Our core market

Pacific Basin is a dry bulk shipping specialist. We are the world's largest owner and operator of high-quality Handysize ships with a significant presence also in the Supramax segment.

Understanding Our Core Market

The Dry Bulk Sector
Why we focus on minor bulks
Our Worldwide Network and Trading Areas
A focused approach - offering benefits of diversification
Opportunities and Challenges

The Dry Bulk Sector

Why we focus on minor bulks

  • More diverse customer, cargo and geographical exposure enables high utilisation
  • A segment where scale and operational expertise make a difference
  • Better daily TCE earnings driven by a high laden-to-ballast ratio
  • Sound long-term demand expectations and modest historical fleet growth
We operate approximately 5% of global 25-40,000 dwt Handysize ships of less than 20 years old
We operate approximately 4% of global 40-70,000 dwt Supramax ships of less than 20 years old
Pacific Basin
Other Top Ten
Other

Source: Pacific Basin, Clarksons Research

We are one of the world's largest Handysize and Supramax owners and operators in a highly fragmented market that revolves around the carriage of minor bulks.

Minor bulk commodities are very varied, controlled by a large number of customers and transported via a large number of ports globally, enabling triangular trading and thus high vessel utilisation. This segment requires versatile self-loading and discharging (“geared”) ships of “handy” proportions to allow them access to the many ports around the world restricted by shallow water, locks, narrow channels and river bends.

By contrast, cargo demand for large bulk carriers comprises only a few major bulk commodities controlled by a handful of cargo owners and transported through a much smaller number of ports, making them heavily dependent on relatively few trades and hence their prospects are more volatile. Their activity is typically characterised by one-way laden transportation resulting in lower utilisation.

We are focused on a particular ship segment and size, but are diversified geographically and in terms of customers and cargoes. This allows us scope to triangulate our voyages – such as by combining fronthaul and backhaul trades – and thus enhance our vessel utilisation and earnings. We do not participate in the volatile freight earnings that large bulk carriers can achieve, but we are well positioned to achieve our important aim of generating a steadier and more sustainable earnings stream with better protected earnings in the down-cycle through our business model.

Our earnings reliability is further enhanced by the fact that global Handysize capacity has experienced only relatively modest growth in the past decade compared to the much larger expansion of the major bulk fleets.

Our Worldwide Network
and Trading Areas

11 commercial offices
4 technical & crewing offices
Fronthaul Cargoes
Backhaul Cargoes

Our Hong Kong headquarters is home to commercial, technical, crewing and all central functions.

Distribution of our Cargo Loading and Discharging Activity in 2023 and 2022 (by volume)

A Focused Approach – Offering Benefits of Diversification

Diversified geography, customers and cargoes
500+ customers globally
Our largest customer represents only 4% of our volumes
Our top 25 customers represent 30% of our volumes

Long-term Challenges and Opportunities

Fragmented market

The minor bulk sector is highly fragmented, but our scale sets us apart as a major freight provider able to offer reliability and flexibility for customers while benefiting from scale economies such as lower bulk purchasing costs and higher ship and fleet utilisation.

Market cycles and volatility

Our business model, know-how and understanding of shipping cycles enable us to outperform throughout the cycle, manage our balance sheet, and remain a strong and reliable counterparty for our customers even in weak market conditions.

Environmental considerations and regulation

Our drive for fuel efficiency ensures that emissions concerns are aligned with our strategy, and our award-winning in-house technical operation ensures we meet all regulatory requirements and industry best practices.

Limited supply of seafarers and shore-based talent

Our industry is challenged by a short supply of seafarers and shipping executives, but the strength of our employer brand, industry network and personnel function allows us to attract and retain the staff we need.

Utilising Data for Better Decision-Making

Capturing and utilising data from internal and external sources is becoming increasingly important to stay competitive. Our digitisation programme gives us the extra operational and market intelligence to support better decision-making at all levels.

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