China’s Nantong Xiangyu Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering has sold a pair of “ready-built” ultramax bulker newbuildings to a Greek shipowner.

Industry players said Piraeus-based Blue Planet Shipping has picked up the 63,500-dwt pair for a total of $44.5m, a level they describe as “firm”.

Other market sources are naming the buyer as Victoria Steamship, a London-based outfit operating as Blue Planet’s appointed sale-and-purchase agents.