Norden has confirmed it has acquired two capesizes, which will seal its entry into owning and operating the largest tonnage of bulkers.

The Danish owner-operator told TradeWinds its latest acquisitions will deliver in April and May.

Brokers have reported that the pair was sold by GoodBulk for $28m each in an en-bloc deal.

The ships are the 179,000-dwt Aquatonka and Aquahaha (both built 2012).

Both were built at Hyundai Heavy Industries’ Subic Bay yard in the Philippines and are fitted with ballast water treatment systems.

Speaking to TradeWinds on Tuesday, Norden chief executive Jan Rindbo said the capesize and newcastlemax segment fits well with the firm’s trading strategy and mindset.

“We live in these volatile markets, where it is important to be able to adjust our positions constantly,” he said.

“Capesizes will help us to do that because with relatively fewer transactions, you can move a larger part of your exposure, either when you want to increase exposure or reduce exposure in terms of trading the vessels.”

The company first announced its intention to get involved with capesizes in February, when it released its latest set of financial results. Now work is underway to make that strategy a reality.

“The idea here is, of course, that we will serve some of our existing customers, especially within the mining industry,” Rindbo said.

“We also have our logistics projects, where we actually see capes playing an important role, because in many of the logistics projects that we’re working on with our customers, there is actually a capesize element where customers want to upsize because of the freight and emission savings you get from larger vessels.”

In March last year, Norden began operating a transshipment facility for manganese mining company Comilog in Gabon and aims to expand further with the logistics business.

As well as being an owner of capesize vessels, Norden will also develop an “asset-light” side of the business and is actively recruiting a team of people to oversee its nascent operated fleet.

“On one hand, we definitely want critical mass, which I think is 20 to 25 operated vessels,” Rindbo said. “Now, we’re not going to build a position of that size in 2023 because it will need to be done at the right pace.

“It also depends on when the new [capesize] team is in place.

“I think the vision here, longer term, is to have a position where we have sufficient scale to be relevant for our customers, we also have sufficient scale to have a market position, and then we also have sufficient scale that it’s a meaningful business for Norden and also how we overall manage our freight market exposure.”

Rindbo said Norden is still interviewing to find a suitable candidate to oversee the capesize desk and is “open-minded” about where in the world they could be based — Copenhagen, Singapore and Dubai are all options.

The physical business will also integrate with Norden’s existing activities within capesize freight derivatives. As TradeWinds reported last year, the company is expanding its paper trading activities with help from its proprietary trading algorithms — particularly in the capesize market, which has much more liquidity than for other freight derivatives.

“I think this sort of full-service approach where we can service our customers across all shapes, sizes and basically across all cargo sizes from 5,000 tonnes up to 200,000 tonnes is just an important element in how we think about servicing our customers,” Rindbo said.

Old girls

If the Norden capesizes are indeed those acquired from GoodBulk, the pair are older vessels without scrubbers fitted.

Clarksons estimates that the pair have an indicative Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) rating of D — the second lowest ranking.

Rindbo is unfazed and said Norden would likely make modifications to operate the vessels more efficiently to cut fuel consumption and emissions.

“We’re not really afraid of ships that are slightly older because we feel that we have a toolbox where we can manage emissions and actually operate ships very efficiently,” he said.

“That is actually the proposition we do offer our customers. On every single voyage, we share the emission reports. We are very transparent and open around the emissions on the vessels and also believe we can have a positive impact on that.”

GOODBULK FLEET CONTINUES TO SHRINK

GoodBulk has been downsizing its fleet, selling eight capesizes and one panamax bulker in 2022 and another five this year to date.

The reported price for the Aquatonka and Aquahaha is roughly in line with what GoodBulk achieved for a pair of similar capesizes it sold earlier this year.

Brokers reported the 180,012-dwt Aquasalwador and 178,896-dwt Aquamarie (both built 2012) sold for $57m en bloc to Greek interests, said to be Laskaridis Maritime — a company controlled by the family of Athanasios (Thanassis) Laskaridis.

The latest sales will trim the GoodBulk fleet down to nine capesizes with an average age of 12 years.

Vessel sales have helped GoodBulk shore up its bottom line during a bumpy 2022 for the capesize market.

The nine bulkers it sold last year generated $155m in free cash and $67m in profit for the firm, which trades its shares on Oslo’s over-the-counter market.

GoodBulk does not usually comment on transactions reported in the market and did not immediately respond to a request.