We are an international shipping company specializing in the transportation of
dry bulk cargoes.
On September 18, 1996, we were incorporated in Bermuda under the name Knightsbridge
Tankers Limited as an exempted company pursuant to the Bermuda Companies Act
1981. In October 2014, we changed our name to Knightsbridge Shipping Limited,
and following the completion of the Merger on March 31, 2015, we changed our
name to Golden Ocean Group Limited. Our registered and principal executive offices
are located at Par-la-Ville Place, 14 Par-la-Ville Road, Hamilton, HM 08, Bermuda,
and our telephone number at this location is +1 (441) 295-6935.
Our common shares commenced trading on the NASDAQ Global Select Market in February
1997 and currently trade under the symbol "GOGL". We obtained a secondary
listing on the Oslo Stock Exchange in April 2015.
We operated in two markets from 2009 through 2012; the tanker and dry bulk
carrier markets as an international provider of seaborne transportation of crude
oil and dry bulk cargoes.
Our business strategy is to operate a diversified fleet of dry bulk carriers
with flexibility to adjust our exposure to the dry bulk market depending on
existing factors such as charter rates, newbuilding costs, vessel resale and
scrap values and vessel operating expenses resulting from, among other things,
changes in the supply of and demand for dry bulk capacity. We may adjust our
exposure through time charters, bareboat charters, sale and leasebacks, sales
and purchases of vessels, newbuilding contracts and acquisitions. Our intention
is to renew and grow our fleet through selective acquisitions.
Our goal is to generate competitive returns for our shareholders. Our cash distribution
policy is to declare quarterly cash distributions to shareholders, substantially
equal to or at times greater than net operational cash flow in the reporting
quarter less reserves that the Board may from time to time determine are necessary,
such as reserves for drydocking and other possible cash needs. We intend to
finance our future vessel acquisitions not from our cash flow from operations,
but from external sources, such as equity offerings and additional indebtedness.
There is no guarantee that our shareholders will receive quarterly cash distributions
from us. Our cash distribution policy may be changed at any time at the sole
discretion of the Board, who will take into account, among other things, our
newbuilding commitments, financial condition and future prospects, the terms
of our credit facilities, and the requirements of Bermuda law in determining
the timing and amount of cash distributions, if any, that we may pay.
The dry bulk trade has a history of tracking seasonal demand fluctuations,
but this appears to have become less dependent on such fluctuations as a result
of the increased transportation of certain dry bulk commodities. In the last
few years, adverse weather conditions in the Southern Hemisphere, which often
occur during the first quarter, have had a negative impact on iron ore and coal
exports from Australia and iron ore exports from Brazil.
Grain has traditionally had the greatest impact on the dry bulk market, particularly
during the peak demand seasons, which occurs during the second quarter in the
Southern Hemisphere and at the end of the third quarter and throughout the fourth
quarter in the Northern Hemisphere. The growth of iron ore and coal transportation
over the last decade, however, has diminished the relative importance of grain
to the dry bulk transportation industry. Since iron ore, like most other commodities,
has moved from fixed price agreements between shippers and receivers to spot
pricing, short term price fluctuations have had an impact on iron ore trading
by reducing normal seasonal patterns. Other factors, however, such as weather
and port congestion still impact market volatility.
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