One of China’s most active owners, Agricore, is again on the move, buying and selling ships. It is hovering in the market for ships built around 2010 while selling its smaller assets. The outfit trusts the cape segment, being linked to its fourth cape in five months while selling two smaller ships in the same time frame. Agricore has recently sealed three deals privately, adding a 2010-built capesize named Seamate, now freshly painted with ASL Sun, from Thenamaris, while shaking hands with the staff at Korean owner Sinkor, adding a 2009-built cape named Enco Ommodus, only months since it was named Genco Commodus. Agricore tabled some $22.5m for this ship and rechristened it ASL Loong. The other cape Agricore has been tied to is the El Grasso. Basile Aloy-led Ebe Shipping has sold the 12-year-old, Imabari-built vessel for some $35m. The bulker was added for a little over $26m from Daiichi Chuo when Aloy formed Ebe in 2016. This was Ebe’s first ship, and it has been a cash cow since then. Aloy formed the Belgian outfit after his mother sold her 16% share in Compagnie Maritime Belge (CMB) to Aloy’s uncle, Marc Saverys. Ebe has since then built up a fleet of Japanese bulker tonnage. VesselsValue data shows Ebe is left with four ultramaxes with an average age of six years. In December, Agricore tapped Antwerp-based Bocimar for the 178,000 dwt ASL Polaris, ex-Mineral Ningbo (built 2009), for some $20m. Agricore is also selling its 82,000 dwt kamsarmax ASL Uranus, a ship built at Oshima Shipbuilding in 2008. This ship fetched over $17m, while it was purchased from Korean outfit Cido for a little over $13m in 2021. Earlier this year it sold a rusty panamax built in 2002. Agricore was founded in 2016 and has since become a diversified company. The outfit is headquartered in Qingdao. Initially a charterer, Agricore’s business entered shipowning in 2018. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1_95_0_1_2'); });