Fresh from bedding in the fleet of Quintana Shipping in March, John Fredriksen’s Golden Ocean looks to be on the prowl for more bulker bargains. Speaking yesterday at a virtual conference organised by Seeking Alpha and Rose & Company on the sidelines of the Marine Money gathering in New York, Birgitte Ringstad Vartdal, the CEO of Golden Ocean Management, gave the impression of someone in the market for expansion.
In her presentation Vartdal discussed current “attractive growth opportunities” and how Golden Ocean was in a “strong cash position” to make the most of these opportunities as they arise.
“We are on upward moving trend in terms of utilisation which we expect to continue,” she said of the current dry bulk markets. However, she cautioned her peers against heading to the yards in their droves like they did in 2013, killing off a nascent recovery.
“The most important thing right now is that owners refrain from new orders,” Vartdal said.
Following the acquisition of Greece’s Quintana for $412m earlier this year, Golden Ocean now has 77 ships in the water and six on order.
