The growth will be driven by higher steel demand for housing, infrastructure and machinery, the China Daily Thursday quoted BIMCO as saying.
"When we look into 2013, the fundamentals of the dry bulk segment are improving on both supply and demand side variables," said Peter Sand, chief shipping analyst at BIMCO.
In September, China imported the largest amount of iron ore since the record-high imports in January 2011.
The 65.1 million tonnes imported in September strengthens the latest indication of a still growing Chinese demand for imported iron ore, BIMCO said.