Safe Bulkers Sells 2005-built Panamax

Dry bulk shipowner Safe Bulkers announced Monday it has has reached a deal to sell the oldest vessel in its fleet to an undisclosed buyer.

The ship is the Maritsa, a 76,000 dwt Panamax bulk carrier built in Japan in 2005. The vessel was sold at a gross sale price of $12.2 million and a forward delivery date from April 2024 to May 2024, New York-listed Safe Bulkers said.

Dr. Loukas Barmparis, president of Safe Bulkers, said, “We continue our strategy to selectively sell older vessels and replace them with newbuilds aiming to improve our fleet’s environmental performance and increase our competitiveness in the new, more stringent regulatory environment.’’

Safe Bulkers has a fleet of 48 vessels, two of which were held for sale, consisting of 10 Panamax, 12 Kamsarmax, 18 Post-Panamax and eight Capesize class vessels, with an aggregate carrying capacity of 4.8 million dwt and an average age of 9.9 years. Twelve vessels in the company’s fleet are eco-ships built after 2014, and nine are IMO GHG Phase 3 – NOx Tier III ships, built 2022 onward.

The company has an orderbook of seven IMO GHG Phase 3 – NOx Tier III Kamsarmax class newbuilds, two of which are methanol dual-fueled, with scheduled deliveries, one in 2024, two in 2025, three in 2026 and one in 2027.