Star Bulk Acquires 11 Dry Bulkers
Greece-based global ship manager of seaborne transportation Star Bulk Carriers Corporation has entered into an en bloc definitive agreement with entities controlled by Delphin Shipping to acquire eleven operating dry bulk vessels.The company focusing on the transportation of dry bulk cargoes said in a press release that the acquisition of bulkers from Delphin, an entity affiliated with Kelso & Company, is for an aggregate purchase price of $139.5 million, payable in the form of a) $80.0 million in cash and b) 4.503 million common shares of Star Bulk.Star Bulk Carriers has secured exhaust gas cleaning systems (“EGCS” or “Scrubbers”) for all of the Vessels with attractive delivery dates.
Vessel Ordering Mania – Why?
The flood of interest in ordering new container vessels is motivated by other factors than supply and demand. The recent surge in new vessel orders at a time of industry-wide overcapacity suggests that market fundamentals are no longer the main driver. Even when the most recently ordered ships are delivered in 2016, Europe and the U.S. are still likely to be climbing out of recession, which means that capacity in the east-west trades will continue to outstrip demand. One of the factors behind the surge in orders is plummeting shipyard prices. Smaller carriers now see an opportunity to gain a competitive edge over the big three at last, and have not been slow to take advantage of it.
Vessel Ordering Mania – Why?
The flood of interest in ordering new container vessels is motivated by other factors than supply and demand. The recent surge in new vessel orders at a time of industry-wide overcapacity suggests that market fundamentals are no longer the main driver (see figure). Even when the most recently ordered ships are delivered in 2016, Europe and the US are still likely to be climbing out of recession, which means that capacity in the east-west trades will continue to outstrip demand. One of the factors behind the surge in orders is plummeting shipyard prices.
Latest Commercial Shipbuilding Contracts
There has been a significant volume of shipbuilding business reported in the week according to Clarkson Hellas. The dry bulk fleet has seen a number of new additions this week. It was reported that SWS signed an additional order with Clients of Thenamaris for 1+1 180,000 DWT Capesize vessels, with the firm vessel lined up for delivery in 2015. Clients of Nordic Bulk Carriers placed an order for two firm 75,000 DWT Ice Class 1A bulk carriers at Oshima for delivery in 2015. Although pricing was not officially revealed, it is believed the contracts will be priced just over USD 30 Mill and include options for additional sister vessels. Oshima Shipbuilding are additionally reported to have signed a single 38,000 DWT bulk carrier for Clients of Ultrabulk with delivery in 2014.
Unithai Shipyard Has Four Vessels Under Repair
Thailand’s Unithai Shipyard & Engineering currently has four vessels undergoing repair - Technomar Shipping’s 33,185 dwt containership Kota Perwira, Ahrenkiel Shipmanagement’s 26,140 dwt bulk carrier Caria, the Almog, a general cargo vessel owned by Dynamic Shipping Services, and the Spar Cetus, a 45,146 dwt bulk carrier from Fleet Management. Unithai Shipyard has another four vessels scheduled to arrive throughout this month (May) - the Stolt Alliance, a 12,674 dwt chemical tanker from Stolt Nielsen, Osaka Asahi Kaiun’s 16,563 dwt containership Singapore Bridge, the Sutra Dua, an 8,073 dwt chemical tanker from Sutrajaya Shipping, and Bunga Orkid Empat, a 43,246 dwt bulk carrier from Malaysia’s MISC.
