Seanergy Maritime Holdings Becomes Solely Capesize Owner

Greek shipowner Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. has sold its two Supramax dry bulkers, thus concluding its presence in the sector, and becoming solely a Capesize owner.

The plans were announced earlier by the company’s CEO Stamatis Tsantanis, who believes the Capesize sector  offers the best returns.

However, Capesize market has been described as the most volatile dry bulk sector that offers high returns but also exposes owners to high risks as well.

The two Supramax ships, 2010-built M/V Gladiatorship and 2011-built M/V Guardianship, were sold for a total of USD 23 million and the vessels are scheduled to be delivered to their new owners in October 2018.

To solidify its position in Capesize market, Seanergy bought a secondhand Capesize vessel from an unidentified owner.

“The transactions are expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2018. Following these transactions, Seanergy will be the only pure-play Capesize vessel owner listed in the US public markets,” the company said.

The Capesize vessel, built in 2010 at Daewoo Shipbuilding in South Korea with a cargo-carrying capacity of approximately 180,000 deadweight tons (dwt) was bought for USD 28.7 million.

The ship is currently on time charter to a European drybulk operator at a gross daily rate of USD 17,150 with latest redelivery date in January 2019, the company said.

Seanergy added that it had reached an in-principle agreement with the existing lender of the two Supramaxes pursuant to which it expects that the loan secured by these vessels will remain available to fund the majority of the acquisition cost of the new Capesize vessel under substantially the same terms.

The deal is yet to be finalized with the company’s lender. The balance of the acquisition price of the Capesize vessel is expected to be funded through cash on hand.