Greek dry bulk shipowner Almi Marine Management is accelerating its fleet renewal plan, which was launched earlier this year, and has placed an order for three Ultramax bulk carriers with a Chinese shipbuilder.
Sources revealed that Almi Marine Management has placed an order with COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry (Zhoushan) for three 64,000 DWT bulk carriers, which are expected to be delivered in 2030. The construction cost per vessel has not been disclosed.
Currently, Chinese shipbuilders are quoting approximately $36 million per vessel for standard Ultramax bulk carriers. Based on this estimate, the total construction cost for the three new vessels mentioned above would be approximately $108 million.
This latest order marks yet another newbuilding contract announced by Almi Marine Management since its return to the newbuilding market four years ago. In February of this year, Almi Marine Management confirmed an order for two 64,000 DWT bulk carriers from Nantong COSCO KHI Ship Engineering Co., Ltd. (NACKS), with delivery expected in the second quarter of 2029.
With the addition of the latest orders, Almi Marine Management has publicly announced that its projects under construction have increased to five new 64,000 DWT vessels, all being built by shipyards affiliated with COSCO. The shipowner maintains long-standing partnerships with the Sino-Japanese joint ventures NACKS and Dalian COSCO KHI Ship Engineering Co., Ltd. (DACKS), and in April 2022 placed an order with DACKS for multiple Ultramax bulk carriers, all of which have since been delivered.
To date, Almi Marine Management owns six bulk carriers, and its fleet renewal plan also includes the disposal of older vessels, such as the “Anasa,” built in 2008.