The figure has now reached US$127m: British shipping company Lomar Shipping is continuing to rebuild its fleet and has now confirmed the ninth purchase of a ship, a 57,000-ton bulker.
The shipping company Lomar, which also owns the Bremen-based shipping company Carl Büttner, is adding the “Ebuny Trader” to its fleet after renaming it[ds_preview].
Following the completion of “modernisation work” at a Chinese shipyard, which also includes the installation of energy-saving devices, a long-term charter agreement with a global logistics company is planned, as Lomar announced without providing further details.
The shipping company is continuing the restructuring of its fleet, which includes a gradual departure from container shipping. Most recently, five ships were sold, including the “Tampa Trader” with 1,103 TEU to the German shipping company Elbdeich. Most recently, Lomar’s container fleet comprised 24 ships. In addition, there are now 14 bulkers and four chemical tankers.
Lomar earns US$2bn with container ships
The “Ebuny Trader” is a 57,016 dwt bulker, the former “Hai Yang Zhi Hua”. The company is paying a lot for the conversion: “The commencement of commercial operation of the vessel represents a total investment of more than US$127m in dry bulk vessels over the past 12 months,” is the official statement. By selling virtually its entire fleet of container ships, the British company claims to have raised more than US$2bn.
Nicholas Georgiou, CEO of Lomar, said: “We have largely exited container shipping at a time of record-breaking markets and are currently reinvesting in the dry bulk sector, where we see significant opportunities.”
“Hai Yang Zhi Hua” was purchased by a company in China and originally built at the China Shipping Jiangsu shipyard in September 2011.
The “Ebury Trader” follows the purchase and delivery of the “Manila Trader”, “Rome Trader”, “Athens Trader”, “Thames Trader”, “Dart Trader” and “Avon Trader” in the second half of 2023. They follow the arrival of the “Lima Trader” and “Oslo Trader” in May and April 2023. The nine new additions to the Lomar fleet of dry bulk vessels have increased capacity by over 600,000 dwt in the last 12 months.
