Greek owner Byzantine Maritime has added another handysize bulk carrier to its orderbook in China.

The Marios Stafilopatis-controlled company is said to have exercised an option for a fourth 41，000 dwt at New Dayang Shipbuilding.

Earlier this year， Byzantine ordered a trio at the state-owned shipyard for $30m each， due for delivery in 2024 and 2025， marking its first newbuild deal in China. The company currently has eight supramaxes in its fleet， according to VesselsValue data.

Almost one in three bulk carrier orders signed， or at least 28 vessels， have been linked to a Greek shipowner since May this year， according to Intermodal.

“Having witnessed a resurgence in dry newbuild orders placed by Greeks since the beginning of the year， led by owners such as Dynacom， Danaos， TMS， Sea Traders， Safe Bulkers， Meadway， Byzantine， Neda， Century Bulk Carrier， etc.， it is not surprising that the Greeks are extending their vote of confidence in the so far sagging dry bulk freight market，” Intermodal’s broker， Mohamed Rabie， noted in his report.