Dubai’s Tomini Shipping is said to have sold two of its four Chinese-built Dolphin 57 supramaxes and Greece’s PrimeBulk Shipmanagement one ship of the same design.
The buyers are reportedly Chinese companies driven by price considerations to reconsider their preference for Japanese-built secondhand tonnage.
Some brokers said Tomini has sold the 56,900-dwt Tomini Ability (built 2010) for $9.8m, while others say a sistership of the same age, the 56,700-dwt Tomini Infinity, was sold last month for $10.5m.
Both have been circulated for some time and were prematurely reported sold in December. Brokers believe Tomini’s two other Dolphin 57s, both built in 2012, are also for sale.
PrimeBulk's 57,000-dwt Moonray (built 2009) has also gone to a Chinese buyer, but not the same one, brokers said. Some list the deal as being completed late last month for $10.15m.
The buyers remain unidentified. But their purchases are understood to be intended for international trading as the China-flag domestic market struggles with rates and stricter emissions requirements for imported tonnage imposed last year.
Per Kampmann, head of Denmark’s Alpina Chartering and in charge of Tomini’s sale-and-purchase operations, declined to confirm the sale but said the picture may be clearer soon.
However, he confirmed the Chinese interest. “I can say that there is some interest in the ships, and none of our ships has been sold,” he told TradeWinds. “I am unable to say more at this time.”
PrimeBulk officials did not respond to a request for comment.
The Dolphin series is the work of the Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute, part of China State Shipbuilding Corp.
Nitin Mehta-led Tomini's 11-vessel fleet includes the four Dolphin 57s and seven ultramaxes delivered since 2015. It has three kamsarmax and three ultramax newbuildings on the way.
Reference sources list PrimeBulk with five ships from handysizes to ultramaxes.
