What Star Bulk does

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. is a global shipping company providing seaborne dry bulk transportation services for major and minor bulk commodities, listed on Nasdaq under the ticker SBLK and domiciled in the Republic of the Marshall Islands with executive headquarters in Athens, Greece. On a fully delivered basis, the company operates a fleet of 141 owned vessels aggregating more than 14.0 million deadweight tons (DWT), spanning vessel classes from Newcastlemax through Supramax with carrying capacities between 55,569 and 209,537 DWT — a scale that, following the April 2024 merger with Eagle Bulk Shipping, made Star Bulk the world's largest dry bulk shipping company.

The company's core service is straightforward: chartering vessels to enterprise customers across the dry bulk value chain, including iron ore and mineral miners, agricultural producers (grain), steel manufacturers, and bauxite/fertilizer shippers, via a mix of long-term time charters and voyage charters in the spot market. A notable technical and operational feature is its scrubber (Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems) program, fitted on 148 of 153 vessels on a fully delivered basis, which enables compliance with IMO sulfur cap regulations while continuing to use cheaper high-sulfur fuel oil. The company also uses Forward Freight Agreements and bunker swaps as financial hedges against freight and bunker price volatility.

Star Bulk generates revenue primarily through Time Charter Equivalent (TCE) daily rates per vessel, supplemented by voyage revenues (port charges, bunkers, commissions passed through to charterers) and discretionary vessel sales that recycle capital into fleet renewal. Q1 2026 fleetwide TCE averaged $18,493 per vessel per day (up 48.7% YoY from $12,439 in Q1 2025) on revenue of $281.15 million, with net income of $58.5 million and adjusted EBITDA of $114.3 million. Capital allocation is explicitly shareholder-return-oriented, with management guiding to more than $3 per share of returns to shareholders in 2026 through dividends and buybacks, supported by net debt reduction to $576 million as of 2025 from over $1 billion in 2021. A conditional agreement announced March 2026 to acquire 16 additional vessels from Diana Shipping for $470.5 million — contingent on Diana closing its acquisition of Genco — would grow the fleet to 157 vessels and 15.9 million DWT.

Name

Star Bulk

Legal name

Star Bulk Carriers Corp.

Website

https://starbulk.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. is a global dry bulk shipping company operating a fleet of 141 owned vessels (~14 million DWT) that transports iron ore, minerals, grain, steel products, bauxite, and fertilizers under time and voyage charters for mining, agricultural, steel, and commodity-trading customers worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Dry Bulk Shipping

NAICS

Deep Sea Freight Transportation (483111), Deep Sea, Coastal, and Great Lakes Water Transportation (48311), Water Transportation (483)

SIC

Deep Sea Foreign Transportation Of Freight (4412), Water Transportation (4400), Arrangement Of Transportation Of Freight & Cargo (4731)

akta.pro primary industry

Bulk Dry Cargo Carriers (Capesize/Panamax/Supramax/Handysize) (TLADABAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Dry Bulk Ocean Shipping (Capesize/Panamax/Handysize) (TLADAKAA), Bulk Carrier Shipbuilding (Dry Bulk: Capesize/Panamax/Handysize) (IMAJAAAA)

Keywords

• Dry bulk shipping
• Maritime transportation
• Seaborne cargo
• Vessel chartering
• Bulk commodities logistics

Headquarters

HQ city

Athens

HQ country

Greece

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Personnel, Others

Revenue model

1. Time Charter Equivalent (TCE) Revenue: Primary revenue stream from chartering vessels to customers on time charter and voyage charter basis. Revenue is measured by daily TCE rates achieved across the fleet. Q1 2026 TCE rate was $18,493 per vessel per day.
2. Voyage Revenues: Revenue from voyage charters including port charges, bunkers, commissions, and other voyage-related expenses billed to charterers
3. Vessel Sales: Discretionary sales of vessels generating proceeds for fleet renewal and capital return. Q1 2026 vessel sales generated $46.4 million in proceeds

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. is a global shipping company that provides dry bulk seaborne transportation services worldwide. The company owns and operates one of the largest fleets of dry bulk vessels, including Newcastlemax, Capesize, Kamsarmax, Panamax, Ultramax, and Handymax classes, transporting commodities such as iron ore, coal, grain, and fertilizers for industrial and commodity customers under time charter and voyage charter contracts.

