Carsten Mortensen tells
TradeWinds a letter of intent has been signed for four eco MRs.
He does not reveal the
yard involved or the price of the ships, which have been booked to replace
vessels sold at the tail end of 2012.
As TradeWinds reported in
November Norden offloaded the 51,000-dwt Nord Strait
(built 2007), the Nord Sound
(built 2008) and the Nord Sea (built
2006) at what Mortensen says was a small profit.
Its
pending order fits the recent strategy for the Danish owner in building up its
tanker fleet.
“Now
the gun is pointed towards our biggest asset area [dry-cargo] and that is where
we will focus for the next period of time,” Mortensen said.
As
TradeWinds has reported Norden has been active in the dry-cargo period charter
market in recent times and Mortensen also sees a long window of opportunity to
buy new bulkers.
“We
have an appetite for investing at the right price,” he said. “If the prices go
up we will pull back.”
Mortensen
says 2013 could be another brutal year for the dry-cargo market, supporting
Norden’s fourth quarter report which warns of financial difficulties and
counterparty risks.
But
he is encouraged by recent progress in the panamax market around the grain
season and suggests the middle sections of the bulk market are where Norden
will look to boost its fleet.
Eco
ships are predictably on the agenda and with distress in the air it is open to
move on opportunities and potentially upgrade existing orders, he explains.
Norden
today reported strong fourth quarter operating numbers with EBITDA of $44m smashing forecasts.
Mortensen says the owner
had a fantastic quarter, and was particularly pleased with the strong showing
of the tanker division as its ships outperformed those of some “more vocal
competitors”.
