National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri) and the Dutch firm Koninklijke Bunge B.V. (Bunge) have launched its joint venture BahriBunge Dry Bulk Ltd. with the inauguration of the JV’s offices in Dubai, UAE.
The move comes on the back of a joint venture agreement signed between Bunge and Bahri Dry Bulk Company (BDB), a subsidiary of Bahri, in February 2017 when the companies agreed to charter vessels for dry bulk shipping.
With plans to ship over 5 million metric tons of dry bulk commodities in its first year, the new company will step up the import and export of dry bulk goods and ocean freight material in and out of the Middle East while strengthening the operations of Bahri Dry Bulk, according to Bahri.
”BahriBunge Dry Bulk Ltd. and the vessels chartered under its domain will provide exclusive freight transportation services to international customers, with a key focus on mobility of freight in the Middle East,” the company said.
As part of the deal, Bahri Dry Bulk will own 60% of the shares in the venture and Bunge will own the remaining 40%.
The joint venture, which is financed pro rata by Bahri Dry Bulk and Bunge, will charter and commercially operate Supramax, Panamax and other suitably-sized dry bulk vessels initially from the fleet currently owned or managed by Bahri Dry Bulk, and subsequently from third parties.
Headquartered in Dubai, the new company aims to gradually increase operations for the volume figures to touch double-digits.