New York-listed dry bulk owner Genco Shipping & Trading is trimming older tonnage and adding a younger capesize as it continues to reshape its fleet.

The company has agreed to acquire a 2019 Imabari-built, 182,000 dwt scrubber-fitted capesize, with delivery expected in June 2026. At the same time, Genco has offloaded two 2005-built supramaxes, Genco Picardy and Genco Predator, for a combined $21.2m.

Both supramaxes have already been delivered to their new owners, marking a clean exit from older, less efficient units.

The incoming capesize, priced at $65m, is expected to trade in the spot market, where Genco has been building exposure to larger, higher-earning ships.

Chairman and CEO John C. Wobensmith said the deals reflect a continued focus on upgrading the fleet and making use of a strong sale and purchase market.

“We are pleased to have capitalised on the strong and liquid sale and purchase market to divest older, non-core vessels at levels above recent broker estimates, demonstrating rising asset values,” he said.

“With a focus on enhancing our premium earning asset base, we plan to redeploy a portion of these proceeds towards a modern, high-specification capesize vessel,” he added.

The move follows a string of capesize and newcastlemax acquisitions over the past two years, as the owner leans further into the larger bulk segments.

“By selling two older, less fuel-efficient vessels and redeploying these proceeds into a modern, fuel-efficient capesize vessel, we continue to execute our well-defined and stated capital allocation strategy,” Wobensmith said.

Genco expects the sales to generate gains of around $2.1m per vessel, booked across the first half of 2026.

The company said the latest deal will support earnings and dividend capacity, with the newer vessel offering stronger returns and better fuel performance.

“With this latest acquisition, we will have invested approximately $408m in seven modern, fuel-efficient premium earning vessels since the fourth quarter of 2023 and a total of $557m since 2021,” Wobensmith said.

Genco currently operates a fleet of 43 bulkers, including capesize and newcastlemax ships on the larger end, alongside ultramax and supramax units. The fleet has an average age of about 12.5 years.