Bulker owner and operator SDTR Marine has adopted a plan it describes as putting all of its eggs in one basket, and then watching the basket — a business strategy that was advocated by industrialist Andrew Carnegie.

The Singapore-registered company is focused only on the kamsarmax segment, in which it is one of the largest Asian shipping players.

SDTR general manger Gao Dehui said by channelling all of his team’s energy into one type of ship, it allows them to concentrate, specialise and provide quality service to clients.

“By embracing this strategy in concentrating on the kamsarmax bulker sector, we are able to understand the market well, the ships' trading abilities, the ports and the customers,” he said.

“With all this information and knowledge, we can provide better service. A satisfied client will return for more partnership and award longer-term contracts. It is all a virtuous cycle.

“Our ambition is to be a top-tier kamsarmax bulker company, and we have no plans to diversify into other ship types.”

Established in 2013, SDTR is a joint venture between China’s Shandong Shipping and Singapore’s Transcenden Global. It operates a fleet of 40 to 50 kamsarmaxes, of which 10 are owned and four are on bareboat charter contracts of two to seven years. The rest of the ships are taken from the spot market.

Not so new

“Some may view SDTR as a 'new' company, but we do not think we are since our team of staff has over 20 years of working experience in the shipping sector,” Gao said.

He noted that SDTR was a strong company from the start because of its shareholders.

“Shandong Shipping is the third-largest shipping player in China and Transcenden is internationally recognised,” he said.

Gao said SDTR began as a ship operator but, at the same time, it started investing in fleet tonnage through newbuildings. In 2014, it ordered 10 bulker newbuildings of 82,000 dwt each at CSC Jinling Shipyard for about $26m apiece.

“Shipping is a cyclical business and we make use of the opportunity when the time is right,” he said. “We took delivery of our first owned vessel in 2017, when the dry bulk market revived.”

By 2022, SDTR’s main fleet will increase to 24 vessels, when it takes delivery of 10 kamsarmax newbuildings from Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co (DSIC). It has bareboat chartered these 85,000-dwt ships from AVIC International Leasing.

“We are still working on some projects and the fleet may be bigger than 24 units, it all depends on the market trend,” Gao said.

Gao added that the reason SDTR concentrates on kamsarmaxes is because they are flexible to trade.

“Supramaxes are also flexible to trade and a popular ship type ... but there are too many players in this business,” he said.

Gao claimed SDTR’s fleet is probably the most modern and efficient, as they are of the latest design. The CSC Jinling Shipyard-built vessels are the third-generation of kamsarmaxes designed by Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute.

“SDTR has taken part in the design of the 85,000-dwt newbuildings under construction at DSIC,” he said. “The ships are of bigger cargo capacity and have a shallower draught. Fuel efficiency is around 15% more efficient than 82,000-dwt ships. The ports in Asia are getting bigger, and we need ships like this based on end-user requirements.

SDTR wants to be a new generation of shipowners that participates in the design of the vessels. By being involved at the design stage, we can incorporate end-user requirements and make the ships more efficient and environment friendly

Gao Dehui

“SDTR wants to be a new generation of shipowners that participates in the design of the vessels. By being involved at the design stage, we can incorporate end-user requirements and make the ships more efficient and environment friendly.”

Most of SDTR’s bulkers are chartered out for three to eight years to grain houses, power plants and coal companies.

“Every month, our company has five shipments of grain from South America to the US, to China and other places,” Gao said.

Despite SDTR’s focus on kamsarmaxes, it occasionally gets involved in capesize and supramax vessels.

“This is on the operator side of the business,” he said. “Sometimes some Chinese steel factories may have more iron ore to ship and require larger vessels. Thus, we fix in capesize bulkers to fulfil their requirements. These are all based on special requirements.”