Improving bulker rates helped Safe Bulkers back into profit for the third quarter.

The New York-listed shipowner reported a $3.3m surplus for the quarter ending 30 September, lower than the $5.2m profit posted for the same period last year, but a considerable reversal from the $13.9m loss in the second quarter of 2020.

"Our financial performance gradually improved in parallel with the chartering market during the third quarter," company president Loukas Barmparis said.