Seastar

What Seastar does

Seastar is a UK-based owner and operator of dry bulk vessels headquartered in London, with a fleet of eight handysize bulk carriers in the 30,000-40,000 DWT segment. The company serves producers, traders, and end users of dry bulk commodities through vessel ownership and chartering, shipbroking, fleet takeover services, and shipping finance. Seastar Freight was established in 2025 as a freight desk, extending the company's role beyond tonnage provision into cargo broking and freight forwarding. The company also offers Fleet Management Services as a complementary offering, signaling intent to commercialize operational know-how beyond its own fleet.

The business model combines owned-asset yield with services. Revenue is generated primarily through chartering the eight handysize vessels to commercial counterparties, capturing TCE (time charter equivalent) margins, with supplementary revenue from shipbroking, freight forwarding via Seastar Freight, and fleet management services. Technical management of the fleet — including crewing, technical, and HSEQ functions — is outsourced to Norbulk Shipping under a partnership arrangement, which keeps the fixed cost base lean and the headcount at 11-50 employees. Seastar conducts direct B2B sales, targeting commodity producers, traders, and end users of dry bulk cargoes.

Key information not disclosed in the input: financial statements, revenue figures, charter book length and counterparty mix, freight desk transaction volume, ownership/leadership team, funding history, and any pipeline or backlog of additional tonnage. The Seastar Freight launch in 2025 and the recent 2022-built Seastar Hawk acquisition are the most material forward-looking signals available.

Name

Seastar

Legal name

Seastar Maritime Limited

Website

https://seastarmaritime.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Seastar is a UK-based owner and operator of dry bulk vessels, operating a fleet of eight handysize bulk carriers (30,000-40,000 DWT) and serving producers, traders, and end users through chartering, shipbroking, and a 2025-launched freight desk.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Dry Bulk Shipping Services

NAICS

Deep Sea, Coastal, and Great Lakes Water Transportation (48311), Support Activities for Water Transportation (4883)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Dry Bulk Ocean Shipping (Capesize/Panamax/Handysize) (TLADAKAA)

Keywords

• Dry bulk shipping
• Vessel chartering
• Ship broking services
• Ocean freight services
• Fleet management

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Vessel Ownership and Chartering: Seastar operates as an owner and operator of dry bulk vessels in the handysize and supramax sectors. Revenue is generated through freight services and vessel chartering operations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Seastar is a UK-based owner and operator of dry bulk vessels in the handysize and supramax sectors, managing a unified fleet of eight handysize bulk carriers between 30,000 and 40,000 DWT. Through Seastar Freight, established in 2025, the company provides bespoke ocean freight transport and chartering services for producers, traders, and end users. The management team also offers shipbroking, deal sourcing, commercial and technical operations, distressed fleet takeover and management, and shipping finance services.

Product overview

Seastar Maritime Limited is a UK-based owner and operator of dry bulk vessels operating in the handysize and supramax sectors. The company operates a unified fleet of eight handysize bulk carriers (ranging from 30,000 to 40,000 DWT), which collectively form the core Vessel Ownership and Operations product. The fleet consists of: Seastar Avalon (2017), Seastar Endeavour (2011), Seastar Hawk (2022), Seastar Trojan (2010), Seastar Valiant (2012), Seastar Viking, Seastar Victory (2013), and Seastar Vulcan (2015). Seastar complements its vessel operations with Seastar Freight (established 2025), a bespoke ocean freight transport service for producers, traders, and end users. The company also provides comprehensive Fleet Management Services including shipbroking, deal sourcing, commercial and technical operations, distressed fleet takeover, and shipping finance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Seastar Freight: Freight division established in 2025 delivering dependable, owner-backed freight solutions with a focus on service, performance, and accountability.

Products and services

• Vessel Ownership and Operations Seastar Group owns and operates a fleet of eight handysize bulk carriers (30,000 to 40,000 DWT) in the handysize and supramax sectors, providing commercial and technical management of vessels for dry bulk shipping.
• Seastar Freight Bespoke ocean freight transport and chartering services delivered by an owner-backed freight desk for producers, traders, and end users, with focus on service, performance, and accountability.
• Fleet Management Services Specialist shipping services covering shipbroking, deal sourcing and negotiation, commercial and technical operations, distressed fleet takeover and management, and shipping finance.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Norbulk ShippingcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerNorbulk Shipping serves as the technical managers for Seastar's fleet operations. This partnership provides technical management expertise for the vessels.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Eagle Bulk Shipping: US-listed pure-play handysize/supramax dry bulk owner-operator with a fleet of ~50 geared vessels in the exact same 30-40k DWT size class as Seastar. Most directly comparable peer in business model and asset profile.
• Safe Bulkers: Marshall Islands-listed dry bulk shipowner operating panamax, kamsarmax, post-panamax and handysize/newcastlemax vessels. Strong overlap with Seastar's handysize/supramax focus and similar geared-fleet strategy.
• Diana Shipping: Global dry bulk owner with a fleet that includes handysize vessels alongside larger capesize/kamsarmax tonnage. Public shipowner pursuing time-charter strategy similar to Seastar's chartering of handysize bulkers.
• Star Bulk Carriers: One of the largest listed dry bulk owners globally with ~100+ vessels across newcastlemax, capesize, kamsarmax, panamax and ultramax. Highly comparable business model as a geared supramax/handysize-focused owner-operator.
• Genco Shipping & Trading: NYSE-listed dry bulk shipping company operating a fleet of capesize, ultramax and supramax vessels. Comparable geared bulk operator serving similar commodity end users.
• Pacific Basin Shipping: Hong Kong-listed dry bulk owner-operator with one of the world's largest handysize and supramax fleets. Closest peer in terms of handysize focus and small-vessel commodity trade orientation.
• Grindrod Shipping: Owner and operator of handysize and supramax dry bulk vessels, with both owned and chartered tonnage. Closely comparable to Seastar's combination of owned vessels plus freight services.
• Golden Ocean Group: Norway-listed dry bulk owner with a focus on capesize and panamax vessels, though broadly comparable as a publicly listed dry bulk shipowner competing for similar cargo flows.
• Oldendorff Carriers: One of the largest privately held dry bulk shipping companies globally, operating a fleet of ~700 owned and chartered vessels. Comparable privately-held shipowner operating handysize and supramax tonnage alongside freight desk activities.

Others

• Norbulk Shipping: Technical ship management partner for Seastar's fleet and a fellow dry bulk operator. Relevant as a third-party technical manager serving the same vessel class and a comparable handysize operator.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Seastar