New York-listed Greek dry bulk owner Safe Bulkers has entered into an agreement for the acquisition of a 2013-built Japanese Panamax bulker.

Safe Bulkers has paid $22m for the vessel, which is scheduled for delivery by August 2021. The acquisition will be financed with cash on hand.

Loukas Barmparis, president of Safe Bulkers, commented: “This new acquisition is part of our efforts to gradually renew our fleet through selective acquisition of younger second-hand Japanese built tonnage replacing older vessels or Chinese built vessels. The core part of our renewal strategy remains the acquisition of advanced design energy-efficient newbuilds.”

Last month, Safe Bulkers bought two bulkers currently under construction while also offloading two older bulkers as part of its fleet renewal strategy.