One of Oman’s largest shipping companies, Asyad Shipping, is fully ramping up its presence in the dry bulk market.
The state-owned shipping group, headquartered in Muscat, recently sent a clear signal: after a series of acquisitions of large bulk carriers, the company will continue to expand its dry bulk fleet, with a key focus on the large vessel market. At the same time, leveraging opportunities for regional logistics restructuring arising from shipping uncertainties around the Strait of Hormuz, Asyad has begun to deploy deeper logistics operations such as transshipment, warehousing, and cargo分包.
Imad Al Khaduri, Chief Commercial Officer of Asyad Shipping, stated that the company’s expansion plan has not ended after completing the acquisition of two Kamsarmax bulk carriers last month.
“The company’s goal is to become a regional and even global player in the dry bulk sector,” he said. “We have already built a solid foundation in oil and gas transportation, and the dry bulk business will become an important direction for the company’s next phase of growth.”
It is understood that Asyad previously acquired two 85,000 DWT Kamsarmax bulk carriers for USD 72.7 million. In September last year, the company also spent approximately USD 209 million to purchase three Newcastlemax bulk carriers from 2020 Bulkers, and simultaneously signed a 10-year long-term contract of affreightment (COA) with a global mining company.
This indicates that Asyad is significantly accelerating its expansion into the large bulk carrier segment.
In fact, this Omani shipowner has long primarily operated in the tanker business, only formally entering the dry bulk market in 2011. Initially, its dry bulk operations mainly relied on long-term chartered Supramax vessels to transport bauxite for Oman’s Sohar Aluminium smelter.
After more than a decade of expansion, Asyad’s current operated dry bulk fleet includes Ultramax, Kamsarmax, Newcastlemax, and Very Large Ore Carriers (VLOCs), totaling approximately 50 vessels owned and chartered-in.
Imad Al Khaduri stated that the company’s focus on large bulk carriers is due to the apparent trend towards “larger vessels” in global commodity transportation.
“More and more cargo types require larger tonnage vessels for transport. We believe the future development direction of the industry is evolving towards larger sizes.”
He revealed that Asyad plans to enter more dry bulk sub-markets in the future, and new investments will likely continue to concentrate on large vessel types. However, further details have not yet been disclosed.
Meanwhile, the company has not abandoned opportunities in the small and medium-sized vessel market, but related deployments are more likely to be achieved through cooperation with commodity exporters.
In terms of cargo types, aggregates have become one of Oman’s important export commodities, with demand, particularly from the Asian market, continuing to grow.
“The dry bulk business will become an important pillar for the company’s future growth,” Imad Al Khaduri stated. “We hope to achieve diversified development across different vessel types and different sub-sectors, and may also cooperate with other operators to expand scale.”
Notably, Asyad began deploying Ultramax vessels about five years ago, currently owns seven, and plans to continue expanding this fleet segment.
With four VLOCs and multiple Newcastlemax vessels, Asyad has become one of the largest dry bulk operators in the Gulf region by deadweight tonnage. Its VLOCs have long served Brazilian mining giant Vale.
Additionally, high natural gas prices are reactivating the global seaborne thermal coal trade. Imad Al Khaduri believes that Kamsarmax vessels will be an important beneficiary of this round of coal transportation demand.
“Currently, we own two Kamsarmaxes and have chartered in two or three more. We will continue to charter vessels in the market.”
Beyond fleet expansion, Asyad is also beginning to see new opportunities arising from the reshaping of regional logistics systems. The company believes that if the Strait of Hormuz faces long-term navigation restrictions in the future, Oman, leveraging its geographical advantage, could become a more important transshipment hub in the Gulf region.
To this end, Asyad has started focusing on logistics businesses such as cargo分包, bagging, and warehousing. Imad Al Khaduri revealed that the current fertilizer supply chain in the Middle East has experienced significant disruption, with some importers considering shipping fertilizers in bulk to Oman for bagging and regional distribution to alleviate supply tightness.
As one of the world’s major urea exporters, Oman has two large urea production facilities, with annual exports approaching 10 million tons, a large portion of which flows to the Indian market.
“Many customers are now asking whether smaller parcel sizes can be used for transport,” he said. “Some customers, due to market shortages, also hope to import key commodities via larger vessels. The trade flows and logistics patterns across the entire region are changing.”
Since the escalation of regional conflicts, Asyad has also observed that more and more companies are seeking to establish warehousing capacity in Oman, hoping to bypass potential transportation bottlenecks in the Gulf region and maintain stable supply chain operations.
