Greek owner New Vision Shipping has sold the 53,000 dwt New Era, a 14-year-old supramax, to Bangladeshi buyers, Akij Group, sources tell Splash.
Akij Group is an emerging vintage specialist, hungry for tonnage. This week the outfit paid $9.7m for the elderly ship, a little more than it usually pays for its ships. Last year the Akij Group had several attempts grabbing ships, and finally succeeded, adding the 56,000 dwt Ikan Sudip. This year it’s been looking for more vessels to support Bangladesh’s growing demand for coal. It has already added two ships, a 2002- and a 2005-built supramax. To date, the owner has a handful of supramaxes and two shipping arms, Akij Ocean Line and Akij Shipping Line.