GRUPA UNIBALTIC

HISTORY

The proverb says that even the longest journey begins with the first step. This step was a very simple assumption for us: to become a company providing comprehensive services for the transport of liquid and bulk cargo between ports throughout Europe.

  1. 2003

    Foundation of Unibaltic. Arkadiusz Wójcik and Czesław Kowalak, associated with the sea since the times of the Maritime University of Szczecin, decided to implement their plans.

  2. 2004

    The first year of operation was crowned by the purchase of the first own chemical tanker AMONITH. Over the next years, Unibaltic Group intensively developed its business, establishing a number of new contacts with large, significant manufacturers on the market.

  3. 2005

    The extensive development of activities to the extent that allows for professional provision of services, so as to meet the expectations of customers and the growing market requirements, prompted the company to open a branch office in Gdynia in 2005.

  4. 2008

    In 2006-2008, the company expanded its fleet to 5 units. This made it possible to achieve an annual transport capacity of over 0.5 million tons of liquid cargo.

  5. 2012

    We have achieved a transport capacity of 1 million tons per year.

  6. 2013

    The 10th anniversary of Unibaltic. Unibaltic operates a total of 7 vessels - 6 chemical tankers and 1 bulk carrier.

  7. 2015

    Purchase of the first flexi tanker - APATYTH. The ship is intended for the transport of clean refinery products within the North and Baltic Sea.

  8. 2021

    This time, Unibaltic Group decided not to purchase, but to build a new vessel at the Turkish shipyard - the ALVANITH chemical tanker.

  9. 2022

    We have achieved a transport capacity of 1.5 million tons per year.

  10. 2023

    The 20th anniversary of Unibaltic. Unibaltic operates a total of 9 vessels and plans to conclude contracts for the construction of a series of vessels.

The first year of business activity is primarily based on the two chartered vessels – AMARANTH and AMETHYST. These are managed by only a few people in a tiny office in Szczecin. Self-sufficiency is essential for us, starting with an appropriate cargo lookup, transport arrangement and ship agency coverage in polish ports. From the very beginning, our ship-owning business approach is an integrated one as it is complemented by ship agency services. 

In 2004 we have achieved a really meaningful milestone – we bought our first own chemical tanker AMONITH. Over the following years, we are intensively developing the business activity by establishing a lot of international contacts, signing contracts and agreements with important and notable entities. This made it possible for the continuous expansion of our fleet. The development pace has encouraged us to open a company branch in Gdynia. In the years 2006-2008 we expanded our fleet to 5 vessels, which enabled us to achieve about 0,5mil tonnes of shipped cargo per year. 

In 2010 fleet has been expanded by another 2 vessels, and since then we have been operating 6 chemical tankers and 1 bulk carrier. Two years later – we are able to achieve about 1mil tonnes of shipped cargo per year. Rapid growth makes the company capable of further tonnage purchases. At that time, the strategy calls for expanding the fleet by 1 vessel per year along with a gradual reduction of vessels’ average age.   

A total of 11 vessels is being operated in 2016 – 9 chemical tankers and 2 bulk carriers. In order to address the market requirements, Unibaltic is continuously rejuvenating the fleet. For the sake of comparison – at the beginning, the average vessel’s age was 35 years. 10 years later the average age hovers around 20 years old. Within a decade we became a significant player in the chemical tanker market. Our efforts and activity have been recognized by the industry which resulted in many prestigious awards such as the Business Gazelles, Forbes Diamonds, Business Compass - the Economic Award of the Mayor of Szczecin in the Company of the Year category, or the emblem TERAZ POLSKA in the category: services, sea transport of chemical cargoes.

In 2017-2019, the Unibaltic Group not only invests in new vessels but also in the infrastructure and people. Thanks to their dedication and passion, these people become experts within their fields of activity. Every single of them is supremely trained and experienced in the maritime industry. 

We currently employ over 40 qualified clerical staff.

The company’s potential and dynamic development enabled to introduce of a tuition programme called MentorShip. One of the goals of introducing such a programme is to maintain a high level of competence and maritime know-how.

In order to achieve the goals of the quality, safety and environmental protection policy, the Unibaltic Group has developed and implemented a quality and safety management system in accordance with the requirements of the International Code for the Safe Operation of Ships and Pollution Prevention - ISM Code, ISO9001:2015 and ISO14001:2015 standards. Bearing in mind the safety and quality of the transport of chemical products, all Unibaltic ships are successively inspected by the Chemical Distribution Institute (CDI) and the Ship Inspection Reporting Programme (SIRE). The above inspections are a kind of commercial approval for the transport of cargo for the most recognized entities in the world.

The year 2020 brings new challenges – Unibaltic Group has decided to sign its very first newbuild agreement in a Turkish shipyard. This is another important step in the company’s development. Alvanith has been commissioned in Q1 2021 and since then she is consistently carrying out cargo shipments for our customers. In the same year, we achieve another milestone - the annual transport capacity exceeds 1.5 million tons.

The year 2023 is exceptional for us - it is the 20th anniversary of our shipping market presence. We are proud that the Unibaltic Group has been persistently strengthening its position on the market since 2003 and is recognised as a professional and trustworthy shipowner.

And this is just a beginning…