ULTRABULK ANNUAL REPORT 2025 OUR BUSINESS | PAGE 8
RISK MANAGEMENT
The following section provides a review of the risks
that are considered material to Ultrabulk.
Reference is also made to note 5.4 for a review of
financial risks to which Ultrabulk is exposed through
its activities.
Freight rates
The business model for an operator is to build a
portfolio of vessels on one hand and a portfolio of
cargoes on the other. Depending on the market
expectations the company can decide to be long on
cargoes (typically when expecting a decrease in
freight rates) or long on vessels (typically when
expecting an increase in freight rates).
Unexpected fluctuations in freight rates are the key
factor affecting cash flows and the value of
committed assets. The level of risk depends firstly
on the level of such unexpected fluctuations and
secondly on the size of the imbalance between the
commitments on cargoes and commitments on
vessels.
The Group utilises risk management systems to
control the market value of all open positions.
Based on these risk systems, the Group can monitor
market positions daily and utilize Forward freight
agreements (FFAs) as a hedging instrument to
reduce exposure from an imbalanced portfolio.
Counterparty risk
Just as fluctuations in freight rates can cause an
imbalance in the Group’s portfolio of vessels and
cargos (“the book”), such imbalance can also arise if
a counterparty is not able or willing to perform its
obligations, for example due to the counterparty’s
solvency or liquidity. This is referred to as the
counterparty risk and does typically arise in relation
to:
• Time charter of vessels
• Contracts of Affreightment (cargo contract
containing multiple cargoes, or “CoA”)
The counterparty risk attached to CoAs is highly
dependent on a counterparty’s solvency and its
ability and willingness to fulfil their obligations since
a CoA is a commitment over a longer period.
Typically, our counterparties operate within the
commodities industry. Since we keep a balanced
book, our risk is usually related to vessels expected
to perform the CoA, which is then exposed to the
market instead.
The counterparty risk attached to time charters
both when we take a vessel on time charter from an
owner and when we send out a vessel on time
charter to a charterer is that the counterparty may
default and, as a result, the contract terminates
early, which again can add to the imbalance of the
book. The other risk is that counterparties who
might have claims against the TC charterer or the
Owner of the vessel, might turn their claim towards
Ultrabulk, if the TC charterer or owner defaults.
The risk profile of counterparties is determined by
the counterparty’s solvency and the type of legal
contract upon which the deal is based.
Counterparty vetting is a significant part of the
Group’s risk management procedures.
Consequently, approvals of counterparties are
carried out at senior management level only.
IT & Cybersecurity risks
IT & cyber security is important because it protects
all categories of data from theft and damage. This
includes sensitive data, personal data and
information systems. Both inherent risk and
residual risk are increasing in this area, driven by
global connectivity and use of cloud services to
store sensitive data and personal information. Due
to this, the Group is no longer able to rely solely on
out-of-the-box cybersecurity solutions like antivirus
software and firewalls. It is important to cover all
fields of cybersecurity to stay well-protected as
cyber threats may arise from any level of the
organisation.
To mitigate these increasing risks, the Group is
conducting awareness training on all organisational
levels. Additionally, the Group is continuously
assessing user access and sign-in patterns to reduce
user risk and system vulnerability. To keep
platforms and data available to users at all times,
without compromising IT security, the Group has