Precious Shipping sells off vintage handysize

Fleet overhaul at Precious Shipping has continued with the sale of one of its oldest vessels.

The Thai dry bulk player has offloaded its 2005 Shikoku Dockyard-built Rojarek Naree for $8.8m.

The buyer of the 29,900 dwt ship is an overseas company that does not have any relationship with the company, the Khalid Hashim-led listed owner said in a stock exchange filing.

Precious boasts a fleet of 43 bulkers on a fully delivered basis, including those under construction, with an aggregate capacity of nearly 2m dwt.

The company’s fleet list shows two more 2005-built handies remaining, including the Chamchuri Naree, which has been rumoured as sold since last July. These units and those previously sold are being replaced by 2015-built, slightly larger ships Precious agreed to buy last year. The acquisition of one of the vessels from a four-ship deal with Nisshin Shipping, the 39,000 dwt Western Miami, however, fell through in December due to the “excessive delay in delivery”.

Precious has four ultramax newbuilds contracted at Taizhou Sanfu Shipbuilding for $33.4m each. The 63,500 dwt vessels are expected to join the fleet in 2026.