About a year after making his debut in the bulker business, Greek owner Paschalis Diamantides is stepping up his exposure in the sector with two acquisitions that triple the size of his dry cargo fleet.
Diamantides company Velos Dry emerged earlier this month as the new owner of the 81,800-dwt kamsarmax Geneva Star (renamed Velos Star, built 2015).
The Tsuneishi Cebu-built, modern electronic engine eco ship was reported sold in mid-September by Singapore’s Yong Sheng Shipping for about $27m. Its buyers, however, were not disclosed at the time.
As it was taking delivery of the Geneva Star, Velos Dry spotted another expansion opportunity in the shape of the 95,400-dwt Double Miracle (built 2014) — a post-panamax bulker put up for sale by Japan’s Nissen Kaiun.
According to Athens-based brokers, Velos Dry swooped on the vessel at a price between $24m and $25m.
The Double Miracle fits in the pattern of Velos Dry’s previous acquisitions: built at Imabari Shipbuilding in Japan and it is one of the earlier examples of eco vessels equipped with a modern electronic engine.
On top of that, it comes equipped with a scrubber — just like the 77,100-dwt Nord Libra (renamed Velos Libra, built 2014), which was the first bulker that Velos Dry bought last year.
Velos Shipping began life as a pure-play tanker company when Diamantides set it up in 2019 after becoming independent of his father Diamantis, who owns shipping powerhouses Marmaras Navigation and Delta Tankers.
Having worked at Marmaras, Paschalis Diamantides and his team were familiar with bulkers from the beginning.
Velos Dry’s slow expansion in bulkers bears testament to the gradual way in which company managers had always said they were going to go about growing their business: without hasty, large-scale expansion moves but rather in conservative, debt-free and low-risk steps.
Velos Tankers is currently listed with nine product carriers built between 2007 and 2010.
In other reported Greek buys of modern bulkers, W Marine is linked to the $25.5m purchase of the 81,600-dwt Presinge Trader (built 2016).
Unidentified Hellenic players are believed to be spending $28m to acquire the Chinese-controlled, 60,500-dwt Xing Shou Hai (built 2016).
The one-year younger sister ship, the Xing Xi Hai, is reportedly going to Scandinavian buyers instead for $29m.
Both the Xing Shou Hai and the Xing Xi Hai are listed under the control of Chinese financial owners — the first with Minsheng Financial Leasing and the second with SPDB Financial Leasing.
