EBE Maritime, the Belgian bulker operator launched by Basile Aloy, has revealed it is preparing to add a brace of ultramaxes to its four-strong bulker fleet.

The 62,000-dwt vessels will be the fifth and sixth units in the fleet when they are delivered next year from Oshima Shipbuilding.

Aloy said the newbuildings were among six vessels acquired since the Antwerp-based company was established in 2016.

They were quietly purchased alongside two modern ultramaxes and a capesize acquired in its founding year, and a kamsarmax bought last year.

He added that the ships were acquired at the trough of the market and there is “latent profit” in the vessels should EBE decide to sell. But he added that he was bullish on the dry market’s prospects.

The ultramax newbuildings will be IMO Tier-II compliant.

EBE’s newbuildings do not yet have charters, but Aloy’s company has developed good relationships with top names.

The outfit’s vessels are fixed for periods of six to 12 months with companies including Rio Tinto and Pacific Basin.

Japanese yards

Aloy added that the decision to buy Japanese-built vessels reflects his family’s view that the country’s yards produce the best-quality ships.

EBE was set up in early 2016 by Aloy, a seventh-generation member of the Saverys family, using the proceeds from the sale of a 16% stake in Compagnie Maritime Belge owned by his mother, Virginie Saverys, to her brother, Marc.

The company’s move into the sale-and-purchase market appears to have been well timed.

Charter market break-even levels on the vessels that the company has purchased to date are well below the numbers they are now able to achieve, Aloy said.

One of its ultramaxes that was initially fixed at $6,500 per day commands a daily premium of $13,500 today.

Its capesize, the 181,365-dwt El Grasso (built 2012), was bought for $26.5m in May 2016.

Today, VesselsValue prices the ship at $35m.

EBE’s ultramaxes, the 61,250-dwt La Stella and La Tonda (both built 2016), have retained their value with an estimated worth of $25m each.

Finally, the 82,200-dwt Bacco (ex-Atlantic Prime, built 2011), which EBE acquired in July last year for $19m, is valued at $20.9m.