BREAK BULK CARGOS

 

BREAK BULK CARGOS



Break Bulk Cargos

What is Break Bulk Cargo?

Break bulk cargo refers to goods that must be loaded individually and not in containers or in bulk form. These include items like:

  • Machinery

  • Construction equipment

  • Steel products

  • Drums, sacks, pallets, and crates

This mode of shipping is essential for oversized, heavy, or irregularly shaped cargo that cannot fit into standard shipping containers.

Industry Overview and Operator Statistics (as of January 2018)

According to Dynamar, a leading industry research firm:

  • The top 10 breakbulk/multipurpose operators managed a combined 460 ships.

  • Total lifting capacity: 147,000 tons.

  • Combined deadweight tonnage (DWT): 8.136 million tons.

  • Average ship age: 8 years.

  • Overall ship count remained constant from the previous year, but total capacity increased by 2%.

Vessels Considered

The analysis focused on general cargo/multipurpose vessels, regardless of whether they are crane-equipped. The following vessel types were excluded:

  • RoRo (Roll-on/Roll-off)

  • Car carriers

  • OHGC (Open Hatch General Cargo)

  • Semi-submersibles

  • Specialized large-load or open deck vessels

These general cargo/multipurpose ships are the backbone of global breakbulk trade.

Key Players in the Break Bulk Market

1. Cosco Shipping Specialized Carriers (Cosco SSC) – China

  • Ranked 1st by deadweight tonnage.

  • Added 6 new vessels recently.

  • Launched a fleet expansion program in 2013, including:

    • 11 × 38,000 DWT ships with 200-ton cranes.

    • 12 × 29,500 DWT heavy-lift ships with 700-ton lifting capacity.

  • One of the world’s largest multipurpose vessels (38,000 DWT) was scheduled for delivery in 2018.

2. BBC Chartering – Germany

  • Ranked 2nd, after reducing its fleet by 13 vessels, now totaling 146 ships / 1.675 million DWT.

  • Despite the fleet reduction, parent company Briese enables quick access to additional tonnage if needed.

3. Spliethoff – Netherlands

  • Moved to 3rd in global ranking.

  • Sold eight older A-type (12,000 DWT) vessels.

  • Took on five 13,000 DWT ships on time charter.

  • Awaiting delivery of six new R-type vessels (118,000 DWT).

  • Despite having one of the oldest fleets (average build year: 2005), recent acquisitions have boosted its ranking.

  • Note: The ranking excludes ships from Spliethoff’s subsidiaries: BigLift, Bore, Sevenstar, Transfennica, and Wijnne Barends.

4. Thorco – Denmark

  • Saw the largest fleet reduction, down 23 units from the previous year.

  • Current fleet: 48 ships / 754,000 DWT.

  • Now ranked 4th, dropping from 3rd position.

Tracking and Port Calls

  • Break bulk carrier ship positions and next port calls can be tracked in real-time via platforms like MarineTraffic.

  • Tracking allows stakeholders to monitor voyage progress, port schedules, and ETA updates.

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