Finnish group Bore is offloading six vessels that constitute its contract of affreightment (CoA) business, which has suffered from “several years of over-capacity and unsustainably poor profitability.” Finnish group Bore blamed the small size of the CoA fleet for its uncompetitive position against larger players in the tough general cargo sector.
5,000-dwt MV Fingard (built 2000) and MV Swegard (built 2001) are already on the way out and should be delivered to new owners by the end of this month.
3,700-dwt MV Nordgard (built 1999) and the 3,800-dwt MV Sydgard and MV Westgard (both built 2000) and MV Ostgard (built 2001) are being bought by Wagenborg, for delivery by the end of December. Limestone shipper Nordkalk has agreed a three-year deal with the new owner to carry cargoes up to 2017.
Finnish group Bore CEO Hakan Modig said: ”We have made progress in turning the negative result trend of Bore, but to achieve further improvement we will focus on becoming a strong shipping partner to our current and future customers in the ro-ro segment.
Egbert Vuursteen, Wagenborg CEO, added: “Wagenborg has invested substantially in a new-building programme of ice-classed, fuel-efficient, multi-purpose vessels.We are very pleased with our partnership with Nordkalk. This cargo-base will enable us to grow and extend our flexibility and competitiveness in the Baltic."
Finnish group Bore will concentrate on ro-ro shipping with its nine vessels from the start of 2015. Bore is today operating some of the world’s most modern and energy efficient ro-ro vessels.
Dry Bulk Shipping News - Shipbroker Notes