United Maritime has exited ageing Capesize tonnage, sold Kamsarmax and Panamax vessels, and redeployed capital into two 2010-built Capesizes. The Greek-listed owner returned to profit in the first half of 2026 as fleet TCE earnings jumped 35%, while third-quarter TCE is expected to rise above $20,000 per day.

Greek-listed shipowner United Maritime Corporation is carrying out a notable reshaping of its dry bulk fleet.

At first glance, the most striking development is the company’s return to profitability in the first half of 2026 despite lower revenue.

Net revenue fell to $17.9 million from $20.2 million a year earlier, yet United Maritime swung from a net loss of approximately $3.5 million in the first half of 2025 to a net profit of about $1.02 million.

Adjusted net income improved even more sharply, moving from a loss of roughly $4.19 million to a profit of $1.73 million, while adjusted EBITDA rose 42% year-on-year to $8.44 million.

Behind the earnings recovery, however, lies a broader story.

Over the past year, United Maritime has been actively rotating its asset base — first disposing of older Capesize vessels, then reducing exposure to Kamsarmax and Panamax tonnage, exiting a non-core offshore investment and redeploying capital into younger Capesize ships.

As the new vessels entered the fleet, average TCE earnings climbed from $14,129 per day in the fourth quarter of 2025 to $15,591 per day in the first quarter of 2026 and $18,654 per day in the second quarter.

Based on the company’s latest guidance, third-quarter fleetwide TCE is expected to rise further to approximately $20,418 per day.

The fleet overhaul is now beginning to show up clearly in the income statement.

Fewer Operating Days, Higher Earnings

United Maritime’s first-half numbers underline how much the economics of the fleet have changed.

Average fleet TCE rose to $17,202 per day during the first six months of 2026, up around 35% from $12,744 per day a year earlier.

At the same time, the company operated substantially fewer vessel days.

Ownership days fell from 1,427 in the first half of 2025 to 1,023 this year, while operating days declined from 1,385 to 1,000 — a reduction of roughly 28%.

In other words, United Maritime generated stronger EBITDA and returned to profit despite operating a smaller fleet for fewer days.

The improvement became particularly visible in the second quarter.

United Maritime reported net revenue of approximately $10 million, net income of $1.16 million and adjusted net income of $1.53 million. Adjusted EBITDA reached $5.23 million.

Average TCE increased to $18,654 per day from $15,421 per day a year earlier, even as ownership days fell to 526 from 707.

The figures suggest that United Maritime is increasingly prioritising earnings per vessel and capital efficiency rather than simply fleet size.

First, United Maritime Sold Its Older Capesizes

Looking only at the company’s 2026 purchases could give the impression that United Maritime has only recently decided to enter the Capesize market.

In fact, the owner already had Capesize exposure and completed a major exit from older Cape tonnage in 2025.

During the third quarter of last year, United Maritime sold the 2006-built Capesize Tradership and the 2005-built Goodship.

Tradership was sold for net proceeds of approximately $17.8 million, while Goodship changed hands for about $15.4 million.

Following debt repayment, the two transactions released approximately $18.8 million of liquidity.

After completing the sales, United Maritime temporarily became a fleet focused entirely on Panamax and Kamsarmax vessels.

The asset logic was relatively straightforward.

Both Capesizes were close to 20 years old. Selling them allowed the company to monetise asset values while reducing future exposure to drydock costs, ageing-related maintenance and potential environmental upgrading requirements.

But only months later, United Maritime returned to the Capesize sector.

This time, it targeted younger ships.

Back Into Capesize With Two 2010-Built Vessels

In 2026, United Maritime added two Capesize bulkers: the 181,453-dwt Dukeship and the 170,018-dwt Squireship, both built in 2010.

Dukeship, built by Sasebo in Japan, was acquired through an 18-month bareboat charter arrangement that includes a purchase obligation at the end of the charter period.

Squireship, which is equipped with a scrubber, joined the fleet in June. United Maritime assumed the vessel’s existing sale-and-leaseback financing arrangement and the associated rights and obligations.

According to company disclosures, the combined investment associated with the two Capesizes amounts to approximately $62 million to $62.2 million.

At the same time, United Maritime continued selling smaller dry bulk tonnage.

The company sold the 2009-built Kamsarmax Cretansea for $14.7 million, generating approximately $5.9 million of net cash after repayment of related debt.

It also agreed to sell the 2011-built Panamax Exelixsea for approximately $17.5 million. Following debt repayment, the transaction is expected to release around $8.5 million of net liquidity and generate an estimated gain of roughly $1.8 million.

In addition, United Maritime exited an investment in an offshore energy construction vessel, releasing another approximately $15.1 million.

Taken together, completed and agreed asset disposals and investment exits in 2026 have generated, or are expected to generate, approximately $29.5 million of liquidity.

That capital has become an important part of the company’s renewed Capesize expansion.

United Maritime’s strategy is therefore more nuanced than simply “selling Panamaxes and buying Capesizes”.

The full sequence is more significant: dispose of 2005- and 2006-built Capesizes, monetise older assets, sell selected Kamsarmax and Panamax tonnage, exit non-core investments, and then redeploy capital into two 2010-built Capesizes.

It is simultaneously a fleet-age renewal, a vessel-class rebalancing and a capital reallocation exercise.

No Equity Dilution, But Higher Leverage

United Maritime management has highlighted that the latest Capesize expansion has not relied on issuing additional common shares, thereby avoiding dilution for existing shareholders.

That is an important point.

But the balance sheet also shows that financial leverage has increased substantially.

United Maritime’s debt, finance lease liabilities and other financing obligations stood at approximately $64.8 million at the end of 2025.

That figure increased to around $89.7 million by the end of March 2026 and reached roughly $94.2 million by the end of June.

