ESL Shipping offloads pair of supramax vessels to Turkish buyer

Aspo Group’s subsidiary ESL Shipping is offloading its two supramax class vessels to companies belonging to HGF Denizcilik Limited Sirket group, a Turkish shipping and logistics company.

The sale of the vessels, Arkadia and Kumpula, is part of Aspo’s program announced in April 2023 to support and accelerate ESL Shipping’s low-carbon growth strategy. 

The delivery of the vessels is expected to take place in April and May 2024 and the sales price is $37.1m which is paid fully in cash.

Following the sale of the supramax vessels, ESL Shipping will continue to focus on handysize and coaster vessels and further developing its partnership strategy with current and future customer base.

Rolf Jansson, chief executive of Aspo Group and chairman of the board of ESL Shipping, said: “The sale of the two Supramax vessels is well aligned with ESL Shipping’s low-carbon strategy. It also stabilizes ESL Shipping’s profit generation and frees up capital for Aspo’s and ESL Shipping’s future strategic growth efforts.”

The two 1A ice strengthened supramax vessels of 56,000 dwt were originally received in 2012.

The length of the vessels is 197 meters and maximum draft with a full cargo is 13.0 meters. Both m/s Arkadia and m/s Kumpula have sailed under the Finnish flag.

Mikki Koskinen, managing director of ESL Shipping, noted: “As the traditional markets for our Supramax vessels on the Baltic Sea and the Arctic have changed significantly, now is the right time to sell these vessels.

“The sale will support our roadmap towards green shipping and our ambition to bring fossil-free handysize vessels to the market. The sale enables us to allocate even more resources to accelerate the green transition.”

Source: Aspo Plc.