Among these companies are Costamare which continued tonnage purchases, with an emphasis now on larger sizes, and Danaos Corporation, which expanded during 2023 to oversize capesize trucks, having now built a fleet of 9 ships.
Moreover, a series of unlisted companies are also entering the market, slowly creating small and medium-sized fleets.
One of them is Y/Knot Shipmanagement, which is a new entry in shipping in general. In February, the company took delivery of the bulk carrier Dimitra (capacity 32,751 dwt and built 2010), formerly Nord Manila. This became the fifth bulk carrier that the shipping company joined the fleet, 18 months after its establishment. These are trucks with a capacity of 28,355-32,751 dwt and manufactured in 2006-2011.
The head of the newly established company in the role of Managing Director is Rigas Tzortzis, a member, at the same time, of the Board of Directors of the German GUTMANN GmbH, an international aluminum supplier.
Velos
Velos Shipping announced in a post on social media the acquisition of another bulk carrier. More specifically, it bought the post panamax Double Miracle (capacity 95,444 dwt and built in 2014), which will be renamed Velos Onyx.
The shipping company delivered two bulk carriers in 2023, Velos Libra and Velos Star, two medium-sized ships built in 2014 and 2015 respectively.
Velos has established itself in the shipping industry over the last years due to its activity in tankers, currently controlling a fleet of nine tankers.
Westport
Westport Bulkers received its first bulk carrier at the end of 2023. The company is a continuation of Westport Tankers, an entity that became known during 2022 for selling tankers at prices significantly higher than the amounts paid for their purchase.
In particular, the Equasis database stated that the capesize Nicholas G.S. bulker joined the Westport Bulkers fleet in November 2023. (179,221 dwt capacity and built 2010), formerly Cape Agamemnon, which was sold last year by Capital Product Partners, a move that marked the latter’s exit from dry cargo.
The head of the two companies is Giorgos Stamoulas. “Naftemporiki” referred last May to Westport’s decision to expand into dry cargo, looking for opportunities in both shipyards and the secondary market.
Momentum
Bilal Muftuoglu, head of dry cargo research at Howe Robinson Partners, sees opportunities for “entries” in bulk carriers from companies with activities in other sectors, such as tankers.
“Tanker companies have made huge profits and are looking to expand their portfolio. From their side, maybe the dry cargo market is undervalued,” he emphasized to “Naftemporiki.”
“Although dry cargo asset prices are high and shipyards are full, demand dynamics are supportive,” Muftuoglu commented and added: “You can still buy some older panamaxes or supramaxes and go into Indian and Chinese offshore.”
Veson Nautical also sees encouraging prospects in the supply/demand balance. Analysts estimate that conditions in the bauxite, coal and smaller dry bulk trades are expected to drive demand per tonne-mile to grow by an average of 2.7% annually from this year to 2026.
Also, the industry will experience low supply levels stemming from the small order book, fleet slowdown (2% year-on-year reduction in speeds in 2023) and disruptions in the Suez and Panama Canals.
