German shipping company Oldendorff Carriers has grown its Babycape fleet with four eco 119,000 tonners purchased from compatriot shipowner Hartmann Reederei.

The said acquisitions include MV UBC Ottawa, to be renamed Roland Oldendorff, MV UBC Odessa, to be renamed Rex Oldendorff, MV UBC Olimbus future Redmer Oldendorff and MV UBC Oristano, which will bear the name Rik Oldendorff.

The ships were built for Hartmann at Sinopacific Shipbuilding in 2011.

The latest fleet additions bring the company’s Babycape ship tally to 36 units, of which 10 will be fully owned.

“The Sinopacific 119k design, of which we will control all 10 including 8 owned and 2 chartered ships, has the optimum deadweight/draft ratio of nearly 119,000 tdw on only 14.5 m ssw draft. Our calculations show, that we should also be able to increase the intake of these vessels to more than 121,500 tdw on about 14.794 m draft,” the company said.

“Having 10 sister vessels which have optimal characteristics allows us to offer our clients a competitive advantage and more flexibility.”

Oldendorff said that the investment was being made amid a positive outlook for drybulk freight rates and values.

This deal takes the company’s total net acquisitions to 97 vessels of around 10 million tdw over the last 5 years with vessel takeovers between 2013 and 2020.