Low key Balthellas Chartering has made a move into the secondhand market.
Sources say the Greek venture has picked up last week’s most popular kamsarmax. They reveal that the owner and manager turned out be the highest bidder for a ship which more that 10 owners sent their representatives to China to inspect.
The company is spending $10.7m for the nine-year-old Japanese built kamsarmax Barock built at Tsuneishi Shipbuilding, a firm price for the vessel, compared to the recent sale of another similar sized Tsuneishi-built ship, the one-year older Abyo Oprah, which fetched $9.5m. Barock was owned by Kambara Kisen, the sister firm of Tsuneishi.
Balthellas is listed with a couple of elderly general cargo vessels in its fleet according to the Equasis fleet register.