The leading tramp project carrier BBC Chartering is making progress in building up its handy bulk activities.
The new BBC Dry Bulk Division, headquartered at Ballindamm in Hamburg, will soon increase its core fleet from eight to ten vessels.
Two newbuildings from the company’s own group of companies (Briese), headquartered in Leer, are expected to be delivered by the Chinese shipyard Jiangmen Nanyang Ship Engineering by October: the “BBC Neptune” and the “BBC Pluto”. These are bulk carriers with a carrying capacity of over 40,000 tdw, with wide, full-length hatches and a box-shaped hold (OHBS).
In the medium term, the core fleet is to be supplemented by long-term charter vessels.
“The ideal structure would be similar to our multipurpose project area with two thirds own tonnage and one third charter tonnage,” explains the Chief Executive Officer of BBC Chartering, Ulrich Ulrichs, in an interview with HANSA.
In 2026, the fleet is to be expanded to around 15 units in this way. In addition, BBC Bulk permanently employs five to eight freighters on a voyage or short-term basis.
The first freight tenders in the grain sector have already been won in the Far East, and according to Ulrichs, BBC will next be bidding for larger, longer-term freight contracts in the cell phone segment. “We want to build this up carefully and prefer to grow slowly but sustainably in the bulk market. Step by step, no adventures,” the CEO clarifies.
The company is satisfied with the results. With their high capacity and good equipment, the BBC bulkers could outperform the Baltic Handysize Index for 38,000-tonne trucks. The index has averaged around 10,000 $/day so far this year – currently at a good 12,000 $/day. “The business is profitable,” says Ulrichs.
The fact that the company’s mobile freighters also transport project cargo is more of an exception. BBC Dry Bulk should stand on its own two feet and primarily serve entire bulk shipments.
Nevertheless, there are synergies between bulk and tramp/project chartering, which is BBC Chartering’s core business with over 130 multipurpose vessels. “The same customers who book projects with us sometimes also have larger bulk consignments, for example in the mining or steel sector. So we already have the customer access,” emphasizes Ulrichs.
The organization of the BBC Dry Bulk Division has also been expanded since it was founded last year. At the head office in Hamburg, the Chief Chartering Officer Anastasios Karagiannis is now also responsible for operations. There are chartering managers at several locations around the world who are specifically responsible for dry bulk cargo cargo, including Singapore, Tokyo, Brisbane, Houston, Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires.
