Tan Binh’s appetite for more ships shows no sign of abating, with yet another two sourced from the secondhand market.
Brokers reported this week that the Vietnamese handysize bulker player has acquired the 33,700-dwt bulker Global Prosperity (built 2006) from Japan’s Katayama Kisen for $8.4m.
The Shin Kochi-built ship has recently been operated by NYK Bulk & Projects Carriers.
Tan Binh observers told Trade-Winds this week that the deal was in the process of being finalised.
At the same time, they revealed that the company has just taken delivery of the 28,700-dwt bulker Estia (built 2004) from Naviera Ulises of Greece. The deal, reportedly worth $5.9m, was finalised at the end of February but has yet to be widely reported in the market. The ship has been renamed Tan Binh 256.
Tan Binh was active in the sale-and-purchase market during the first half of 2018, buying four handysize bulkers. It has a strong preference for Japanese-built tonnage, with only two of the 18 ships currently in its fleet coming from non-Japanese yards.
Haiphong-based Tan Binh was founded in 1991 and has rapidly grown to become Vietnam’s largest privately owned shipping company. Much of this expansion has taken place during periods when the dry bulk markets have been in a trough and vessel assets could be acquired cheaply.
Tan Binh shrewdly avoided buying ships during market peaks, which put it in good stead during bad markets, while its state-owned peers in Vietnam were left in a perilous state.
