ESL Shipping, part of Finnish conglomerate Aspo, has sold the 21,353 dwt handysize bulker Kallio to the Qrill Company.

The company stated that divesting the 2006-built vessel would help to speed up the green transition of ESL Shipping and strengthen the financing of the new vessels currently under construction.

The sales price of the bulker is about €18m ($20.85m). The sales gain for Aspo is expected to be approximately €10m ($11.6m).

After the divestment of the vessel, the aim is to assign the vessel crew to ESL Shipping’s other vessels whenever possible. The Kallio has been handed over to the new owner, operating in the marine feed ingredients business.

”We are investing heavily in green handy vessels, which can be operated fossil-free and have an ice class of 1A. By divesting the Kallio, we strengthen the balance sheet of ESL Shipping and implement our strategy,” said Rolf Jansson, CEO of Aspo.

”The first new generation green handy vessel will join our fleet in about two years. During the transition period, we will consider chartering or acquiring additional vessels, when needed,” added Mikki Koskinen, managing director of ESL Shipping.