Dry CargoGreater China

Pacific Basin picks up six secondhand bulkers

Hong Kong-based dry bulk shipping giant Pacific Basin has bolstered its fleet with the purchase of six secondhand vessels for $124.65m.

The deal includes four ultramaxes—three built in 2012 and one in 2016—as well as a 2012-built supramax and a 2016-built handy bulker, all constructed in Japan. The ships were not named, but brokers suggest Pacific Basin swooped on Ultrabulk-operated Ultra Integrity, Ultra Bellambi, Ultra Dwarka, Ultra Rocanville, Ultra Rocanville and Ultra Fitz Roy.

The company, which sold eight older handysize vessels last year, said it would continue to look for opportunities to offload smaller and older ships in this segment, with eyes set on adding more supramaxes, ultramaxes and larger handysize vessels.

In addition to a pair of ultramaxes and one supramax acquired in the latter part of 2022, Pacific Basin’s fleet will stand at about 263 ships, of which 123 are owned.

Martin Fruergaard, CEO of Pacific Basin, said: “We remain committed to our long-term strategy of further growing our supramax/ultramax fleet and renewing our handysize fleet with younger, larger and more efficient vessels, thereby further optimising our fleet to more easily meet tightening environmental regulations. This transaction is a further step in the execution of this strategy, while in parallel we are continuing to cooperate in the investigation and development of zero-emission vessels and investment in related bunkering infrastructure, as we accelerate the transition and make zero-emission-ready vessels the default choice by 2030.”

Adis Ajdin

Adis is an experienced news reporter with a background in finance, media and education. He has written across the spectrum of offshore energy and ocean industries for many years and is a member of International Federation of Journalists. Previously he had written for Navingo media group titles including Offshore Energy, Subsea World News and Marine Energy.
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