Beks Shipmanagement and Trading has buttressed its newly acquired position as one of Turkey’s few capesize owners, buying a second large bulker in less than a month.
Managers at the Istanbul-based outfit confirm that they have agreed to purchase the 179,100-dwt True Endurance (built 2012) for between $32.5m and $33m.
IHS Markit lists True Endurance as controlled by Bermuda-based Defender Holdings, an outfit linked to US bank JP Morgan.
According to VesselsValue data, Defender Holdings has cashed out from the bulker market, selling eight ships since December.
Its two most recent sales last month concerned the 81,800-dwt Peak Liberty (built 2015), which went to US-listed Globus Maritime for $28.4m. The other was the Peak Pegasus, a two-year-older sistership, which is believed to have been picked up Newport SA, another Greek company.
The True Endurance was the last ship Defender Holdings was listed with and leaves it without any other vessels.
At the same time, however, JP Morgan has been busy as a bulker buyer as well, possibly operating through different vehicles.
Andy Dacy, global head of transportation at JP Morgan Asset Management, confirmed the acquisition of two newcastlemaxes in August and September from Greece’s Petros Pappas and Germany’s Oldendorff, as TradeWinds reported.
Breakneck speed
The True Endurance represents the fifth bulker that Beks has bought this year. Apart from its other capesize, the 179,100-dwt Beks Instanbul (ex-Prosperous, built 2011) that was bought last month, Beks also acquired three supramaxes.
Its expansion has spilled over to the tanker sector, in which Beks has scooped up an aframax, an LR2 and one MR tanker recently.
The overall size of the company's outlay this is thus estimated to be near the $130m mark.
All these acquisitions more than doubled the original size of the Beks fleet to 14 vessels, making it Turkey’s most rapidly expanding company this year, alongside Ciner Shipping Industry & Trading.
Other Turkish capesize owners include Yasa Shipping, Ciner and Marinsa Shipping.
The Bekmezci family made a fortune in the Turkish textile and garment industry before it entered shipping after the 2008 global financial crisis in a countercyclical play.
