Safe Bulkers Pounces on Capesize amid Attractive Prices

Monaco-based dry bulk shipping company Safe Bulkers has availed of attractive prices to expand its fleet with a Japanese-built Capesize vessel.

The 181,000 dwt bulker was built in 2009 and its purchase was financed from cash on hand, the company said.

The identity of the seller and the name of the vessel have not been revealed.

Safe Bulkers said that the ship will be employed in the time charter market following a dry docking of the ship.

As of August 13, 2018, the weighted time charter average of the Baltic Exchange Cape Index was USD 26,059 per day.

“While we remain focused on the optimization of our capital structure by buying back later this month a Kamsarmax class vessel under sale and lease back agreement, our board has decided to invest opportunistically in a second-hand Capesize class vessel, the second acquisition since December 2017, which we believe will be accretive to our revenues and further expand our fleet and our operations in the Capesize market,” Loukas Barmparis, president of the company, said.

Safe Bulkers’ operational fleet comprises around 40 drybulk vessels with an average age of 7.9 years.