〆JMD interviewed Martin Fruergaard, CEO of Pacific Basin.
〆Fruergaard stated, “Our bulker fleet has expanded to a record-high of 320 vessels. We now have over 65 debt-free ships.”
〆Pacific Basin hosted a party last night at the Tokyo Kaikan, gathering over 300 attendees.
On April 25, 2024, Martin Fruergaard, CEO of Pacific Basin (PB), a major dry bulk shipping company based in Hong Kong, participated in an interview with The Japan Maritime Daily at the company’s office in Marunouchi, Chiyoda-city, Tokyo. According to Mr. Fruergaard, the number of medium and small bulk carriers operated by PB has expanded to a record high of 320 vessels. Building on the strong financial results of 2021-22, PB has been making repayments on its interest-bearing debt. As a result, Mr. Fruergaard explained that the number of debt-free ships owned by PB, ships for which construction financing has been fully repaid, has increased to over 65. These debt-free vessels serve as a source of competitive advantage for PB.
PB currently operates a fleet of approximately 320 vessels. The breakdown of the fleet includes 145 vessels in the core fleet (owned by the company or under long-term charter) and 178 vessels under short-term charter. This represents a significant expansion from the fleet size of 240 vessels a year ago.
On the same evening, PB hosted a networking party at one of Tokyo’s most prestigious venues, the Tokyo Kaikan. The party brought together over 300 attendees from various sectors including shipowners, shipyards, cargo owners, trading companies, financial institutions, brokers, classification societies, insurers, and IT companies.
CEO Martin Fruergaard delivered the following greeting: “We are proud to be the world’s largest user of Japanese-built Handy-size and Supramax vessels, and a significant charterer of vessels owned by Japanese shipowners.” He continued, “We remain committed to actively engaging in more new buildings and chartering in Japan in the future.”
〆JMDはPacific BasinのCEO、Martin Fruergaard氏にインタビューした。
〆Fruergaard氏は次のように語った。「バルカーの船隊規模が過去最大320隻に増加した。デットフリー（無借金）船も65隻強になった」
〆Pacific Basinは昨日の夜、東京會舘で３００人以上の関係者を集めパーティーを実施した。
香港のドライバルク船大手パシフィック・ベイスン（PB）のMartin Fruergaard、CEO（最高経営責任者）は２０２４年４月２５日、東京都千代田区丸の内の同社日本事務所で日本海事新聞とのインタビュー取材に応じた。Mr. Fruergaardによると、PBの運航する中型や小型バルカーの隻数は過去最大の320隻まで拡大した。PBは2021―22年の好調な決算を基に、同社の有利子負債の返済を進めた。その結果、PBは同社の保有船のうち、建造資金の返済が完了したデットフリー船が65隻強まで増加したと説明した。デッドフリー船はPBの競争力の源泉となっている。
PBの運航規隻数は約320隻。運航船の内訳は基幹船隊（自社保有船・長期用船）が145隻、短期用船が178隻。運航船隊は1年前の240隻規模から大幅に拡大した。
同日の夜、PBは東京で最も格式高い会場の一つである東京會舘でネットワーキング・パーティーを開催した。そのパーティーには船主や造船所、荷主、商社、金融機関、ブローカー、船級、保険、ＩＴ企業などから３００人強が集まった。
Martin Fruergaard CEOは次のように挨拶した。「われわれは日本建造のハンディサイズ、スープラマックスの世界最大のユーザーであり、日本船主の保有船の最大のチャータラーの一角だ」「我々は今後もより多くの日本での新造整備、用船に積極的に取り組んでいく」。
〆The following is an excerpt of CEO Martin Fruergaard’s remarks at the party.
Today, Pacific Basin operates one of the World’s largest fleets of modern Handysize and Supramax vessels with around 307 ships currently on the water. Of these, [146] ships are owned or long-term chartered, of which about 90% are Japanese-built. Therefore, I think we are the World’s largest user of Japanese-built Handysize and Supramax vessels, and one of the largest charterers of vessels belonging to Japanese owners. Supporting our large fleet, Pacific Basin has a network of 11 commercial offices across 6 continents, over 370 employees ashore and around 4,000 seafarers. So I can safely say that we can meet your needs on any route, anywhere in the World, at any time.
I’d like to mention a few of our company’s recent highlights:
For 2022, we achieved a record underlying profit of US$715 million and EBITDA of US$935 million. Our net profit of US$702 million was the second-best in our company’s history.
This was the result of a strong dry bulk market especially during the first half of 2022 due to high demand for minor bulk commodities supported by port-related congestion and limited new supply.
We have enjoyed a very successful two years, in which we made net profits totaling US$1.5 billion while declaring nearly US$1 billion in dividends to shareholders, and at the same time reducing debt by US$485 million, and at the end of 2022 we had a net cash position of US$65 million dollars.
We have been active in growing and renewing our fleet and since 2021 we have sold 12 ships while purchasing 18. We expect to continue to be active in purchasing and chartering more Japanese-built vessels. In fact, we have committed to purchase a total of 15 vessels from Japanese sellers and owners in the last 2 years. We have also committed to charter 10 new building vessels on long-term charter from Japanese owners since early 2022. We appreciate very much their trust in the Pacific Basin and their belief in the longer-term prospects for our Company.
We are also excited with the progress we are making in our collaboration with Nihon Shipyard and Mitsui & Co as we draw on our collective expertise to develop a design for a methanol-fuelled bulk carrier and consider related bunkering infrastructure. We look forward to sharing more with you about this as we progress.
FINANCE
Our efforts have also not gone unnoticed with Pacific Basin winning both the Bulk Ship Operator of the Year Award at the International Bulk Journal awards, as well as the Shipping Company of the Year Award at the Seatrade Maritime Awards. These top global awards – as well as the many others, received for our efforts in safety, governance, sustainability, and investor relations – highlight our ongoing contributions to the global dry bulk sector.
And, for 2023, we continue to believe that, despite short-term headwinds, the underlying demand and supply fundamentals of the minor bulk market will support rates that will allow us to generate steadier and more sustainable earnings over the long term.
We support the global decarbonization efforts and believe it’s the right thing to do for our company, our shareholders, and for society in general.
We believe the many new decarbonization rules will lead to the accelerated development of new fuels, engine technology and vessel designs to which the Japanese maritime industry can greatly contribute. We also believe that the environmental regulations will over time encourage the scrapping of poor-quality ships. And it will be positive for companies like Pacific Basin with a large high-quality fleet and the in-house knowledge to adapt and to cope practically and financially with compliance and technology changes.
To wrap up, we have a long-term focus, and we believe our values match very well with our Japanese partners. We are a stable long-term counterparty that can be depended on to perform in any market condition – good or bad. As we say in our corporate slogan, we are “with you for the long haul”. To the cargo customers here, if you are using us already, thank you so much for your ongoing support. If you are not yet using Pacific Basin, please give us a chance! Our team is here and ready to take your cargo orders!
We thank you, all our Japanese friends for giving us the opportunity to partner with you. We do not take your support for granted, and we will work extremely hard to continue to earn your trust, friendship, and support.
I would like to conclude by saying it’s a real privilege and a great pleasure for me to share this memorable evening with you all. I thank you for joining us today, and I would like to raise a toast to our mutual good health, prosperity, and partnership!