Greek owner books a $7m profit on ultramax sale to Meghna
A six-year-old ultramax bulker changes hands in one of the year's more profitable dry bulk plays
Low-profile Greek interests are set to pocket nearly $7m in profit from the sale of a six-year-old ultramax bulker to Bangladesh's Meghna Group, in what appears to be one of the more profitable dry bulk asset plays of the year. The 63,547 dwt vessel, built in Japan in 2020, has changed hands for $36.5m on a prompt delivery basis, having been acquired a little over a year earlier for around $29.8m, leaving the sellers with a gain of about $6.7m.
The acquisition marks the fifth ultramax purchase by the Bangladeshi buyer and its shipping arm over the past couple of years. The fast-growing group, which registers its vessels under the domestic flag, now controls around 15 ships in the segment, a fleet with an average age of about six years and consisting entirely of Japanese-built tonnage.
The sale comes during a particularly active period for the ultramax secondhand market, with a large number of ships across a wide range of ages changing hands in recent weeks and values pointing upwards, particularly for vessels offering prompt delivery. The bulker has recently been employed carrying wheat under an arrangement between Bangladesh's food authority and the US agriculture department, under which the country is expected to import 220,000 tonnes of American wheat.
