On Friday the sale-and-purchase market was rife with speculation that the owner lined up a buyer that paid roughly $45m to purchase the 208,000-dwt First Ibis (built 2010).

While several reputable brokerages are telling clients that the counterparty is Chinese, others believe the vessel was acquired by Greek bulker operator Golden Union.

Industry observers say they aren’t surprised that the Athens-based owner may be the buyer since it has consummated a number of similar transactions in recent months.

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