Valles Steamship is said to have sold one of its two panamax bulkers.
Shipbrokers said the Hong Kong and Vancouver-based outfit has sold the 74,000-dwt Silver Phoenix (built 2006) to a Chinese buyer for $9.5m, confirming the current downward pressure on bulker prices.
VesselsValue estimates that the ship is worth around $11m, while Maritime Strategies International's rival valuation service puts the value of the Hudong–Zhonghua Shipbuilding-constructed vessel at an even higher $11.8m to $13.8m.
The price is still higher than when the market bottomed out in February 2016, when Silver Phoenix was worth less than $6m.
Valles did not respond to requests for comment on reports of the sale.
The company ordered the ship and the sister vessel Silver Dragon for a historic low $24m each in 2004, and the shipowner enjoyed booming years for a couple of years after delivery. The vessels the only bulkers in the Valles fleet.
The shipowner is listed with an on-the-water fleet of eight aframax tankers and two medium-range product carriers. In addition, Valles has an aframax tanker on order at Namura Shipbuilding that is set for delivery next year.
This summer, Valles dropped its plans for a pair of 50,000-dwt tankers at STX Offshore & Shipbuilding, as the yard’s major shareholder, Korea Development Bank (KDB), chose not to back the deal.
