Seastar Chartering has settled for a lower price than it was aiming for on the sale of a 17-year-old supramax.
US brokers said the 52,000-dwt Hector (built 2002) has been sold to a Chinese buyer for $6m.
Only a few weeks ago, the Greek bulker owner and operator was hoping to get $7m for the Kanasashi Heavy Industries-built vessel, the brokers added. The Hector is not due for special survey until January 2022.
Managers at Seastar were not available for comment on reports of the deal.
The price confirms the downward pressure on the value of elderly bulkers. Seastar bought the ship as FD Laura d’Amato from Orient Marine in March 2006, raking in earnings from two years of profitable trading until the market crashed in 2008.
Seastar is listed with a fleet of 14 bulkers from handysize to one panamax.
It last made a move in the sale-and-purchase market in March 2018, buying the 56,000-dwt Nandini (built 2007) from Global United Shipping of India for $12.3m. Renamed Orion, the ship is probably worth $10.5m today.
The Greek company has steadily been renewing its fleet. In November 2017, it sold a similar bulker to the Hector, the 52,800-dwt Ermis (built 2004), for $10.6m to Hainan Huarong Shipping of China.