Product overview

Star Bulk is a global shipping company providing worldwide seaborne transportation solutions in the dry bulk sector. The company's service consists of a single core offering: dry bulk shipping transportation. Star Bulk's fleet comprises various vessel types including Newcastlemax, Capesize, Post Panamax, Kamsarmax, Panamax, Ultramax, and Supramax vessels with carrying capacities between 55,569 and 209,537 DWT, transporting commodities globally.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Dry Bulk Seaborne Transportation

Quantifiable outcome

• Q1 2026 net income of $58.5M vs $0.5M in Q1 2025
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Diana Shipping Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 March 2026Star Bulk entered into a conditional Sale and Purchase Agreement to acquire 16 vessels from Diana Shipping for $470.5 million in cash, contingent upon Diana successfully completing its acquisition of Genco Shipping & Trading Ltd. The 16 vessels comprise one Newcastlemax, six Capesize, seven Ultramax, and two Supramax vessels with combined capacity of 1.8 million dwt and average age of 11.4 years. Upon closing, Star Bulk's fleet would grow to 157 vessels with 15.9 million dwt capacity.
• Norton Rose FulbrightminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 17 April 2024Norton Rose Fulbright acted as legal advisor to Star Bulk on a $200 million acquisition facility, highlighting the company's significant financial activities and acquisition financing arrangements.
• Maritime Emissions Reduction Centre (MERC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStar Bulk is a co-founder of MERC, an Athens-based non-profit industry collaboration focused on decarbonization solutions. The consortium includes Capital Group, Navios Maritime Partners, Neda Maritime Agency, Star Bulk, and Thenamaris, with support from Lloyd's Register, to assess, prioritize, and deploy energy efficiency technologies across vessel types.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• BP Shipping: In-house shipping arm of BP plc that operates a diversified fleet including dry bulk. Functions as both competitor and potential charterer, comparable in scale but embedded within a major energy company.
• Atlas Corp. Parent of Seaspan Corporation with container shipping focus, but also has dry bulk exposure through other portfolio holdings. Broader maritime platform with partial dry bulk overlap versus Star Bulk's pure-play focus.

Direct peers

• Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. Supramax/Ultramax-focused dry bulk owner-operator; merged into Star Bulk in April 2024. Former direct competitor in the mid-size dry bulk segment, now wholly owned by Star Bulk.
• Golden Ocean Group Limited: Pure-play dry bulk shipping company with a large Capesize and Panamax fleet listed on Nasdaq. Closely matches Star Bulk's business model of spot and time-charter dry bulk ocean transportation.
• Grindrod Shipping Holdings Ltd. Dry bulk and product tanker owner with Kamsarmax and Ultramax vessels. Comparable vessel classes and customer segments, though smaller in scale than Star Bulk.
• Genco Shipping & Trading Limited: U.S.-listed dry bulk shipper operating Capesize, Ultramax, and Supramax vessels. Direct competitor with overlapping commodity flows; subject to acquisition by Diana Shipping with Star Bulk conditionally acquiring 16 of its vessels.
• Navios Maritime Partners L.P. Diversified global shipping platform with significant dry bulk exposure alongside container and tanker segments. Comparable dry bulk seaborne transportation offering and similar charter mix.
• Pangaea Logistics Solutions Ltd. Dry bulk shipping company operating specialized ice-class and smaller bulk carriers on niche northern trade routes. Comparable dry bulk model though more specialized versus Star Bulk's scale platform.
• Diana Shipping Inc. Global dry bulk owner-operator with a fleet of Capesize, Kamsarmax, and Panamax vessels. Directly comparable to Star Bulk in vessel classes, chartering model, and customer base; currently the seller of 16 vessels to Star Bulk.
• Safe Bulkers Inc. Dry bulk shipping company focused on Panamax, Kamsarmax, Post-Panamax, and Capesize vessels. Comparable vessel mix, chartering approach, and exposure to iron ore, coal, and grain trades.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors6 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Star Bulk