Piraeus-based Primerose Shipping has taken advantage of rising bulker values — not to cash out of its fleet but to renew it with much younger and slightly larger vessels.

Other companies such as US-listed Safe Bulkers have been embarking on a similar strategy, as TradeWinds has reported.

Such moves, however, may become increasingly difficult to perform as some observers believe that rampant buying activity is beginning to deplete the pool of high-quality vessels in the secondhand market.