Environmental Protection

Upgrading energy efficiency and environmental performance of the fleet

Since 2018, Safe Bulkers has invested in innovations regarding environmental performance in its operations. In order to further enhance our technological capabilities, we have allocated about $406.7 million towards the upgrading of BWTS, EGCS, Hull Ducts, New Buildings, and ultra-low friction paints (ULFP) by the year 2023 and have committed another $219.8 million in aggregate, in environmental investments until 2027. To provide a comprehensive overview of our technological investments, we have included a detailed breakdown of our expenditures from 2018 to present, as well as our projected investment plan until 2027.

Fleet renewal initiative plan

We acknowledge that environmental conservation is crucial for our survival, not only as a maritime transportation Company but also as individuals. In this context, we have embarked on an extensive investment program mainly focused on our fleet renewal program. This means that we are selling our oldest and less efficient vessels and investing in relatively younger and more efficient second-hand vessels, as well as state-of-the-art newbuild vessels. During the last three years, we sold or contacted to sell 11 older or Chinese built vessels with $185.0 million proceeds on aggregate, 14.2 years average age and 0.86 million tons deadweight, and replaced them with 7 second-hand vessels with $187.0 million acquisition cost, 9.2 years average age and 0.97 million tons deadweight, effectively renewing our fleet with younger more efficient vessels and maintaining its average age.

IMO EEDI-Phase 3, NOx Tier III compliant New Buildings design

To ensure that our newbuild vessels meet the highest environmental standards, we have also invested in the latest available technologies and innovations, with a focus on reducing GHG and NOx emissions. We are dedicated to minimizing our environmental impact and advancing sustainable shipping practices, as reflected in our orderbook consisting of cutting-edge ships.

In relation to this, all of the newbuild vessels are built to the IMO EEDI-Phase 3, NOx Tier III standard, defining them as the most energy-efficient and low GHG and NOx emissions’ vessels currently available of each relative size and type.

Fifteen new vessels will be built by the Company as part of its new building program by 2027, with two of those having already been delivered within 2022 and five in 2023. The successful execution of our new building program and the ongoing renewal of our fleet represent some of the most impactful initiatives undertaken by our company.

As a result of more efficient designs and our shift towards relatively larger vessel sizes (Kamsarmax, Post-Panamax) the EEDI of the new vessels delivered under this program is significantly lower compared to the average EEDI of vessels delivered 6-7 years ago. This substantial improvement highlights our commitment to reducing our environmental footprint, increasing our transport efficiency and aligning with global sustainability goals.

Below we present our new buildings aggregate orders as of December 31, 2023, consisting of the type of vessels and the due date of their delivery: