The companies involved in Arctic dry bulk shipping are taking different approaches to the gradually opening Northern Sea Route (NSR) trade, commercially and in terms of tonnage.
One — US-Danish company Nordic Bulk Carriers — is maintaining a narrow focus as an avowed Arctic specialist, while Golden Ocean Group and Oldendorff Carriers are integrating Arctic work into their large spot and contracts of affreightment portfolios, using somewhat lighter ice-class tonnage.
Only three bulkers of panamax size or larger made the NSR journey in the 2019 season — one for each of the companies. One of the trio did not even have a cargo.
Maiden voyage
The 104,500-dwt newbuilding Vitus Bering (built 2019) proceeded from delivery at Jiangnan Shipyard and transited the route eastbound in November for its maiden voyage. It loaded at Murmansk, at the western end of the route, and proceeded to Amsterdam.
The IACS Polar PC6 ice class post-panamax is one of two owned by Estonia's Platano Eesti on a three-year time charter to New York-listed Golden Ocean with options to extend. A third sistership is under construction for Platano.
The chartered-in newbuildings represent a change of focus. Like fellow Arctic veteran Oldendorff, Golden Ocean relies mainly on ships built to Finnish-Swedish ice-class 1C for its business there.
Oldendorff's 80,400-dwt geared kamsarmax Gebe Oldendorff (built 2016) made an eastbound transit in September with a coal cargo from Murmansk. The ship had been trading with Baffin Bay iron cargoes to Europe, but is now north of Novaya Zemlya and bound for the Russian Far East.
Exclusive trade
Arctic panamax specialist Nordic Bulk, whose ships are all of the heavier Finnish-Swedish ice-class 1A, serves the Baffin Bay ore trade exclusively. But its ships make NSR transits outbound with Baffinland ore and on backhaul. Nordic Bulk managing director Mads Boye Petersen expects his ships to make several voyages this year.
VesselsValue lists Germany's Oldendorff with commercial control of 24 ice-classed bulkers from handysize up to panamax, including 10 panamaxes all of Finnish-Swedish ice-class 1C. Six of the panamaxes are self-owned, Jinling Shipyard-built geared kamsarmaxes.
Golden Ocean owns and has commercial control of 11 panamaxes of the same ice class plus a capesize of Finnish-Swedish ice-class 2, with one on charter to competitor Oldendorff. This is in addition to the heavier IACS Polar PC6 post-panamax newbuildings chartered in from Platano.
Nordic Bulk has six panamaxes on the water plus four 95,000-dwt post-panamaxes on order from Guangzhou Shipyard International via parent company Pangaea Logistics Solutions. All are of Finnish-Swedish ice-class 1A, as are its two supramaxes.
Petersen disputed the association of higher ice class with increased fuel consumption.
"Despite their higher ice class, our ships are more economical, with a lower environmental impact, than most of the lower ice-classed vessels in the world fleet today," he told TradeWinds.
This story has been amended since publication to reflect that Nordic Bulk's four post-panamax newbuildings are on order from Guangzhou Shipyard International.
