The 12 bulkers went under the hammer this week at acourt of Torre Annunziata, Naples for a sale price of EUR 82.5m ($111m).

The winning bid was made by the ABY partners, througha Maltese-subsidiary Heron Ventures, at just EUR 1.5m higher than the reserveprice of EUR 80m.

First major move

The move is the first of significance by AugusteaBunge Maritime and its partner York Capital Management since the establishmentof their joint venture in October last year.