According to ABG Shipyard, the order for the twelve 35,000 dwt vessels is worth $360m. "This is a path breaking order and we at ABG are proud to have won this contract against stiff international competition," commented Rishi Agarwal, the yard's managing director. ABG's total orderbook now has a value of Rs71bn.

Deliveries will start in early 2010 at quarterly intervals, Vogemann said. The deal was brokered by M Olivier Felter from Hamburg, with negotiations starting in 2006. The ships will be managed from Hamburg and operated in the Vogemann Handysize Revenue Pool.

"Not least because of the excellent co-operation and their expertise, we are already considering further newbuilding projects with our friends from India," said Vogemann group's managing director Udo Wiese. He added that he was constantly looking for opportunities to further expand the fleet, also through the second-hand market. The group recently acquired some units from Clipper Bulk.

Project manager Stefan Boldt told Lloyd's List that the group is expecting long-term stable rates for this bulker segment. He said it had not been decided yet whether the new ships or some of them will be re-financed through the KG market. Demand from financiers for such projects is huge, in particular as more and more are trying to enter the bulker market.

Last year, Vogemann took over the management of the first bulker ever financed by Erck Rickmers' Nordcapital group.

Altogether, the managed drybulk fleet of Vogemann currently consists of 19 vessels with a total capacity of 1.5m dwt. The group has one 176,000 dwt bulker on order from Japan for delivery in November 2008, as well as two 38,500 dwt product tankers for delivery from China in the second
half of 2009.

By Katrin Berkenkopf in Cologne - Thursday 27 September 2007