Union Bulk

What Union Bulk does

Union Bulk A/S is a privately held Danish dry bulk shipping and freight trading company established in 2019 and headquartered in Hellerup, Denmark. It operates as a boutique-sized vessel operator in the handy- and supramax segments, deploying a working fleet of approximately 20–30 chartered vessels that it flexes up or down depending on market views. The company does not own tonnage; instead, it charters vessels in from shipowners — taking on the associated commercial and operational risk — and on the cargo side secures freight for cargo owners, traders, and end users, assuming market risk from the moment an agreement is signed until the cargo is shipped.

The firm earns revenue on a transaction-fee basis, capturing the spread between chartered-in vessel costs and freight sales, rather than booking gross freight billings on a principal basis. Pricing is negotiated bilaterally and is not publicly disclosed; customer engagement is conducted through direct, enterprise-grade B2B sales and long-standing professional relationships between the chartering, operations, and finance teams. Its service offering is packaged as "Drycargo Freight Solutions," an integrated chartering-plus-trading product. The firm is fully independent and backed by private equity, with no public listing and no disclosed institutional shareholders.

Operationally, the company serves a horizontal base of dry bulk clients — cargo owners, traders, end users, and shipowners — and claims a worldwide service footprint from its single disclosed office. The team is deliberately lean (firmographics of 1–10 employees) and is built around a partnership of senior chartering, operations, and finance professionals, with founders and key personnel holding named roles since incorporation. Differentiators emphasize risk-management discipline, fleet agility, and counterparty-trust behaviors rather than proprietary technology.

Name

Union Bulk

Legal name

Union Bulk A/S

Website

https://unionbulk.dk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Union Bulk A/S is a Denmark-based, PE-backed boutique dry bulk freight trader that charters in 20–30 handy- and supramax vessels and secures freight for cargo owners, traders, and end users worldwide, assuming both commercial and market risk in return for transaction-fee spreads.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Dry Bulk Shipping and Freight Trading Services

NAICS

Freight Transportation Arrangement (48851)

SIC

Deep Sea Foreign Transportation Of Freight (4412)

akta.pro primary industry

Bulk & Commodity Freight Brokerage (Dry Bulk) (TLADAMAK)

Keywords

• Dry bulk shipping
• Freight trading
• Vessel chartering
• Seaborne freight
• Cargo shipping

Headquarters

HQ city

Hellerup

HQ country

Denmark

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Freight Trading and Vessel Chartering: Revenue generated by chartering vessels from shipowners (taking on commercial and operational risk) and securing freight for cargo owners, traders, and end users (assuming market risk from agreement until cargo shipment).

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Core offering

Union Bulk is a dry cargo vessel operator and freight trading company. It charters vessels in from shipowners, taking on commercial and operational risk, and secures freight for cargo owners, traders, and end users by assuming market risk from agreement until cargo is shipped. The company operates 20-30 vessels in the handy- and supramax segments worldwide.

Product overview

Union Bulk operates as a boutique-sized dry cargo vessel operator and freight trading company offering a unified service called Drycargo Freight Solutions. The company provides end-to-end seaborne freight solutions by chartering vessels from shipowners and securing freight for cargo owners, traders, and end users. Operating 20-30 vessels in the handy- and supramax segments, the company assumes both commercial and operational risk while managing market exposure. As a fully independent company backed by private equity and domiciled in Denmark, their approach emphasizes flexibility, risk management discipline, and close professional dialogue with business partners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Drycargo Freight Solutions End-to-end seaborne freight solutions for cargo owners, traders, and end users, delivered by chartering vessels from shipowners, assuming commercial and operational risk, and securing freight for cargo owners while managing market risk from agreement through shipment. Operates 20-30 vessels in the handy- and supramax segments.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• J. Lauritzen: Danish-based dry bulk and gas operator with long industry heritage. Comparable as a Danish-headquartered, mid-size dry bulk operator competing in similar handy/supramax segments, though with a larger fleet and broader activity mix.
• Western Bulk: Norwegian dry bulk operator and freight trader that similarly takes commercial and operational risk by chartering in tonnage and securing cargoes. Closest comparable to Union Bulk by business model, segment focus (handy/supramax), and boutique size.
• Klaveness Combination Carriers: Norwegian-based operator of combination carriers (CABU) trading across dry bulk and wet segments. Comparable as a mid-size, Norwegian/Scandinavian-rooted operator-trader taking commercial and operational risk on chartered and owned tonnage, similar to Union Bulk's risk-bearing model.
• Pacific Basin Shipping: Hong Kong-listed dry bulk owner-operator focused on supramax and handysize vessels. Comparable in segment specialization and operator-trader model, though materially larger in fleet scale and capital base.
• C Transport Maritime (CTM): Dry bulk vessel operator that runs a fleet in the supramax/handysize segments. Comparable to Union Bulk in segment focus and operator (rather than pure owner) positioning, although CTM owns a portion of its tonnage.

Broad incumbents

• Diana Shipping: Dry bulk owner-operator with a fleet of capesize, kamsarmax, panamax, and ultramax vessels. Overlaps with Union Bulk on the smaller-vessel segment and in time-charter servicing cargo owners, but operates at materially larger scale.
• Star Bulk Carriers: One of the largest listed dry bulk owner-operators globally, with a fleet spanning newcastlemax down to supramax/handysize. Comparable as a dry bulk operator competing in similar trade lanes, though with substantially greater scale, capital, and operational footprint.
• Genco Shipping & Trading: New York-listed dry bulk owner-operator with a diversified fleet of capesize, ultramax, and supramax vessels. Competes in overlapping commodity flows and counterparty relationships with Union Bulk, but with much greater scale and ownership of tonnage.
• Safe Bulkers: Greek-based dry bulk owner-operator focused on panamax, kamsarmax, and post-panamax vessels. Comparable in dry bulk exposure and counterparty service, but with fleet ownership and larger scale than Union Bulk.
• Golden Ocean Group: John Fredriksen-backed dry bulk owner-operator with a large capesize and panamax fleet. Comparable as a counterparty to cargo owners and traders in dry bulk markets, though Union Bulk's niche (handy/supramax) is at the smaller end of Golden Ocean's exposure.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/unionbulk

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

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 Union Bulk