Commodities giant Cargill is looking to exit its brief flirtation with shipowning. Great Wave Navigation, a joint venture between Cargill and Mitsui, has three capesizes on order due for delivery in 2020.
However, Cargill’s interest in ownership is purely from a trading asset play perspective and being a shipowner is not part of the commodities trader’s long term plans.
Fiete Kallenberg, head of capes in Asia Pacific at Cargill Ocean Transportation, speaking at the Maritime CEO Forum held in Singapore earlier this week, told delegates: “We are not looking to be a shipowner.”
He said of the three JV capes that the plan was to dispose of them favourably. Cape newbuild prices have been appreciating in recent months suggesting Cargill could book a healthy profit from the potential resales. “We are a charterer and will look to remain a charterer,” Kallenberg stressed.
Cargill is one of the world’s largest dry bulk shippers with 600 ships on the water at any given time.
Again ? They have done this before.