The headline earnings of JSE and Nasdaq-listed Grindrod Shipping surged more than twelvefold year on year, as it continued to benefit from strong freight rates while the world grappled with supply chain disruptions.

“The quarter was the strongest first quarter for charter rates for our ship types in over a decade and lays a solid foundation for the rest of the year,” interim CEO and CFO Stephen Griffiths said, in the group’s unaudited results for the three months end-March...