Star Bulk Carriers Corp., a global shipping company, owns and operates a modern and diverse fleet of dry bulk vessels.
The company’s vessels transport a broad range of major and minor bulk commodities, including iron ore, minerals, and grain, bauxite, fertilizers, and steel products, along worldwide shipping routes.
Fleet
The company has built a fleet through timely and selective corporate mergers, and fleet acquisitions of secondhand vessels and vessels under construction. The company has a...
Star Bulk Carriers Corp., a global shipping company, owns and operates a modern and diverse fleet of dry bulk vessels.
The company’s vessels transport a broad range of major and minor bulk commodities, including iron ore, minerals, and grain, bauxite, fertilizers, and steel products, along worldwide shipping routes.
Fleet
The company has built a fleet through timely and selective corporate mergers, and fleet acquisitions of secondhand vessels and vessels under construction. The company has a large, modern, fuel-efficient, and high-quality fleet, which emphasizes the ability to transport a multitude of dry bulk cargoes across the globe on a 24/7 basis. The company’s fleet is built at leading shipyards, and features the latest technology.
The majority of the company’s operating fleet is equipped with a vessel remote monitoring system that provides data to monitor fuel and lubricant consumption, and efficiency on a real-time basis.
In addition, pursuant to the IMO sulfur cap regulations, which set a sulfur oxide emissions limit of 0.5% m/m and came into force in January 2020, the company decided to install scrubbers on the vast majority of its vessels (‘Scrubber Retrofitting Program’). As of December 31, 2024, the company had scrubbers fitted on 148 of the 153 vessels in its fleet on a fully delivered basis.
Furthermore, the company is actively investing in reducing the carbon emissions of its vessels using a variety of technologies, such as hull cleaning robots, voyage optimization software, investing in premium low-friction hull antifouling paints, including top-tier self-polishing (‘SPC technology’) and friction-resistant silicon coatings (‘FRC technology’), variable frequency drivers for engine room fans and seawater cooling pumps, and installation of Energy Saving Devices (‘ESD’), mainly Mewis ducts and Propeller boss cap fins, on its vessels. As of February 17, 2025, the company had completed the installation of 42 ESD on its vessels, and it has planned for another 23 vessels to be equipped with such devices in 2025. In 2025, the company plans to complete the installation of five new high-efficiency designed propellers (‘HEP’) optimized to the operating profile of its vessels.
The company’s vessels under construction meet the latest requirements of the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI Phase 3) in relation to carbon dioxide (CO2) intensity, and comply with the latest NOX regulations, NOX TIER III. In addition, these vessels are fitted with the latest available and most fuel-efficient main engine produced by MAN B&W, a shaft generator, and Alternate Marine Power optionality, all of which help to ensure best-in-class daily fuel consumption and emissions reductions.
Business Strategies
The key elements of the company’s strategy are to charter its vessels in a manner that maximizes its fleet’s revenue potential; expand and renew its fleet through opportunistic acquisitions of high-quality vessels at attractive prices or through chartering-in of modern vessels; maintain a strong balance sheet through optimization of the use of leverage; maintain competitive costs, and safeguard high-quality standards; and be a leader in ESG practices in the dry bulk shipping sector.
Customers
The company has well-established relationships with major dry bulk charterers, which it serves by carrying a variety of cargoes over a multitude of routes around the globe. The company charters out its vessels to first-class iron ore miners, utilities companies, commodity trading houses, and diversified shipping companies.
Operations
In-House Management of the fleet
Star Bulk Management Inc., Star Bulk (Hellas) Inc., Starbulk S.A., Star Bulk Shipmanagement (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., and Eagle Ship Management LLC, five of the company’s wholly-owned subsidiaries, perform the operational and technical management services for the majority of the vessels in its fleet, including chartering, marketing, capital expenditures, personnel, accounting, paying vessel taxes, and maintaining insurance. Star Bulk Shipmanagement Company (Cyprus) Limited, a previous wholly-owned subsidiary of the company, which provided certain management services to seven vessels of its fleet, was sold to Ship Procurement Services Company (Cyprus) Ltd. on December 3, 2024. The management of the relevant vessels remains with Star Bulk Shipmanagement Company (Cyprus) Limited.
Star Bulk Management Inc. (‘Star Bulk Management’) is responsible for the management of the vessels. Star Bulk Management’s responsibilities include, inter alia, locating, purchasing, financing, and selling vessels, deciding on capital expenditures for the vessels, paying vessels’ taxes, negotiating charters for the vessels, managing the mix of various types of charters, developing, and managing the relationships with charterers, and the operational and technical managers of the vessels. Star Bulk Management Inc. subcontracts certain vessel management services to Starbulk S.A.
