Forbes – Safebulkers: The largest ship-owner under the Cyprus Registry
Source: in-cyprus.com
Safe Bulkers is an international provider of seaborne transportation services of dry bulk commodities. With a modern fleet of 46 bulk carriers with an aggregate carrying capacity of 4.8 million dwt (5.3 mil dwt including the newbuilds) and an average age of 9.85 years, the Company’s vessels transport a wide range of dry bulk cargoes across the globe, including major bulks as grains, coal and iron ore and other minor bulks as bauxite, alumina and fertilizer.
Incorporated in the Marshall Islands, Safe Bulkers has been listed on the NYSE since 2008 with its common stock trading under the symbol “SB”. The Company’s operations are managed by its management companies based in Cyprus, Greece, and Monaco.
The Managers, Safe Bulkers Management Ltd, Safety Management Overseas S.A. and Safe Bulkers Management Monaco Inc., provide comprehensive technical, administrative and commercial services to the Company’s vessels, leveraging their regional expertise to ensure the highest standards and operational excellence. With 44 out of 46 of the Company’s vessels flying the quality EU Cyprus flag, Safe Bulkers is the largest ship-owner under the Cyprus Registry.
Being a successor to a company first established in 1958, Safe Bulkers has a proud tradition of more than 65 years of enduring and resilient presence within the drybulk sector, through consistent outperformance and a steadfast commitment to sustainable growth. Over the past decades, Safe Bulkers has formed strong partnerships with key players in the dry bulk market and has been well-recognized for its operational excellence, strong financial profile and transparent corporate governance practices.
Safe Bulkers places sustainability at the core of its business operations, ensuring that its strategies, decisions, and actions are consistently aligned with environmentally responsible practices. Since 2020, Safe Bulkers has annually published its Sustainability Report (available at www.safebulkers.com) to better inform its stakeholders on its ESG approach and performance.
These annual reports reflect Safe Bulkers’ steadfast commitment to transparency and sustainability, detailing its actions across all three ESG dimensions. On the Environmental front, it highlights a 7,42% annual reduction in fleet carbon intensity in 2023, based on Annual Efficiency Ratio (AER). In terms of Society, it emphasizes contributions such as 10 annual scholarships for maritime studies abroad, five annual scholarships to students of the four-year Nautical Science program at the Cyprus Maritime Academy and donations, including a specialized speedboat to the Republic of Cyprus for search and rescue operations in the broader region. Furthermore, the reports underline ongoing improvements to the governance framework, the capstone of which is the establishment of an ESG committee at the Board of Directors level.
Safe Bulkers is committed to maintaining one of the most efficient fleets in the dry bulk segment. To deliver on this, the Company is prioritizing two key strategies: i) its comprehensive fleet renewal program by ordering new modern vessels, acquiring younger secondhand vessels, and selling some older ones and ii) its ongoing program for the environmental upgrading of existing vessels of its fleet by integrating newer eco-efficient technologies during dry dockings. To date, 24 existing vessels have been upgraded.
As part of its fleet renewal program, the Company signed contracts for the acquisition of two dual-fueled newbuilding Kamsarmax dry-bulk vessels, capable of operating with methanol and fuel.
When powered by green methanol, these vessels can produce close to zero GHG emissions based on the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology well-to-propeller (WTP). At the same time, following the recent deliveries of its first eleven newbuilds, Safe Bulkers has an outstanding orderbook of 7 newbuild dry bulk vessels with prompt scheduled delivery dates, one in the second quarter of 2025, four in 2026 and two set for delivery within the first quarter of 2027. All the newbuilding vessels are designed to meet the highest operational and environmental standards, compliant with the future requirements of IMO regulations and especially those relating to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (EEDI – Phase 3), as well as those related to nitrogen oxide emissions (NOx-Tier III). Like the first eleven newbuilding vessels, all upcoming newbuilds will proudly fly the quality Cyprus flag, enhancing the Cypriot Registry with the most advanced green ships in the global market.
The original article: belongs to in-cyprus.com .
