Leon Shipping links dry bulk debut to Hengli kamsarmax order

By James Calloway

Leon Shipping & Trading, the Athens-based company founded by Greek shipowner Panos Efthimiadis, has linked its first dry bulk investment to a kamsarmax newbuilding at China’s Hengli Heavy Industries, taking the vessel count tied to its newbuilding program to five.

The kamsarmax adds Leon’s first dry bulk tonnage and a new cargo segment to a business built around tankers. It forms part of a broader fleet renewal and expansion program, but neither the contract value nor the delivery schedule for the Hengli vessel has been disclosed.

What makes up Leon’s five-vessel program?

The linked program comprises one kamsarmax, two LR1 product tankers and two 50,000 dwt MR product tankers. The count reflects the shipbuilding contracts and projects linked to Leon, not five confirmed start dates or a published total order value.

• The kamsarmax is linked to Hengli Heavy Industries in China, with no disclosed price or delivery date.
• Two LR1 product tanker newbuildings are also linked to Leon, but their shipyard, delivery dates and pricing remain undisclosed.
• The two MR tankers carry hull numbers 1350 and 1351 at Cosco Shipping Heavy Industry (Guangdong), with scheduled deliveries in March and August 2029, according to shipbroking records.

That distinction matters commercially. Forwarders and shippers have two dated MR arrivals to plan around, but no timetable for the LR1 pair or kamsarmax; any claim that all five ships enter service together would go beyond the available information.

What could the MR tankers cost?

Leon has not disclosed the price of hulls 1350 and 1351. Current market assessments put comparable MR newbuildings at about $53m each, producing a combined benchmark of roughly $106m for the Cosco pair.

That figure is a market comparison, not a disclosed contract value, and it excludes the two LR1 vessels and the Hengli kamsarmax because no prices have been published for them.

For owners, the benchmark indicates the potential scale of capital tied to the dated MR deliveries; for charterers and shippers, it provides no direct guide to future freight rates because no charter strategy or trade-lane plans accompany the order details.

What do the tanker sales mean?

Leon is simultaneously reshuffling its existing tanker fleet. Brokers have linked the 2008-built, 50,000 dwt Leon Wisdom to a $26m sale to Union Maritime. Its sistership Leon Grace was sold last month for a reported $23.5m to UAE interests and has since been renamed Bella Sky.

Together, the two reported transactions represent $49.5m in gross disposal value. Leon bought both ships earlier this year from International Seaways for a combined $32m, putting the difference at approximately $17.5m before transaction and other costs.

On the reported figures, the sales recover more than the combined purchase price while moving both 50,000 dwt tankers out of the current fleet. The $17.5m difference improves disposal economics before costs, but no proceeds allocation has been disclosed.

Who is behind Leon Shipping?

Efthimiadis established Leon Shipping & Trading in 2010 after 22 years with family-owned Lotus Shipping. Leon has traditionally concentrated on tanker shipping, particularly MR product carriers and older panamax tankers. The Hengli project extends that operating history into dry bulk for the first time and links the new segment to the company’s existing renewal program.

What should shippers and forwarders watch?

The March and August 2029 MR deliveries are the program’s only disclosed delivery markers. For shippers, the two new MRs could renew Leon’s cargo relationships as the sold vessels leave the fleet, but no routes, cargo mix or chartering policy accompany the order details. For forwarders, no trade-lane capacity or freight-rate effect can be calculated from the headline count.

One kamsarmax also provides too little information for a dry bulk capacity assessment: no deadweight, loading capacity or capacity percentage accompanies the Hengli order details. The five-vessel figure therefore describes Leon’s project pipeline, not an available capacity forecast for any cargo market.

Watch for confirmation of the Hengli contract’s price and delivery date, plus the LR1 shipyard and schedule. Without those details, the five-vessel headline establishes Leon’s move into dry bulk, but the associated freight-rate and capacity outlook for shippers cannot yet be quantified.