Starbulk S.A. and Star Bulk (Hellas) Inc. provide the technical and crew management of the majority of the company’s vessels. Technical management includes maintenance, dry docking, repairs, insurance, regulatory and classification society compliance, arranging for and managing crews, appointing technical consultants, and providing technical support.
Star Bulk Shipmanagement (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. provides technical management to certain vessels of the former Eagle fleet from Singapore, as a result of the Eagle Merger.
Eagle Ship Management LLC provides commercial, technical, and strategic management to eight vessels of the former Eagle fleet from Stamford as a result of the Eagle Merger.
Crewing
Starbulk S.A., Star Bulk (Hellas) Inc., Star Bulk Shipmanagement Company (Cyprus) Limited, and Eagle Ship Management LLC are responsible for recruiting, either directly or through a crew manager, the senior officers and all other crew members for the vessels in its fleet. All four companies have the responsibility to ensure that all seamen have the qualifications and licenses required to comply with international regulations and shipping conventions, and that the vessels are manned by experienced, competent, and trained personnel. Starbulk S.A., Star Bulk (Hellas) Inc., Star Bulk Shipmanagement Company (Cyprus) Limited, and Eagle Ship Management LLC are also responsible for ensuring that seafarers’ wages and terms of employment conform to international standards or to general collective bargaining agreements to allow unrestricted worldwide trading of the vessels, and provide the crewing management for the vessels in its fleet that are not managed by third-party managers.
Outsourced Management of the fleet
The company engages Ship Procurement Services S.A., a third-party company, to provide to its fleet certain procurement services.
Following the completion of the acquisition of certain vessels from Augustea Atlantica SpA (‘Augustea’) and York Capital Management (‘York’) in 2018 (the ‘Augustea Vessels’), the company appointed Augustea Technoservices Ltd., an entity affiliated with certain of the sellers of the corresponding transaction and specifically with one of the company’s directors, Mr. Zagari, as the technical manager of certain of its vessels. During 2021 and 2022, certain management services of the vessels previously managed by Augustea Technoservices Ltd were appointed to Iblea Ship Management Limited, an entity also affiliated with Mr. Zagari.
During 2018 and 2019, the company also appointed Equinox Maritime Ltd., Zeaborn GmbH & Co. KG, and Technomar Shipping Inc., which are third-party management companies, to provide certain management services to its vessels.
During 2022 and 2023, the management of certain vessels previously managed by Iblea Ship Management Limited and Technomar Shipping Inc transitioned from third-party to in-house management. In 2022, all management agreements with Technomar Shipping Inc. were terminated. In addition, during 2024, the management of the two vessels from Zeaborn was also transitioned to in-house management.
As of December 31, 2024, Equinox Maritime Ltd., Iblea Ship Management Limited, and affiliates, and Star Bulk Shipmanagement Company (Cyprus) Limited provided technical, operational, and crewing management services to 25 of the 151 vessels in the company’s fleet.
Environmental and Other Regulations in the Shipping Industry
The company has specifically developed a recycling policy, which has been included within its Safety Management System (‘SMS’) and applies to all the managed vessels.
Furthermore, the company established a standardized and structured process to ensure completeness, consistency, and accuracy in its emissions-related monitoring and reporting process for worldwide, EU, and UK operations, including with respect to the Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (‘MRV’) regulation and the IMO Data Collection System (‘DCS’), as well as the relevant monitoring plans and advanced data collection, analysis, monitoring, and reporting systems through its VPM system. As part of the data collection and key performance indicators’ calculation process, the company uses its in-house developed VPM system, which provides accurate and real-time information regarding the performance of its vessels. Additionally, with the introduction of IMO DCS, EU the Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (‘MRV’), and UK MRV, the reported CO2 emissions of the company’s vessels are also subjected to third-party verification by an independent accredited verifier.
A variety of government and private entities subject the company’s vessels to both scheduled and unscheduled inspections. These entities include the local port authorities (applicable national authorities, such as the United States Coast Guard (‘USCG’), harbor master, or equivalent), classification societies, flag state administrations (countries of registry), and charterers, particularly terminal operators.
The company has also become certified according to the ISO 9001, 14001, 45001, and 50001 standards pertaining to compliance with elevated quality, environmental, occupational health and safety, and energy efficiency requirements, thus increasing the requirements its vessels and management company have to comply with on various levels.
The company has become certified for ISO 26000, 27001, and 31000 standards and guidelines pertaining to social responsibility, cybersecurity, and risk management.
The company has also become certified under the ISO 50001 standard for energy efficiency, which has caused its vessels to comply with even more requirements and to ensure that they are continuously improving their performance in order to satisfy these requirements. Compliance with ISO 50001 requires that the company continuously improve its vessels’ energy performance, energy efficiency, energy use, and consumption.
The majority of the company’s fleet is fitted with Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems, which reduce the sulfur content of the exhaust gas emissions.
