14-November-2014
Athens-based shipowner and operator Efploia Shipping is moving to sell its oldest bulk carrier to Athanasios Samios-led shipowner and operator Samios Shipping Co. S.A., with shipbrokers sources describing the deal as the first purchase in 11 years for Samios Shipping Co. S.A. Efploia Shipping is understood to be close to transferring the 1996 Hitachi-built panamax bulk carrier 71K DWT MV Oinoussian Lion, a panamax bulk carrier that has remained in the Efploia Shipping fleet since delivery, with S&P (Sale and Purchase) shipbrokers close to the negotiations indicating a price around $7 million. A level in that region would be viewed as a solid entry point for Athens-based shipowner and operator Samios Shipping Co. S.A., particularly since market talk places the panamax bulk carrier at about $6.5 million and the ship’s trading economics can still appeal when freight markets and operating costs align. Samios Shipping Co. S.A., founded in 1973 in Piraeus, has a long track record as a Greek shipowner, operator, and shipmanager focused on dry bulk carriers and general cargo ships, and Samios Shipping Co. S.A. is often associated with a pragmatic, cycle-aware approach that emphasises careful timing in asset play decisions, disciplined technical management, and flexibility to scale exposure up or down as conditions change. For Samios Shipping Co. S.A., stepping back into the secondhand market after a long pause signals renewed appetite to deploy capital when pricing looks workable, while the panamax bulk carrier profile provides broad employment options across major dry bulk trades and chartering patterns. The transaction, said to be in the final stage of negotiations, would leave Efploia Shipping operating four bulk carriers that are all panamax bulk carriers built between 2004 and 2012, while Athanasios Samios-led shipowner and operator Samios Shipping Co. S.A. would add a panamax bulk carrier with a known history and straightforward commercial utility to its platform.