Stronger Baltic Index, captive cargo boost Essar Shipping numbers

Firm's FY17 cargo handling biz up 22%, helped mainly by its captive cargo whose share rose to 80%

Essar Shipping Ltd (ESL) logged 22 per cent growth in its cargo handling in FY17 helped mainly by its captive cargo whose share rose to 80 per cent. The company that runs a fleet of 14 vessels, saw its capacity utilisation rising from 80 per cent to 94 per cent in last fiscal.

A spike in the Baltic Dry Index, a key indicator for freight rates, also boosted Essar Shipping's performance. Between February 2016 and March 2017, the Index shot up four times from a low of 290 to 1300.

In FY17, ESL carried dry bulk cargo of almost 11.5 million tonne,