Taylor Maritime offloads 11 ships

London-listed dry bulk outfit Taylor Maritime has aligned its business with anticipated trade turbulence and taken advantage of improved market sentiment to sell 11 ships for $172.5m.

The Ed Buttery-led company said that one bulker had already been delivered to its new owner, with the remaining 10 exiting the fleet by August this year, bringing in a total of $186.4m through vessel disposals this year.

Taylor Maritime sold one ship in January for $13.9m and completed the transaction during the quarter.

The company had 30 Japanese-built vessels at quarter end, which will reduce to 19 once all sales are complete.

Overall, Taylor Maritime agreed to and completed 39 vessel sales since the beginning of 2023, generating gross proceeds of $630.6m.

The company said that all net sales proceeds from the latest transactions, plus a portion of existing cash on the balance sheet, would be used for debt repayment, which is expected to reduce to $4.7m, saving about $12.4m in annual interest.

“The vessel sales put the company on course to zero net bank debt,” Taylor Maritime said.

Commenting on the trading update, chief executive Buttery, who, in addition to general overhead savings, agreed to a 25% reduction in his salary, noted: “Given our cautious view for 2025 amidst geopolitical and trade uncertainty, we have accelerated divestments, capitalising on seasonal improvement in market conditions and positive sentiment relating to Japanese-built vessels.”

Buttery added that Taylor Maritime’s transition to a commercial company and focus on operational efficiency and cost reductions would “provide further resilience through a potentially volatile 2025”.