Any passage of climate control legislation or other regulatory initiatives by the IMO, the EU, the U.S., or other countries where the company operates, or any treaty adopted at the international level to succeed the Kyoto Protocol or Paris Agreement that restricts emissions of greenhouse gases could require the company to make significant financial expenditures, which it cannot predict with certainty at this time.
The company is committed to ensuring that its vessels are in full compliance with SOLAS.
Under Chapter IX of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea of 1974 (‘SOLAS Convention’), or the International Safety Management Code for the Safe Operation of Ships and for Pollution Prevention (the ‘ISM Code’), the company’s operations are also subject to environmental standards and requirements. The company relies upon the safety management system that it and its technical management team have developed for compliance with the ISM Code. The company is committed to conducting its operations systematically by following the requirements of the ISO 14001 and striving to maintain ZERO Oil Spills and ZERO Marine and Pollution Atmospheric Incidents.
The company has obtained applicable documents of compliance for its offices and safety management certificates for all of its vessels for which certificates are required by the IMO.
In line with the best practices that the company applies throughout onboard and ashore procedures, the SMS has been developed to fully comply with the Dry-BMS standards set out by RightShip.
The company has developed and implemented the required ballast water treatment systems or ‘BWTS’ in its fleet, and is in compliance with all the applicable regulations.
The company has obtained Anti-fouling System Certificates for all of its vessels that are subject to the Anti-fouling Convention.
The bio-fouling regulatory framework had been updated by the MEPC.387(81) – BWM.2/Circ.80/Rev.1, and all the documentation carried on board by the company’s vessels is now in the process of being fully aligned with the requirements as of February 1, 2025.
The company complies and plans to comply going forward with the USCG’s financial responsibility regulations by providing applicable certificates of financial responsibility. All of the company’s vessels arriving at the U.S. or Canadian ports are covered under a COFR - Certificate of Financial Responsibility.
As of December 31, 2024, each of the company’s vessels was ISM Code certified.
Both The U.S. Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (‘OPA’) and Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (‘CERCLA’) impact the company’s operations.
The company and its vessels that call at the U.S. ports are all covered under the QI (Qualified Individual), and engagement with Witt O’Briens and their ongoing contract with the USCG provide the company with the latest updates and legislations, and are in charge of updating the company’s manuals pertaining to the relevant requirements. In addition, the company is also covered through its contracts with the National Response Corporation for Oil Spill Response Organization purposes, and with T&T Salvage, LLC for Salvage & Marine Fire-Fighting.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (‘EPA’) and the USCG have also enacted rules relating to ballast water discharge, compliance with which requires the installation of equipment on the company’s vessels to treat ballast water before it is discharged, or the implementation of other port facility disposal arrangements or procedures at potentially substantial costs, and/or otherwise restrict its vessels from entering U.S. waters.
All of the company’s vessels submit their NOIs/eNOIs to the USCG and their flag administration accordingly within the required timeframes.
In connection with the EU Emissions Trading System (the ‘EU ETS’) regulation target CO2 emissions reductions, the company is implementing and continuing to adopt measures to decarbonize its fleet and improve the Carbon Intensity Indicator (‘CII’), and is working to minimize the financial impact via the inclusion of a clause in its charter party agreements which imposes an obligation on the charterer to cover the cost associated with the CO2 emissions generated during voyages to and from, and within the EU.
The company complies with the local Chinese regulations and requirements pertaining to the Ship Pollution Response Organization. This requires owners/operators of any ship carrying polluting and hazardous cargoes in bulk, or any other vessel above 10,000 GT to enter into a pollution clean-up contract with a Maritime Safety Agency (‘MSA’) approved Ship Pollution Response Organization before the vessel enters a Chinese port.
As a member of a P&I Association, which is a member of the International Group, the company is subject to calls payable to the associations based on its claim records, as well as the claim records of all other members of the individual associations and members of the shipping pool of P&I Associations comprising the International Group.
The company had proactively taken immediate steps to comply in 2019 with certain provisions of EU regulation (1257/2013 on Ship recycling) that took effect on December 31, 2020.
All of the company’s vessels have been awarded a Maritime Labor Convention 2006 (‘MLC 2006’) certificate following the relevant MLC inspection carried out on board, and they have been approved for DMLC Part II by the ROs/flag administration in compliance with the requirements set out in the DMLC Part I issued by the respective flag administrations accordingly.
All of the company’s vessels are certified as being ‘in class’ by all the applicable Classification Societies (e.g., Bureau Veritas, NKK, DNV-GL, American Bureau of Shipping, Lloyd’s Register of Shipping).
All of the company’s vessels are already fully compliant with the ISPS code and have the International Ship Security Certificate (ISSC).
History
Star Bulk Carriers Corp. was incorporated in 2006 under the laws of the Marshall Islands.
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