Hong Kong-registered Vicjour Ace Marine has nearly doubled its money on an elderly supramax bulker it bought three years ago.
Brokers report that the company has sold the 50,200-dwt bulk carrier Vicjour Ace (built 2001) to undisclosed interests for $13.3m.
The Mitsui Ichihara-built ship was acquired as Jin Zhou for a mere $7.3m in January 2019.
Vicjour Ace Marine appears to be a single-ship special purpose vehicle formed to own the vessel at the time of its purchase. It shares the same Hong Kong address as several unlinked Chinese-backed shipping companies.
The IHS Ships Register links the vessel and its owner to Vicjour Shipping Qing Dao, which has no other ships and could not be reached for comment.
Further details of the Hong Kong-flagged vessel’s ownership and operating structure came to light in a US lawsuit filed by Singapore-registered Poseidon Global against a Chinese charterer in August 2021.
In its affidavit filed with a California court to obtain writs of attachment on two bank accounts allegedly controlled by Aris Chartering, Poseidon Global claimed to be the despondent owner of the Vicjour Ace, which was owned by Vicjour Ace Marine and operated by Victor Shipping Hong Kong.
Poseidon Global’s registered address is that of a corporate services company in Singapore and has no listed contact details.
Similarly, Victor Shipping has a registered Hong Kong address shared by numerous other companies and has no listed telephone contacts.
In the US lawsuit, Poseidon Global tried to freeze $10m of Aris Chartering’s cash as security for potential liabilities it may have faced due to the delayed discharge of a cargo that was delivered to the Colombian port of Barranquilla by the Vicjour Ace.
US magistrate judge Steven Kim vacated the writs in an order issued last November, claiming the letter of indemnity issued by Aris Chartering would suffice against any potential legal claims from the cargo receiver.
VesselsValue indicates that the sale price achieved for the Vicjour Ace was in line with the estimated market value at the time the ship was sold in mid-June.
The online platform indicates that a Japanese-built supramax of similar vintage — the 53,100-dwt Emilia (built 2002) — was sold by Navitramp of Malta to undisclosed Chinese interests around the same time for $13.9m.
Bulker values appear to have tapered off slightly since their high in mid-June, with the Vicjour Ace now worth only $12.42m according to VesselsValue estimates.
