After five years with the company, Hans Aasnæs will step down from his position
as CEO once a successor is found. A search for a new CEO will be initiated, and
an interim CEO will be appointed soon.

"I am grateful for the contributions made by Hans throughout his period as CEO
of Western Bulk. He has led the company through an important phase and has been
instrumental in building the company's strong culture", states Bengt A. Rem,
Chairman of Western Bulk.

For the second half of 2023, Western Bulk generated a net loss after tax of USD
-10.8 million from a Net TC of USD 2.3 million and Net TC Margin per ship day of
USD 100. For the full year the Group had a net loss after tax of USD -15.6
million from a Net TC of USD 9.3 million and Net TC Margin per ship day of USD
202. The number of vessels increased somewhat to an average of 128 vessels in
the second half of 2023 compared to 125 vessels in the first half, reaching an
average of 126 vessels for 2023 in total.

For most of the year, the company held a negative market view and was careful in
taking on long exposure. Vessel owners required a premium to the forward freight
market (FFA), while cargo was priced at a discount to the paper market (FFA).
This limited business opportunities and led to difficulties in securing physical
tonnage without taking an outright long exposure at what was considered as
inflated levels against the paper market (FFA). At times this led to short
positions with an overweight of cargo commitments covered by more expensive
vessels as the market increased more than expected. The company has also made
investments in new trading areas. In addition, the situation in the Panama-canal
with restrictions and increased fees had a negative impact on the second half
year results.

The dry bulk market improved steadily throughout the second half of 2023. The
Baltic Supramax Index 58'(BSI) averaged USD 11,974/day in H2 2023, 14% higher
than the USD 10,488/day achieved in 1H 2023. The average spread between Atlantic
and Pacific markets increased from USD 2,999/day to USD 6,925/day in the second
half of the year due to a much stronger Atlantic market.

In relation to the release of the second half-year results, a digital investor
presentation will be held by the company's CEO (Hans Aasnæs) and CFO (Kenneth
Thu) on Friday 16th of February at 11:00 CET. 


Contacts
For more information, please contact: 
Hans Aasnæs, Chief Executive Officer
Tel: +47 922 53957
E-mail: hans.aasnas@westernbulk.com

Kenneth Thu, Chief Financial Officer 
Tel: +47 988 74302
E-mail: kenneth.thu@westernbulk.com

About Western Bulk Chartering:
Western Bulk Chartering AS is a major dry bulk shipping operator. The company is
owned by the Kistefos Group (68,7 %), Sayonara AS (former Ojada AS) (8,3 %), and
a group of about 1200 other shareholders. Western Bulk Chartering AS is
registered on Euronext Growth Oslo. See www.westernbulk.com for more
information.