Dry CargoEurope

The worst dry bulk market since the Vikings? Golden Ocean boss warns on bankruptcies

With sources close to John Fredriksen telling Splash he’s gearing up for a dry bulk binge, his right hand man at Golden Ocean has done his bidding, by trashing the sector.

Speaking at a conference in Oslo, Herman Billung, ceo at Fredriksen’s dry bulk line, said the sector faced “a lot of bankruptcies”. This week, Norwegian firm Bulk Invest, formerly known as Western Bulk, became the latest bulker company to fold. Speaking with Bloomberg later Billung added: “In dry bulk, we haven’t seen as bad a market since the Viking age. Has it ever been this bad in modern history? I would say no.”

Fredriksen pocketed $510m from a share sale in Marine Harvest, a salmon fish farmer, earlier this week. Splash understands much of these proceeds will be ploughed into dry bulk bargains and distressed offshore assets. In December, Fredriksen formed a new firm, Sandbox, to acquire distressed rig newbuilds.

Sam Chambers

Starting out with the Informa Group in 2000 in Hong Kong, Sam Chambers became editor of Maritime Asia magazine as well as East Asia Editor for the world’s oldest newspaper, Lloyd’s List. In 2005 he pursued a freelance career and wrote for a variety of titles including taking on the role of Asia Editor at Seatrade magazine and China correspondent for Supply Chain Asia. His work has also appeared in The Economist, The New York Times, The Sunday Times and The International Herald Tribune.
Back to top button