Ultrabulk has committed to maintaining a presence in Japan by opening a permanent office in Tokyo, which will form a base for its chartering activities.
The bulker operator, which has relationships with Japanese shipowners and cargo interests dating back 25 years, has had a temporary office in Tokyo since the beginning of the year.
This has been made permanent with the opening of Ultrabulk Japan KK, which will employ a Japanese chartering executive with a strong knowledge of the local market, the firm said in a LinkedIn update on Thursday.
Chief executive Hans-Christian Olesen told Japan Maritime Daily last week: “We’re very proud of the long partnership that we have been able to live up to in every single contract over the last 25 years.
“It has sometimes been a difficult time in the dry bulk market, but we are very proud to be able to work with our Japanese partners to honour the agreements.”
The company, which counts the Von Appen family as its major shareholder, has taken delivery of 78 newbuildings from Japanese shipyards and Japanese-controlled overseas yards since 2005.
“We are operators, not speculators. Our business model is that we are here to serve our target clients. That’s why we need very high-quality vessels from Japan,” Olesen told Japan Maritime Daily.
“Seventy-five per cent of our fixtures are voyage fixtures and only 25% are time charter-related. So we need to provide high-quality vessel service to our industrial customers.”
Ultrabulk has around 160 employees across nine offices in Tokyo, Singapore, Sydney, Dubai, Cape Town, Copenhagen, New York, Rio de Janeiro and Santiago.
The company operates between 165 and 190 bulkers in the panamax, supramax, handysize and multipurpose segments at any one time.
