J. Lauritzen Takes Six Bulkers on Time-Charter
Image Courtesy: J. LauritzenDanish shipping company J. Lauritzen has continued adding vessels to its chartered fleet on the back of a slight improvement in the dry bulk shipping market.
The company took six handysize bulk carriers on medium-term time-charter with options to extend, J. Lauritzen said in its first half of 2017 report.
As the dry bulk industry showed some signs of recovery at the beginning of 2017, which continued in the second quarter of the year, the company managed to narrow its loss for the second quarter ended June 30, 2017, to USD 8.4 million, against a loss of USD 22.4 million reported in the second quarter of 2016.
“Restoring dry cargo markets will, despite market improvements in Q2, take yet some time,” Mads P. Zacho, J. Lauritzen CEO, said.
“Our largest gas carriers are being negatively impacted by the influx of new tonnage in the size segments above ours,” Zacho added.
For the first half of 2017, the company’s loss stood at USD 20.8 million compared to a loss of USD 30.6 million seen in the first six months of 2016.
