G2 Ocean is today publishing its 2023 Annual Report. The report provides a comprehensive overview of G2 Ocean’s financial performance as well as the company’s impact on the environment, society and economy, and progress towards its sustainability targets.
“Reflecting on 2023, I am very appreciative of the progress and results we have seen at G2 Ocean. It has been a year of focusing on further improving and developing our service offering and organisation to better meet our global customers’ evolving needs,” says Arthur English, Chief Executive Officer at G2 Ocean.
G2 Ocean faced a volatile market throughout the year. Amongst the main factors contributing to this volatility were the unwinding of port congestion in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, trade adjustments between major economies and high inflation and interest rates dampening consumer demand.
“These factors led to a challenging business landscape for G2 Ocean and the industry as a whole. Still, we achieved strong financial results in 2023, which can be attributed to our organisation’s drive to enhance customer services and improve our business processes,” English says.
G2 Ocean looks back on a successful year of improvements in many important areas.
Revenue: The company ended 2023 with a gross revenue of USD 1,395 million and distributed USD 520 million to its pool participants, Gearbulk and the Grieg Maritime Group.
Shipping activity: In 2022, G2 Ocean had an extraordinary year with record-high results. However, in 2023, there was a downturn in the market, resulting in a decrease in shipping activity. Despite this, the company achieved the second-highest number of voyage days in its history with 40 844 voyage days – a reduction of 8.7 % compared to the previous year. The amount of cargo carried by G2 Ocean in 2023 was 24 939 870 revenue tons, reflecting a 10% decrease from the record-high levels of 28 489 548 revenue tons in 2022.
G2 Ocean also made notable progress during the year on sustainability-related initiatives.
Safety: G2 Ocean continued its focus on safety culture in 2023, committed to ensuring that safety remained a top priority amongst its own workers and workers in its value chain. At year-end, the company saw a 20% reduction in injuries amongst the stevedores engaged by G2 Ocean for cargo loading and discharging operations in ports. The company had zero work-related injuries in 2023 involving G2 Ocean employees.
Women in shipping: Gender equality is a key priority for G2 Ocean, and the company continued its focus in 2023 on the attraction and retention of women to equalise the gender balance at all levels of the organisation. 55% of new hires in 2023 were female, compared to 42% in 2022. While G2 Ocean is pleased to see more women choosing shipping as a career path, the company acknowledges that there is still work to be done to achieve gender balance.
Emissions: G2 Ocean managed to reduce its total vessel CO2 emissions by 13% from 2022 to 2023. This reduction was mainly due to decreased shipping activity and distance sailed, as well as proactive decarbonisation measures. The company has set ambitious targets aiming to reduce the carbon intensity of its vessels by a minimum of 40% by 2030 compared to 2008 levels and becoming a net zero emissions company by 2050. In 2023, G2 Ocean developed a decarbonisation roadmap, which outlines the key areas for effectively reducing emissions. You can find more details about it in the Annual Report.
Newbuilds: In 2023, one of G2 Ocean’s shareholders, the Grieg Maritime Group, invested in four ammonia-ready vessels that will join the company’s fleet in 2026. These vessels, as well as future additions, will not only enhance G2 Ocean’s service offerings but also significantly reduce emissions from its vessel operations in the long run.
Innovation: To enhance service offerings, improve efficiency, and future-proof the organisation, G2 Ocean completed 34 innovation/improvement projects in 2023. One important achievement was the release of the public version of its digital shipping platform, MyG2. This represents an 89% increase from the number of projects completed in 2022.
G2 Ocean is a global ship operator within the open hatch segment and an expert in cargo handling, trade management and global port operations. Founded as a joint venture (pool company) in 2017 by the ship-owning companies Gearbulk and Grieg Maritime Group, G2 Ocean is committed to providing customers worldwide with safe, reliable, efficient, and flexible shipping services tailored to their needs.
A pool company
G2 Ocean, as a pool company, is responsible for the commercial management of the 90+ vessels delivered to the company’s fleet by its pool participants, Gearbulk and Grieg Maritime Group. G2 Ocean also charters vessels from third parties on a short-term basis. In 2023, on average 26 vessels were chartered in. The commercial management responsibilities of G2 Ocean include customer relationship management, trade management, port operations, cargo handling, business support, and business development.
The pool participants (Gearbulk and Grieg Maritime Group) receive a pool distribution from G2 Ocean dependent on the company’s financial performance and earnings for the provision of vessels. In 2023, G2 Ocean distributed USD 520 million to its pool participants. For more details, please refer to the chapter ‘Financial Statements’ in the 2023 Annual Report.
Leading ship operator
Since its establishment in 2017, G2 Ocean has solidified its position as the leading ship operator in the open hatch segment. With a fleet of over 120 open hatch vessels, the company had 40,844 voyage days in 2023. During these voyages, G2 Ocean successfully transported 24.9 million revenue tons of cargo and made over 3,000 port calls to 60 countries. G2 Ocean’s reach and capabilities continue to expand, making the company a key player in the industry.
G2 Ocean is headquartered in Bergen, Norway. To support its customers worldwide with their logistics requirements, G2 Ocean has two hubs in Singapore and Atlanta, as well as 12 representative offices around the world.
