Yesterday,the market was rife with speculation that the US commodities giant paid $54.5mto pick up the 181,400-dwt ShagangFirst Era (built 2010) in the wake of a weeklysale-and-purchase report published by a leading European brokerage.

Today, a spokeswoman for Cargill’senergy, metals and transportation division, Iwona Lapinska, told TradeWindsthat her company did not purchase the vessel in question but failed to shedlight on whether it is actively inspecting tonnage.

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