Eyal Ofer’s Zodiac Maritime has sold its oldest car carrier in a deal which shows the present hot asset prices in a market with a volatile history.
Zodiac has offloaded the 4,363-ceu Silver Glory (built 1994) in a transaction with Sallaum Lines of Switzerland, market sources say.
Zodiac, one of a handful of shipowners active in the niche market, is believed to have secured a price of $39.5m for the vessel.
Those following the car carrier market say the price is eye-catching and reflective of the present strength.
“We have never seen a ship of this age go at a price like this,” a source with knowledge of the car carrier segment commented.
The price is some way above the $30.8m price tag VesselsValue had when the ship was first reported sold in December. It presently values the Hyundai Heavy Industries build veteran at $36.6m.
Car carrier sale and purchase activity has picked up in the past few months. However, the Silver Glory deal stands out for the pricing and the fact it is between two independent parties.
Hoegh Autoliners made a pair of $43.2m buys from financial owner Ocean Yield, one in October for the 6,500-ceu Hoegh Jacksonville (built 2014) and the other in February for the 6,500-ceu Hoegh Jeddah (built 2014).
It also sold the 6,000-ceu Hoegh Chiba (built 2006) for $61m to Wallenius Lines.
VesselsValue suggested that the ship was sold at a discount to its valuation, but it believes Gram Car Carriers sold the 4,200-ceu Viking Amber (built 2010) for $7.4m more than its $57.2m valuation at $64.6m.
The buyer was only described as “a European-based vehicle logistics company” but identified by the valuation service as Spain’s Grupo Suardiaz.
A sale of the Silver Glory, comfortably the oldest vessel in the Zodiac fleet, comes with the company in the midst of a major renewal of its car carrier stable.
Clarksons lists Zodiac with 12 car carriers on the water, and nine newbuildings on order at Yantai CIMC Raffles. The series includes five more vessels for delivery this year and the remainder in 2025.
More widely, Zodiac has a fleet of around 150 ships on the water, spanning the tanker, bulker, gas and container markets.
Its overall orderbook contains a further 24 ships, including tankers, containerships and gas vessels.
For Sallaum Lines, the broker lists the company with seven ships currently on the water, four, including the Silver Glory, built in the 1990s.
The ship is the Swiss outfit’s first secondhand purchase since 2022, when it bought the 4,310-ceu Silver Soul (built 1997) from Safe Sea Services and the 4,900-ceu Siem Plato (built 2009) and Siem Socrates (built 2010) from Siem Car Carriers.
The company also has six ships on order, two at Fujian Mawei and four at China Merchants Jinling Shipyard (Nanjing).
One is due for delivery in 2025 and the other five in 2026. All are LNG capable from delivery, Clarksons said.
