Eagle Bulk joins Sea Cargo Charter

Eagle Bulk Shipping, one of the world’s largest owner-operators within the Supramax / Ultramax drybulk segment, has become a signatory to the Sea Cargo Charter.

The charter, which was launched in October 2020, provides a global framework for aligning chartering activities with responsible environmental behavior in order to promote international shipping’s decarbonization.

It is consistent with the International Maritime Organization’s ambition for GHG emissions from international shipping to peak as soon as possible and to reduce by at least 50% by 2050 compared to 2008 levels.

The charter gathers some of the world’s largest energy, agriculture, mining, and commodity trading companies, including Trafigura, Cargill, and Shell, who have committed to report on CO2 emissions reduction of their shipping activities in line with the industry’s decarbonization goals.

Founding signatories of the network include Anglo American, ADM, Bunge, Cargill Ocean Transportation, COFCO International, Dow, Equinor, Gunvor Group, Klaveness Combination Carriers, Louis Dreyfus Company, Norden, Occidental, Shell, Torvald Klaveness, and Trafigura.

“We believe the charter, along with other global green initiatives we are involved with, including Poseidon Principles and the Getting to Zero Coalition, will help our industry reach IMO 2030 and IMO 2050 emissions reduction targets,” Gary Vogel, Eagle Bulk’s CEO, said.

“At Eagle, we continue to execute on both strategic and operational efficiency initiatives in order to improve our carbon footprint, such as: fleet renewal, installing energy saving devices, applying low friction hull coatings, and leveraging data to optimize voyage execution.”

The announcement comes days after the company revealed that it had bought a high-specification 2015-built SDARI-64 scrubber-fitted Ultramax bulk carrier for $16 million.

The ship, which will be renamed the M/V Oslo Eagle, was constructed at Chengxi Shipyard Co. and is expected to be delivered into the fleet during the first quarter of 2021.

The company’s fleet totals 48 ships, including 21 Ultramaxes acquired over the past few years.