Greece’s Procopiou family is in advanced talks with two Chinese yards for a potential order that could reach as many as 18 kamsarmaxes if realised in full.
According to several market sources, the Athens-based player has signed letters of intent for 10 kamsarmaxes at Hengli Heavy Industry (Hengli HI) and another eight at compatriot CSSC Guangzhou Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding.
Delivery time is believed to be between 2025 and 2027.
Even though it is nominally Dynacom Tankers Management that features as the counterparty in the preliminary contracts, any newbuildings would most probably join the fleet of Sea Traders — the Procopiou group’s bulker arm.
Shipbuilding and ship management sources are telling TradeWinds that talks with Hengli HI are for 10 wide-beam vessels with a capacity of 82,000 dwt each at $35m per ship.
Just a fortnight ago, the reborn Hengli HI — formerly known as STX Dalian Shipbuilding — inked a kamsarmax newbuilding deal with Laskaridis Maritime. This was the yard’s first newbuilding contract with a company outside its home country.
The other eight kamsarmaxes Procopiou envisages building are bigger, at 85,000 dwt, and are said to cost more, at about $37m each.
Managers at the Procopiou group declined to comment on prices or yards “at this stage”.
This is in line with information from other sources, stressing that nothing firm has been signed so far, even though a final decision on an investment should be expected soon.
In ordering mood
George Procopiou and his four daughters, who all have equal stakes in the business, are avowed fans of Chinese shipyards and have been on a newbuilding binge lately.
In late April, Dynacom managers confirmed ordering 10 product tankers plus several options — four, according to market sources — at DSIC Shanhaiguan Shipbuilding Industry.
Dynacom is believed to have expanded its tanker orderbook even further since.
Market sources told TradeWinds last week that the company ordered two aframax ships at New Times Shipbuilding and that it is also in talks for a further VLCC pair at the same yard.
Chinese finance players such as ICBC Financial Leasing have played a large role in Procopiou’s moves in the Far Eastern country.
The unusually large batch of the Greek group’s latest ordering bout, however, has sources suspecting that a fund, possibly from outside China, may be involved in their financing.
Procopiou’s large ordering also provides further evidence that shipowners are getting tired of waiting for more clarity on the environmental front before renewing their fleets.
Greek owners alone are known, or believed, to have inked about 100 tanker and bulker newbuildings so far this year. Despite this bout of deal-making, however, orderbooks for both types of vessels remain well below historical averages as a share of the active fleet.
