Eagle Bulk Shipping appears to be sticking to the segment it knows best, with brokers linking the US shipowner to a deal that would be its second secondhand ultramax purchase this year. US brokers said the Connecticut bulker owner has purchased the 63,600-dwt Stony Stream (built 2015) for just $24.2m. A market source said a deal has not been concluded and that New York-listed Eagle is still negotiating. The company does not comment on market reports.

The Equasis and VesselsValue databases say the ship, which was built at Chengxi Shipyard in China, is owned by US Bank Equipment Finance, whose spokesmen did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It is run by Nortus Management of Greece, whose contact information could not be found. The reported price tag is somewhat lower than the $27.5m that Eagle said it paid in a September deal for the 62,100-dwt Ultra Trust (built 2015), which has since been renamed Tokyo Eagle. Part of the difference may be reflected in a sale-and-purchase market that has seen values slipping since the summer.

Greece’s Seaborne Shipbrokers said on Monday that prices for five-year-old ultramaxes have fallen by 4.2% in the last month, though the $28.3m estimate is well above the five-year average of just $15.6m. But the Ultra Trust was built in Japan and has an exhaust gas scrubber, two features that are also likely to have commanded a premium. The report of the Stony Stream acquisition comes just over month after Eagle Bulk chief executive Gary Vogel suggested his company would be willing to look beyond its specialization in ultramaxes and supramaxes as it eyed opportunities. But in a conference call with analysts, he also made clear that there was room to grow in the shipowner’s niche. “Although we’re one of the largest owners of supramax [and] ultramax vessels, we’re a very small part of the market, and we feel that increasing in our core segment makes a lot of sense,” Vogel said.

According to VesselsValue, Hong Kong’s Parakou Shipping originally ordered the Stony Stream for $25.5m as part of a four-ship deal. Equasis data shows it was owned by US Bank since its delivery year.