The shipping company J. Lauritzen has chosen to opt out of its capesize ships and instead focus on smaller bulk carriers to reduce dependence on China and thus be less affected by the Chinese downturn. The small bulk carriers can be used for multiple product types and destinations.

“Capesize vessels are extremely dependent on China. They transport iron ore and coal, which has the largest China-factor. Therefore, those ships are affected most. We cut the dry cargo business, so we no longer have that size vessels. We concentrate on the smaller ships,” says Jan Kastrup-Nielsen, Managing. Director of J. Lauritzen.

“The smaller ship sizes offer many more possibilities, for example in timber, cement, minerals, cereals, feed and fertilizer. And there are many more routes – in and out of Africa, South America, etc. “, He adds.

In addition, the company is increasingly concentrating on having others’ vessels in management. “It will be a major part of the business going forward,” says Jan Kastrup-Nielsen.

In the first nine months of the year, J. Lauritzen had a deficit of $ 160,7 million compared to a profit of $ 16,3 million in the same period of 2014. Revenue for the period fell to $ 264,7 million from $ 371,4 million in 2014.