African Express This vessel, the last of a series of two ships that Vroon ordered in the beginning of 1977, was delivered in the spring of 1979. The African Express was built as yard number 912 by Austin & Pickersgill at Sunderland. Registered in Breskens the African Express travelled all over the world for a period of about six years. In October 1984, together with her sister, m.v. European Express, she was sold to Guangzhou Ocean Shipping, the Chinese state owned company, which registered the vessel in Guangzhou and renamed her An SaiJiang.

Sulu Express.
Built by the shipyard Austin & Pickersgill (yard number 449) this SD 14 was delivered to her owners, West Hartlepool Steamship Navigation of Hartlepool in 1975. The owners named the vessel Lindenhall and traded her for a period of 7 years. In 1982 the ship was sold to Bush Hill Shipping of Hong Kong and renamed Carlow Hill. In 1985 she became the property of a Vroon company and from that date traded as a tramp vessel under Philippine flag called Sulu Express. In 1988 the operational management of the ship was put in the hands of Dalex Shipping of Piraeus, whilst the commercial management remained with the chartering department of Vroon - Breskens. Although the vessel was operating worldwide she did a lot of trips with bagged sugar from Brazil and Cuba to Western Europe. In October 1995 the vessel was sold to Northern Danyal Inc. who gave the vessel the name Danyal Express. The new port of registry became Port Vila (Vanuatu).

Silago Express
During the spring of 1974 the shipping company, Gibbs and Co. of London, took delivery of this SD-14 type vessel. The ship, which was built by Austin and Pickersgill of SuDderland, was called Welsh Troubadour . In 1980 the ship was re-registered in Monrovia, Liberia. Most likely the same British interests were still behind the new owners because her new name became Welsh Jay. In Fehruary 1986 the vesse1 was hought hy a Fi1ipino company which put the management in the hands of Vroon. As Silago Express, with Manila as her port of registry, the ship was employed in the world-wide tramping trade. In 1988 Vroon lost the technical management of the vesse1. The owners transferred the day-to-day operation of the ship to Da!ex Shipping of Piraeus, hut the commercial management remained with Vroon. In 1995 the vessel was sold, and the new owners registered her in Port Vila, the capital of the Republic of Vanuatu. Pretty soon it became clear that the owners, who called her Navira Express, could not meet their financial obligations. The original Filipino owners turned the management of the vessel over to a Pakistani manager whilst Vroon is yet again handling the commercial management

Simara Express
In 1982 the London Grenadier was built under number 432 by Austin and Pickersgill at Sunderland for the account of a London owner. Seven years later the vessel was sold and registered in Limassol, Cyprus, and called First Jay together with her sister vessel Welsh Jay. In 1986 the ship was sold to a Fi1ipino company which placed both the technical and the commercial management in the hands of Vroon. In 1988 the technical management was transferred to Dalex Shipping of Piraeus. Whilst underway from South Africa to Chile and Peru the vessel encountered bad weather. On the 20th of September 1993 some cargo started to move. Ro1ling cargo damaged a container which caused an explosion fo1lowed by fire. For that reason the port of Montevideo was chosen as a harbour of refuge. After both the ship and the damaged cargo were examined, the damaged cargo was discharged and the vessel got permission to sail for the original ports of destination. When all the cargo was fina1lyunloaded in the last port of ca1l, Callao, the Simara Express was inspected again and now it became clear that the damage was far worse than origina1ly expected. Because the estimated costs of repairs were much higher than the insured va1ue of the vessel she was declared a 'constructive tota1 loss'. In January 1994 the vessel was sold to Greek buyers who passed the ownership on to a Chinese company which bought her for demolition. lnstead of breaking her up these new owners made some repairs to the ex Simara Express. As Tian Juan Xing the vessel remained sailing and Kingstown became her new port of registry. In 1996 the vessel's homeport was changed to Belize whilst her name remained the same. Until today the vessel is still trading.

Samar Express
The Samar Express, built by Bartram & Sons of Sunderland, was launched in 1969 under newbuilding number 417. Originally the vessel of the legendary SD-14 type was called Sklerionand was owned by Baronet Coffipania Naveira of Chios (Greece). The ship was employed in the world-wide tramping trade, and as such she transported bagged sugar from Brazil and Cuba to Western Europe. In April 1985 the vessel was bought by a Filipino company, which placed the operational and commercial management in the hands of Vroon. By that time our company already managed five other SD-14 type vessels. In 1988 Samatour Shipping Company of Alexandria showed serious interest in buying the vessel. Thus the ship was handed over to her new owners in Alexandria, who called her Salem Nine. The vessel carried on until the end of 1995 when her owners sold her for demolition.

Asian Liner
During the last part of 1979 a subsidiary company of Vroon bought this vessel. Like the European Express and the African Express she was a so-called SD-14 and she was also built by Austin and Pickersgill at Sunderland. Originally the ship was called London Cavalier and owned by London Overseas Freighters of London. The Asian Liner was mainly used on the liner service of Eurasian Express Lines between Western Europe and India/Pakistan. Already in 1980 the vessel was sold to Diamond Channel Shipping of Panama. The new owners called the vessel Silaga. In 1991 the ship changed hands again, this time Olympos Shipping Co. Ltd. of Limassol became the owner and her new name was altered to Socrates.

Scotian Express
This tweendecker of the SD-14 type was bought by a Filipino company in February 1987. Vroon was appointed as the ship's manager, both commercially and technically. The Scotian Express, built in 1980, was delivered by shipyard Austin & Pickersgill at Sunderland to shipping company Feriniki of Piraeus. Vroon used the vessel in the same trade as their other SD-14 type vessels. In 1989 Vroon handed the management over to Dalex Shipping at Piraeus. In 1990 the owners sold the ship to Vietnamese interests. The name of the vessel remained unchanged, but her new port of registry became Valetta. In 1995 the ship was sold again, her new name became Saigon 3 and the new port of registry was Majuro whilst the owners were reported to be Lullar Trading Corp.