Tufton Oceanic Assets continues to add to its fleet despite the uncertainty caused by the coronavirus.
The London-listed shipowning fund said it had spent $7m on an unnamed handysize bulker, bringing its fleet to 16 ships.
Tufton said the vessel has a fixed-rate time charter for six to eight months to a major agricultural commodity trading and logistics company.
The deal comes amid slumping asset values for the bulker sector.
VesselsValue says its index bulker fleet has seen its value slump 1.1% in the last week, losing 4.2% over the course of a month.
Meanwhile, it retains about $15m of cash it can invest.
The company reiterated that it continues to identify an "attractive pipeline of opportunities" across a range of vessel sectors.
The company is still spending the proceeds of a September share sale that raised $31m.
Charters offer pandemic protection
Earlier this month, Tufton said it has been "insulated" from the effects of the coronavirus outbreak by its period coverage and diverse fleet, in a time of market volatility.
Including a product tanker acquired for $13.3m last month, the company has now fixed two tankers in the portfolio on time charters for a minimum of three years to a major commodity trading company at "mid-teen" yields, the shipowner said.
In February, the company sold ships for the first time, offloading three general cargoships for $19.3m. The 30,000-dwt Zea Dalian (built 2004), Zea Hamburg (built 2002) and Zea Jakarta (built 2003) had been acquired from Zeaborn of Germany last year.
The outfit has also been linked to an ultramax bulker sale to Oman Shipping Co, but it has not confirmed the deal.
