Market sources are rejecting claims that Genco Shipping & Trading has trimmed its fleet of two 1990s-built bulkers.
Shipbrokers report that the 73,900-dwt Genco Knight and Genco Vigour (both built 1999) have been offloaded to a Chinese shipowning company.
A price of $14m is being placed on the panamax pair.
But TradeWinds is told reports of the sale are not true, with the New York-listed bulker owner unlikely to sell ships at a time when asset prices are likely to rise further.
Genco bought the vessels back in 2004 as part of a wider deal and traded them through the boom years prior to the financial crisis.
Their exit would leave the shipowner with just four pre-2000 built vessels in its near 60 strong fleet.
Genco sold 10 older vessels through 2015 and early 2016, generating close to $30m.
Since then its ambitions has been geared towards growth, with chief executive John Wobensmith looking for purchasing and consolidation opportunities.
