Singapore-listed Uni-Asia announced on Wednesday that it is now in the process of acquiring the bulk carrier through the joint venture Quest Bulkship. The shipbuilding contract with a Japanese yard is expected to be confirmed next week.
Uni-Asia currently has a fleet portfolio comprising mostly of handysizes through wholly-owned, majority-owned, joint investments and shipping fund.
In June this year, Uni-Asia took delivery of one 37,000-dwt handysize delivered by Japan's Onomichi Dockyard. The company has three more similar handysize newbuildings in the pipeline to be delivered by Imabari Shipbuilding Group between 2014 to 2016.
Michio Tanamoto, executive director and coo of Uni-Asia, told Seatrade Global that the group will focus on the handysize market, and it expects to acquire a few more handysizes in the near future to bolster its fleet strength.
He added that newbuilding prices under current market conditions are “very attractive”, especially at Japanese yards due to the weakening of the yen. The price for the three handysizes at Imabari Shipbuilding was $73m in total.
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