New York-listed Pangaea Logistics Solutions has chalked up “record breaking” results for the second quarter as it guides to even better bookings in the current market. The Newport, Rhode Island-based owner did find itself in the odd position of time charter equivalent (TCE) rates lagging the benchmark supramax and panamax index rates, largely owing to its strategy of contract coverage fixed at rates below the soaring spot market.

Pangaea has been the top performer of all dry bulk owners for three years running in earnings rates premiums to the Baltic indexes, as measured by Danish researchers Anders Liengaard and Soren Roschmann. Still, this is a high-class problem to have as the Ed Coll-led outfit turned out its best quarter ever. “Our second quarter results were record-breaking. Market levels not seen in over a decade helped push our Ebitda above $21m for the quarter, and our net income was $19.2 million, while [earnings per share] was $0.44 for the quarter,” Coll said in Pangaea’s earnings statement.

“Our average TCE earned of $21,053 increased almost 100% compared to the second quarter of 2020 and was up approximately 27% from our TCE earned in the first quarter of 2021.”

Total revenue soared to $144.5m, more than doubling the $70.4m recorded in the second quarter of 2020, mainly attributable to TCE rates. Net income was $3m in the year-ago quarter. Pangaea did not offer specific guidance on rates booked in the current quarter but referred to general improvement. “Our TCE earnings continue to improve heading into the third quarter, and we remain optimistic about the fundamentals in the dry bulk market with a historically low order book and a stable demand outlook,” Coll said.

The other major earnings theme was Pangaea’s continued efforts to renew the fleet. The niche-market owner took delivery of the first two in a series of four ice-class 1A post-panamax newbuildings from Guangzhou International Shipyard in China. Pangaea also took delivery of a secondhand acquisition, the Bulk Promise, a 2013 Shin Kurushima Toyohashi-built 78,228-dwt bulker, for $18.3 million. The unit was formerly known as Robin Wind according to VesselsValue.

Pangaea will have a total of 24 owned vessels when the final two units in the newbuilding program are delivered later this year.