Bulker owner Sterling Shipping has expanded its fleet with the purchase of its fourth secondhand kamsarmax.
The Malta-incorporated company has taken delivery of the 2011-built Sterling Freia, formerly known as Derby, following an agreement earlier this year with French international banking group Crédit Agricole to acquire the vessel for around $23m.
The Korean-built 80,300 dwt ship will be re-flagged to Malta, having previously sailed under the flag of the Marshall Islands and managed by Germany’s Orion Bulkers. The vessel has been chartered to Singapore-based trader Olam.
Established in 2018, the Christopher Fjeld-led Sterling Shipping picked up its first bulker, the Sterling Svea, in 2019 for $21.75m. The company went on to add a 2010-built kamsarmax Sterling Tora in September 2021 and in February this year it took delivery of a Japanese 2013-built kamsarmax Sterling Saga, previously known as Seagull Wind.