Singapore’s Winning Shipping is said to have extended a secondhand bulker buying spree with the purchase of a newcastlemax bulker at a time when deal flows are running hot.
Winning is being identified as the buyer of the 208,000-dwt Shin Koryu (built 2009) from a major Japanese shipowner.
Major shipowners report the contrasting prices for the Japanese-built bulk carrier. Some peg the deal at as much as $34m, while others place the price tag as low as $31.5m.
TradeWinds is told the actual price paid was $32.75m, which is considered a positive benchmark in a firming market which has been backed by unseasonably strong rates in the first quarter.
Shipping sources said the Shin Koryu was sold by shipping giant NYK, although the newcastlemax bulker is owned by Biko Kisen — an independent Japanese shipowning company.
TradeWinds is told that NYK has chartered Shin Koryu from Biko Kisen and holds the option to purchase the ship when the charter contract expires.
Instead of simply exercising the purchase option, NYK “flipped” the bulk carrier and sold the vessel.
Winning has been contacted for comment. The Shin Koryu would be the fourth newcastlemax bulk carrier the company has acquired this year.
Last month, it was reported to have purchased two newcastlemaxes from Foremost Mairitme — the 206,100-dwt Qing May (built 2012) and Lan May (built 2011). The Chinese-built bulkers were sold for $33.5m each.
In January, Winning bought the Qingdao Yangfan-built, 206,300-dwt Mineral Qingdao (built 2020) from Ocean Yield for around $54.5m.
It has taken delivery of the four-year-old bulker and renamed it Winning Wisdom.
Winning is active in the sale-and-purchase market and buying secondhand vessels forms part of its fleet revamping programme.
Last year, the company was said to have bought more than five large secondhand bulk carriers.
It also tapped into the shipbuilding market to expand its fleet by ordering two conventionally powered 325,000-dwt very large bauxite carriers from Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry.
The newbuildings are scheduled to be delivered in the first half of 2026.
Privately owned Winning was established in 2002 by Sun Xiushun, who was formerly with Cosco Qingdao.
The company began as a trader and ship operator in Qingdao, China, and went on to establish offices in Hong Kong, Singapore and Indonesia.
Winning is heavily engaged in the bauxite trades, especially in the West African nation of Guinea, where its parent, Winning International Group, operates a joint venture mine that transports vast quantities of the commodity to China.
Winning is believed to be the world’s largest bauxite shipping company, transporting more than 50m tonnes a year.
Its website says it controls more than 100 vessels, of which 41 are owned capesizes.
