it placed its first newbuilding order in more than a decade, contracting four 64,000-dwt bulkers at China’s Taizhou Sanfu Ship Engineering.
Precious has so far this year sold off two older handysize bulkers and a 10-year-old, Indian-built supramax.
Last year, Hashim expressed to TradeWinds a strong preference for modern secondhand ships over newbuildings, describing them as a good bet while future fuels are trialled.
The ideal purchase candidates, he said, were secondhand eco ultramax bulkers of less than five years old, ideally with Tier III engines and Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index scores of A.
These vessels, he said, would remain in compliance with all regulations until the end of their lives and generate funds that could be reinvested in zero-emissions vessels (ZEVs) that are still under development.
“From the points of view of the balance sheet, income statement and avoiding holding ‘stranded assets’, the above strategy is best, allowing us to replenish a war chest from cash flows derived from the secondhand ultramaxes to invest in pure ZEVs without becoming, or taking, first-mover risks,” he said.
