Bulker specialist Polish Steamship Co (Polsteam) has seen a big increase in cargo during the first half of this year, although chief executive Pawel Brzezicki has warned that maritime transport is far from booming.
The state-owned, Szczecin-based dry cargo giant has seen its vessels carry 8.1m tonnes in the first six months of 2019 — a 1m tonne increase on the same period a year earlier.
Financial performance has also improved with a PLN 194.3m ($49.5m) net profit for 2018, up from PLN 117.6m in the previous year.
But Brzezicki, who was brought in to stabilise the company, said the market remains difficult and hampered by the US trade war with China.
“Of course, there are problems but we are here to overcome them,” he said.
The turnaround in finances since Brzezicki took over compares with a group loss of PLN 741m in 2016 under the previous management.
His comments follow a further addition to the Polsteam fleet, the 39,000-dwt geared bulker Karlino (built 2019), constructed at Yangfan Shipbuilding in China.
Brzezicki, a Polsteam general manager between 1998 and 2005, has since returned to the company and renegotiated delivery of several ships abandoned at Chinese yards by the previous management.
On its first voyage this month, the Karlino sailed with a cargo of steel, from ports in China and South Korea, to Costa Rica and Mexico.
It lifted Polsteam's fleet to 62 vessels. A sistership to the Karlino, the Sopot, was launched at the beginning of August and will be delivered in September.
Brzezicki has not sold any vessels since taking over in February 2017 — keeping to the plan outlined to TradeWinds during an interview earlier this year.
Instead, five bulker newbuildings were delivered in 2018 comprising the Yangfan-built, 39,000-dwt Drawno and Solidarnosc and the Yangzijiang-constructed, 36,600-dwt lakers Gardno, Jamno and Narie.
The 1m tonne increase in cargo transported this year — a 14% rise — includes a 35% hike in grains to 2.2m tonnes compared with the first half of 2018.
Fertilisers jumped 51% to 840,000 tonnes and steel products by 130% to 333,000 tonnes. However, phosphates fell by 41% to 326,000 tonnes.
On separate time charter trips, Polsteam carried 3.8m tonnes of cargo during the first six months of 2019 — the same as in 2018.
Steel and grain reflect Polsteam’s strength in the Great Lakes.
