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.