Greek owner Minerva Marine has made a fresh acquisition in the container ship feeder sector with a fourth Bangkokmax vessel.
The Andreas Martinos-led company is purchasing the 1,800-teu Lecangs Dolphin (built 2023) for a reported price of between $30m and $32m, said container ship brokers.
The vessel was originally ordered by Chinese furniture manufacturer and retailer Loctek in early 2022.
The seller is reported to be Lecangs Marine of China, which has operated the ship on charter to a subsidiary of French liner operator CMA CGM in the intra-Asian trades.
The deal sees Minerva Marine increasing its exposure to the small container ship sector.
The company, a major tanker and bulker owner, entered the boxship trade last year with the delivery of the 1,844-teu Little Emma (built 2023).
The Little Emma was the first of two standard Bangkokmax newbuildings ordered by the Greek owner in 2022 for a reported price of $30m per ship.
The sister vessel and similar-size Little Athina (built 2024) was delivered to the Greek owner in February this year.
Both ships were built by China’s Jiangsu New Yangzi Shipbuilding.
They are part of a trio of Bangkokmax boxships managed by Minerva, which has a policy of not commenting on commercial matters.
Flurry of deals
Minerva purchased a third feeder container vessel in November last year as a resale from Chinese owner Starocean Marine.
The 1,781-teu A Kobe (built 2023) was acquired from Starocean — also known as Goto Shipping — for a reported price of under $25m.
It has been renamed Little Warrier. The three container vessels are all equipped with 250 reefer plugs.
The container ships are under the management of Minerva Dry, a company established by Martinos in 2020 to oversee the company’s bulker fleet.
The deals feature among many container ship sales this week involving smaller ships.
In other deals, China United Lines is reported to have acquired the 1,400-teu Cape Faro (built 2006) for $14.5m.
The vessel is managed by Columbia Shipmanagement and operates for China United Lines in its trades from the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent.