Over the same period, the book value of the company’s fleet increased from approximately $100 million at the end of 2025 to about $143.5 million by mid-2026.

On a simplified basis, subtracting cash and restricted cash from these financing liabilities suggests that net financial obligations increased from roughly $50.3 million at the end of 2025 to around $82.1 million at the end of June.

The company’s approach therefore reflects a familiar strategy among smaller listed shipowners: monetise older assets to release equity capital, then combine that capital with bareboat leasing, sale-and-leaseback structures and debt financing to acquire larger assets.

The structure avoids direct shareholder dilution, but it also increases the importance of cash flow generation and financing costs.

New Capesizes Lock In Nearly $30,000 Per Day

So far, the two newly added Capesizes are already providing relatively strong earnings visibility.

Dukeship has secured earnings of approximately $29,300 per day through the end of 2026.

Squireship was initially employed on an index-linked time charter. Following delivery in June, United Maritime used FFA hedging to convert its exposure into a fixed-rate equivalent, locking in an average gross hire of approximately $28,246 per day through year-end.

Both vessels are therefore earning close to $30,000 per day on a fixed or effectively fixed basis.

United Maritime has adopted a similar approach elsewhere in the fleet.

As of 30 July, the company had converted the index-linked exposure of three of its six vessels into fixed-rate earnings through the end of 2026, increasing cash flow visibility while retaining some upside exposure to the market.

Approximately 75% of third-quarter operating days had already been covered, with the secured portion generating an estimated TCE of $21,388 per day.

Based on the FFA curve as of 28 July, United Maritime estimated fleetwide third-quarter TCE at approximately $20,418 per day, up around 9.5% from the second quarter.

If achieved, that would extend a clear upward trend:

Q4 2025: $14,129/day Q1 2026: $15,591/day Q2 2026: $18,654/day Q3 2026 guidance: approximately $20,418/day

Squireship only joined the fleet in June, meaning its contribution to second-quarter earnings was limited.

The third quarter should therefore provide the first more complete indication of the earnings contribution from both newly added Capesizes.

A Difficult 2025 Set the Stage for the Overhaul

The aggressive fleet restructuring needs to be viewed against the backdrop of a challenging 2025.

United Maritime generated approximately $37.8 million of net revenue last year, down around 17% year-on-year.

The company recorded a full-year net loss of approximately $6.2 million, compared with a loss of about $3.4 million in 2024.

Adjusted net loss reached around $4.1 million, while adjusted EBITDA declined from $20.3 million in 2024 to $12.9 million.

Average fleet TCE fell from $15,719 per day to $13,565 per day.

The fourth quarter was particularly weak, with net revenue of only about $6.6 million, a net loss of $3.8 million and adjusted EBITDA of just $1.5 million.

Conditions began to improve rapidly in 2026.

The first-quarter net loss narrowed to roughly $0.1 million, while adjusted results moved slightly into positive territory.

By the second quarter, net income had risen to $1.16 million and adjusted EBITDA to $5.23 million.

From a $3.8 million quarterly loss in Q4 2025 to a return to profitability in Q2 2026, United Maritime has achieved a marked operating recovery within two quarters.

Management Is Still Looking for More Capesizes

The two 2010-built Capesizes may not be the end of United Maritime’s expansion.

Chairman and CEO Stamatis Tsantanis recently said in a Capital Link investor Q&A that the company remains interested in acquiring additional high-quality secondhand Capesize vessels, provided any transaction is accretive on a per-share basis.

That makes clear that Capesize exposure is again becoming an important part of the company’s fleet strategy.

Management’s market case rests on several factors.

One is long-haul iron ore trade.

Strong Chinese iron ore imports, improving Brazilian supply from Vale and the gradual ramp-up of Guinea’s Simandou project could support additional long-distance cargo flows from Brazil and West Africa to Asia.

For Capesize shipping, tonne-mile demand matters as much as headline cargo volumes. Voyages from Brazil and West Africa to China are materially longer than the traditional Australia-China route and therefore absorb more vessel capacity for the same volume of cargo.

Another factor is Guinea’s rapidly expanding bauxite trade, which has become an increasingly important source of Capesize demand alongside iron ore and coal.

United Maritime also argues that relatively contained newbuilding deliveries, an ageing fleet, environmental regulations, drydocking requirements and vessel-speed dynamics are constraining effective supply.

The company has described the Capesize market as having a stronger structural foundation.

That remains management’s own market view.

But United Maritime’s capital allocation suggests it is backing that view with real money.

A Classic Shipping Asset Play

United Maritime remains a relatively small shipowner, but its recent moves provide a useful example of how shipping companies actively trade both freight-market exposure and vessel assets.

The company first sold two nearly 20-year-old Capesizes while secondhand asset values remained supportive.

It then disposed of selected Panamax and Kamsarmax vessels, exited a non-core investment and redeployed the resulting liquidity — together with lease and debt financing — into two Capesizes around five years younger than the vessels it sold.

At the same time, United Maritime has not left all of its newly acquired capacity fully exposed to the spot market.

Where forward market conditions allowed, it locked in Capesize earnings close to $30,000 per day through year-end.

The strategy has so far produced three notable results: a younger fleet profile, renewed exposure to the Capesize market and improved earnings visibility for the remainder of 2026.

The trade-off is higher financial leverage.

If the Capesize market remains strong, the additional operating leverage could magnify returns and allow the company to deleverage through stronger cash generation.

If the market weakens, however, the same capital structure could amplify earnings volatility.

For United Maritime, the return to profitability in the first half of 2026 is therefore only the first financial evidence that its fleet rotation is beginning to work.

The real test will come over the next several quarters, as both Capesizes contribute for a full reporting period — and as management decides whether to continue adding exposure to the largest segment of the dry bulk market.