Page 23 - ΝΑΥΤΙΚΑ ΧΡΟΝΙΚΑ - ΣΕΠΤΕΜΒΡΙΟΣ 2022

Τhe CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Safe Bulkers Inc. shares his views on
the impact of the war on the dry bulk sector. Mr Hajioannou also discusses the outlook
of the Greek economy and the green transition of the shipping industry.

THE

SUPPLY FUNDAMENTALS

REMAIN POSITIVE

FOR THE DRY BULK SECTOR

The CEO and Chairman Ö What developments do you expect in pressures on food and energy prices, and lin-
of the Board the dry bulk shipping routes, given gering supply-demand imbalances, global infla-
of Directors,
Safe Bulkers Inc., the ongoing geopolitical conflict in tion is anticipated to reach 6.6% in advanced
Polys V. Hajioannou, the Black Sea? economies and 9.5% in emerging market and
in an exclusive The recent agreement between Ukraine and developing economies this year, an upward revi-
interview
Russia to partially resume grain exports is sion of almost 1%.
with expected to boost global supplies and help However, the size of the Greek economy is
Giannis Theodoropoulos lower grain prices. However, given the limited such that increased direct foreign investments
duration of the agreement, we remain scep- and tourism revenues could positively affect
tical about whether red tape issues can be its growth trajectory. The EU Commission has
resolved and exports can pick up in the near recently revised its Greek economy forecasts
term. In August, we saw the first grain car- downwards, increasing inflation projections to
goes transported and Ukrainian grain exports 6.3% for 2022, mainly due to the war in Ukraine
slowly resuming. If the deal is extended and and the subsequent turmoil in the energy market.
not undermined, more shipments could go to
Asia, demand could increase, and the same may â The shipping industry will be imple-
happen with ton-miles, but to a lesser level menting new environmental regula-
than before the war. tions in 2023. Given the uncertainty
caused by the lack of ready-to-use
á Your company recently listed a bond technologies and fuels and the new
on the Athens Stock Exchange to energy status quo, how can a com-
raise additional capital. What is the pany draw up a clear green invest-
outlook for the Greek stock market ment strategy?
and the Greek economy as a whole? Safe Bulkers has put environmental competi-
How will the energy crisis and rising tiveness at the centre of its investment strat-
inflation affect the growth prospects egy. Our fleet currently consists of 44 dry bulk
of Greece? vessels. We had placed a total order for 11
Given the comparatively small size of the Greek Tier III-compliant newbuilds, of which we have
economy, we expect that it will be heavily already taken delivery of the first two - MV Vas-
affected by the Euro Area growth prospects, sos in May and MV Climate Respect in July. Five
which have been recently revised downwards to more are expected in 2023, three in 2024, and
2.6% for 2022 and 1.2% for 2023 as per IMF’s the last one in the first quarter of 2025. Our
latest world economic outlook growth projec- fleet will count 53 ships after these deliveries,
tion released on 26 July. In Europe, these sig- and our current fleet average of 10.3 years will
nificant downgrades reflect spill-overs from the remain stable for the next 2 years. Making an
war in Ukraine and the tighter monetary policy. investment of this size in the latest technology
On the other hand, due to the war-induced available on Tier III-compliant newbuilds clearly
commodity price increases, the broadening reflects our determination to stay at the fore-

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