Norden benefits from dry bulk market’s bumper year

Danish shipping company Norden is capitalizing on rising asset values in the dry cargo market through vessel sales, with several units sold in the past few months.

As informed, the company disposed of seven bulkers in the recent period, including both Panamax and Supramax vessels.

Since the start of the year, asset prices for vessels in the dry cargo market have increased by around 80%, which by the end of Q2 had resulted in a rise of more than $350 million in the market value of Norden’s portfolio of owned and leased vessels.  

Having actively shifted exposure of the portfolio away from tankers to dry cargo during the past 18 months with the sale of six tankers and purchase of 13 dry cargo ships, Norden is now converting the added market value to profit through vessels sales. 

“The dry cargo market has been soaring this year due to a combination of a restart of demand after Covid-19 and major inefficiencies in ports around the world; coupled with one of the lowest order books on record,” Henrik Lykkegaard Madsen, Head of Asset Management, explained.

“We saw an opportunity to capitalise on these market developments.”

Norden expects to see continued positive development in the dry cargo market.

“We are still positive on the dry cargo market outlook, and we have significant upside to further asset price gains through 16 owned dry cargo vessels and 50 purchase options in our leased dry cargo fleet,” Lykkegaard Madsen concluded.

The dry bulk shipping industry’s average earnings are continuing to outshine any profits made in the past couple of years, according to BIMCO, the world’s largest shipowners association.

Capesizes are taking the spotlight, with recent earnings peaking above $50,000 per day. A much more consistent and stable increase is recorded for Handysize and Supramax ships. These saw average earnings rise to $33,087 and $36,832 per day, respectively, on 3 September.

On the same day, a Panamax ship could expect to earn $32,445 per day.