Oslo Bulk Shipping is moving commercial management of its fleet in-house with business set to be conducted out of Singapore.
The decision will affect 10 bulkers of 8,000 dwt that have been under the commercial management Scan-Trans of Denmark.
Oslo Bulk’s Alf Andersen claims the intention was always to run the ships commercially in-house. “It is a big strength for an owner to be fully integrated with all functions internally,” he said.
The firm took delivery of the ships in 2010 and 2011 from Yangzijiang Shipyard in China. They were said to have cost $14m each.
Oslo Bulk targets the bulker segment from 8,000 dwt to 12,000 dwt. Andersen claims the intention is to expand the fleet but it is difficult to find suitable tonnage, especially vessels that have the right speed/fuel-consumption ratio.
Oslo Bulk is also looking potentially to order more ships, says Andersen. The fleet mainly works short time charters, about one-third in Asia, one-third in the Atlantic and the rest in the Americas.
Andersen, John Hatleskog and US-listed International Shipholding Corp (ISC) each own 25% of the shares in Oslo Bulk, with the remainder held by the Inge Steensland family, Thomas Korsdalen and Dag Rommen.
ISC, Hatleskog and Andersen were also earlier major shareholders of the world’s largest cement carrier, Belden Shipping of Singapore, until that company was sold to Kristian Gerhard Jebsen Skipsrederi of Norway for $236m in 2006. The deal prevented the former owners of Belden from conducting cement-transport business for three years following the sale. According to Andersen, there are no plans for the time being for a comeback in this niche sector.
