Bahri, Bunge inaugurate dry bulk joint venture
The National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri) and Dutch Koninklijke Bunge B.V. (Bunge), subsidiary of Bunge Limited, a global agribusiness and food company, recently inaugurated the offices of BahriBunge Dry Bulk Ltd. in Dubai, UAE.
Under the deal, Bahri Dry Bulk will own 60% of the shares in the venture and Bunge will own 40%.
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, a business unit within Bahri. The company aims to gradually increase operations for the volume figures to touch double-digits.
In particular, BahriBunge Dry Bulk Ltd. and the vessels chartered under its domain will provide exclusive freight transportation services, with a key focus on mobility of freight in the Middle East.
The joint venture will charter and commercially operate SUPRAMAX and/or PANAMAX (and/or other suitably-sized dry bulk vessels) initially from the fleet currently owned or managed by Bahri Dry Bulk, and subsequently from third parties.
“The launch of BahriBunge Dry Bulk joint venture marks an important milestone for our company…I am confident that this new joint venture is formed in the right direction to achieve Saudi Vision 2030 and strengthen our commitment towards harnessing existing relations and forging new ones,” said Abdulrahman M. Al-Mofadhi, Chairman of Bahri.
