Bulker pool Baumarine has logged an 8% earnings rise for Qatar’s S’hail Shipping and Maritime Services fleet.
The joint venture owned by Norway’s Torvald Klaveness and Japan’s Marubeni Corp said the four bulkers entered with the panamax operation saw an increase of 31.9 vessel earnings points or VEP, on the basis of the actual performance of the vessels compared to their description, in the first half of 2023.
The upside for earnings compared with the spot earnings in Baumarine was $975,130 in the year to date, the pool said.
This was done by switching from spot to fixed-rate deals at peaks in the forward freight agreement, or FFA, cycle.
The figures were released following a visit by the pool team to S’hail Shipping’s HQ in Doha.
Conversations were “deeply rooted in strategy and future-ready practices, in particular around green initiatives, and underlined a shared commitment to collaboration and innovation in a changing industry”, Baumarine said.
The company added that the improvement in earnings stems from good maintenance and operational efficiency.
Rajiv Pal, chief executive of S’hail Shipping, said: “Since our inception in December 2016 and our first panamax acquisition with Baumarine, we’ve grown to become Qatar’s largest dry bulk owner.”
The pool will focus on sharing knowledge and fostering insights in 2024, particularly regarding research, decarbonisation and sale and purchase.
Ignacio Pizarro, global head of partner relations, said: “Our goal is to empower each member not just within the pool but as an independent entity to grow into more successful shipping businesses.”
Baumarine logged a solid end to 2022, beating the Baltic Exchange benchmark over the year.
The company said earnings in December last year averaged a net $13,943 per day or $14,677 gross.
For 2022 as a whole, Baumarine came in at $891 per day ahead of the Baltic Exchange’s Panamax 5TC index of spot-rate averages across five key routes.
