Japanese Shipowner to Buy Resale Kamsarmax Bulkers

Japanese shipowner Nisshin Shipping has decided to take advantage of the depressed market and buy up to seven resale kamsarmax bulkers from two Chinese shipyards. The name KAMSARMAX derives from the ship’s length, which is the maximum possible for entry into the port of Kamsar in Guinea, West Africa. Kamsar is one of the world’s principal ports for bauxite.

As Sinoshipnews reports, the company is going to buy two 82,000 DWT bulk carriers from Guangzhou Longxue Shipbuilding and five bulk carriers of the same type from Yangzijiang Shipbuilding.

The price for each vessel is around $23m.

In November the company bought three 84,000 DWT bulker newbuildings at Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries in Korea originally ordered by Taiwan’s Today Makes Tomorrow (TMT) for around $25m per vessel.

The most predominant types of bulk cargo ships are the handymax and the panamax types. Panamax bulk carriers continue to grow in cargo capacity as the pressure of worldwide competition has forced yards to build ships that can carry extra extra cargo. Therefore, a special vessel has been built, called “Kamsarmax”. This is is the biggest size ship able to load at the world’s largest bauxite port, Port Kamsar in Equatorial Guinea.

A Kamsarmax type bulk carrier is basically a 82,000 dwt Panamax with an increased LOA = 229 m.

Shipbuilding Tribune Staff, December 26, 2012