Ta-Ho Maritime of Taiwan has clinched a deal to sell a 15-year-old panamax bulker at a lower-than-expected price to an undisclosed buyer.
The 77,000-dwt An Ho (built 2004) has been sold for $7.8m, market sources said.
VesselsValue says a ship of the An Ho's characteristics is worth $10.4m, while Maritime Strategies Internationalputs it at $8.8m to $10.5m. The ship, which was constructed by China State Shipbuilding Corp (CSBC), is due for special survey in September.
This is the first ship the company has sold in six years.
Ta-Ho, the shipping arm of Taiwan Cement Corp, did not respond to requests for comment.
Solid earners
In spite of the seemingly low price that now has been achieved, the An Ho and sistership Te Ho (built 2004) have been solid cash earners for the company, which ordered them at CSBC for just $21m each in 2002.
The Te Ho is due for special survey in June and could also be a likely sales candidate as the Taiwanese owner is renewing its fleet. Its oldest panamax bulker is the 80,000-dwt Chang Ho (built 2000).
In 2016, Ta-Ho ordered a series of six 84,000-dwt bulkers at Oshima Shipbuilding likely for some $27m each.
They are today likely worth some $30m to $32m each. Ta-Ho has taken delivery of two of them — the Taho Asia and Taho Europe (both built 2018) — and the other four will be delivered either this year or in 2020.
