Thailand’s Precious Shipping splashed out $51m on a pair of modern handysize bulk carriers acquired from Njord Shipping of Norway. The Khalid Hashim-led bulker operator revealed the purchase of the 35,900-dwt geared bulk carriers Nordic Busan (built 2018) and Nordic Seoul (built 2017) in a statement to the Bangkok bourse on Tuesday. The Nordic Busan was acquired for $26m while the slightly older sister ship went for $25m.

Precious said the acquisitions are being funded through internal cash reserves and/or debt financing from credit facilities available to the company. Precious has been relatively quiet on the sale-and-purchase front for several years, despite being one of the world’s largest handy players.

The company’s last purchase of a secondhand vessel was made almost a decade ago. Since then, it has focused primarily on ordering a raft of newbuildings, the bulk of which were delivered between 2014 and 2018. The addition of the Nordic duo will give Precious a fleet of 38 handysize to ultramax bulk carriers.

The company said it bought the two ships as part of its strategy to “capture the current robust market conditions” and to have a more fuel-efficient fleet.

Njord Shipping, which is majority-owned by the Glastad family through Mosvolds Rederi, could not be immediately reached for comment.

The sale of the two ships leaves it with nine handysize bulkers in a fleet of 17 vessels that also includes six multipurpose heavy lift ships, a small product tanker and a supramax bulker.