In a further sign of robust sentiment in the dry bulk sector, Athens-based Erasmus Shipinvest confirmed on Monday it has acquired a 15-year-old kamsarmax, waiving physical inspection.
Just seven workdays passed between a memorandum of agreement was signed for the 82,500-dwt Navios Prosperity (built 2007) and Erasmus management company Glory Ships taking over the vessel.
This was a new record for the company, Glory Ships said in a social media post on LinkedIn.
“It has been a… challenge to the entire team under such a tight time frame in all aspects of SnP, finance, crew manning, marine [and] technical support, documentary and commercial works — but we’ve done it,” it said.
TradeWinds reported the $16.4m deal on 11 February, when Erasmus had not emerged as the vessel’s buyer yet.
Erasmus managers now confirm that the Tsuneishi-built vessel was acquired waiving physical inspection and will henceforth trade as Glory Prosperity.
The Navios Prosperity was previously operated by Greece’s Navios Corp under the ownership of Japan’s Keishin Kaiun.
Panamaxes and kamsarmaxes are among the core business of Erasmus, a company that is led by John Su and is known to be serving commodities traders including Glencore through long-term charters.
The company tended to sell some of its handysizes last year to benefit from their rising asset values. In the latest of these deals, Erasmus offloaded in November the 34,400-dwt ES Uranus (built 2014) for around $21.8m.
The ship emerged this month in the fleet of Egypt’s El Amira and is now trading as Amira Hana.
First LPG in the pocket
Erasmus has also lived up to a promise to expand into new types of vessels.
The company announced on its website in December that it had feeder container ships and LPG carriers in the pipeline to join its existing stock of dry cargo vessels.
Two months later, the first LPG ship is set to join its fleet, with management confirming the purchase of the 5,000-cbm Astrid (built 2010).
No price has been disclosed in the transaction. The Astrid is currently listed in the fleet of France’s Geogas Trading.
Erasmus is understood to have fixed the Astrid to a major European gas trading company on a multi-year time charter.
