Universal Navigation Pte Ltd was established in August 1995 as traditional dry bulk ship owners and cement traders. Initially only two freedom type vessels were owned. As more vessels were taken in on longer term period charter the group became more established and relationships with other ship owners, charterers and traders developed which allowed the firm to get into ship broking and ship agency.

Many ship owners and operators struggled in the late 1990’s during the time of the Asian financial crisis; however, Universal Navigation’s relatively diverse portfolio made it less susceptible to falling prey to the market.

The new millennium marked a shift in overall market sentiment. Trading became more active and operations extended into other agricultural and industrial commodities and geographical locations. With the freight market boom in 2003 more ships were purchased and in-house fleet deadweight rose to over 200,000 mts in 2006 from 30,060 MTS in 1997.

Universal Navigation sold the bulk of its vessels between 2007 and 2010 and as a result of the market downturn the company decided not to reinvest in ships. It subsequently exited ship owning completely in 2013 and decided to focus on its core business of ship operating and ship agency but at the same time it decided to pursue interests in downstream agricultural commodity processing.

With its Headquarters in Singapore and regional offices in Pakistan, Myanmar, the UAE, and Kenya the group is able to maintain and benefit from close relationships with other key international players in the industry.