Bankrupt Korean carrier Change Myung has sold two capesize bulk carriers for $18.7m each, a much firmer price than seen in previous transactions, brokers tell Splash.
C Blossom (179,300 dwt, built 2009) and C Atlas (179,600 dwt, built 2009) were reportedly sold to unnamed Korean buyers.
Chang Myung Shipping filed for court protection in Seoul on April 11, struggling with debts in excess of $1bn. It sold another Korea-built cape, C Winner (169,200 dwt, built 2008), for $11m to Stealth Maritime in early March.
The sale of C Blossom and C Atlas shows that buyers are still willing to pay a premium for Korean tonnage. The two vessels brought a much healthier price than two Chinese capes of the same age, which were sold for $14.4m each by China’s ZOSCO to Sinokor Merchant Marine in late July. The vessels were Zosco Jiaxing and Zosco Shao Xing (both 176,000 dwt, built 2009).
The Baltic Exchange currently values a five-year-old, 180,000-dwt capesize vessel at $24.053m, which is a 14.6% appreciation since March 21 this year, when the benchmark cape was assessed at $20.981m – its lowest level on record.
