Nasdaq-listed Greek owner Castor Maritime has entered into an agreement to acquire a 2015 Chinese-built kamsarmax bulker for $23.5m, the company’s sixth kamsarmax buy this year.
The vessel is likely Delta Shipping’s Jinling-built Ranhil, which matches the vessel description and has been reported as sold by brokers this week for $23.5m. The bulker is valued by VesselsValue at $23.07m. It will be delivered to Castor during this quarter with a time charter contract attached. The charter has a remaining term of 17-21 months at a daily gross charter rate equal to 114% of the Baltic Panamax Index.
Petros Panagiotidis, CEO of Castor, commented: “We are pleased to announce our eleventh vessel acquisition in 2021 with the addition of another kamsarmax dry bulk vessel, our sixth, to Castor’s fleet. Upon completion of all our announced acquisitions, our fleet will consist of 17 vessels. With significant capital on hand, we continue to look for further opportunities to grow our fleet with the addition of high-quality tonnage.”
Castor has been on a buying charge this year, and in April alone has bought four ships. The company started 2021 with a fleet of six panamax bulkers. It has since grown its fleet to 17 vessels, made up of three aframax tankers, one capesize bulker, six kamsarmax bulkers and seven panamaxes.