Precious Shipping Q1 profit drop

Bangkok: Handysize bulk specialist Precious Shipping saw its profits fall in the first quarter on a smaller fleet. The Bangkok-based shipowner reported a first quarter net profit of $15.28m, compared to $24.36m in the same period last year. The first quarter results reflected a major sell off of older vessels by Precious Shipping. The company had an average of 22 ships in the first quarter of this year, compared to 42 in the first three months of 2009.