Features: Features: - Tanker Operator

INDUSTRY - SHIPMANAGEMENT
ITM keeps its
identity and expands
International Tanker Management (ITM) has kept its identity, despite associate
shipmanagement concern Barber Ship Management being restyled Wilhelmsen Marine
Services in line with other Wilh Wilhelmsen Group members this January.
However, ITM is still
very much a part of
the group and as
such can call on its
parent company's vast pool of
seafarers, its worldwide set of
offices and its financial clout.
At present, ITM manages
around 20 vessels from its Dubai
office and another 25 from
Hamburg. Late last year two
more offices were added -
Houston and Singapore. They
should be operational by the
beginning of this year.
Owners in the US and
Southeast Asia are also being
targeted, especially those
involved in the chemical and
product tanker sector.
Heading up Singapore is ex
Stolt-Nielsen man Rune
Myrbakken who started work on
1st December. Mark Patil moves
over from Barber Ship
Management's Houston office to
head up ITM's US operation,
which should be up and running
by the first quarter of this year,
once the US regulators have
given it the nod.
The vetting and QA is handled
by the Dubai office, which
recently won a contract to
technically manage and crew six
product tankers owned by
NASDAQ-listed Aries Maritime.
All six are on long term charters
and not exposed to the spot
market.
Dubai also handles post fixture
work for SABIC and is
supervising two newbuilding
tankers in China on behalf of
Wilhelmsen Marine Services.
According to ITM's president
and ceo Lars Modin, the major
issues facing the tanker industry
today are;
Manning and Training.
Environment (MARPOL).
Safety & Quality.
TMSA alignment.
Cost efficiency.
Modin thought that the
smaller/mid-size shipmanagers
were struggling with crewing and
regulatory issues. He thought that
seafarer costs will account for
around two thirds of a vessel's
operating budget this year and
other items, such as lubes and
insurance costs, were increasing.
However, he said savings could
be made on spares, stores and
other items where economies of
scale could be an advantage.
As for training, ITM already has
one deck and one engineering
cadet employed on its managed
vessels and is planning to install a
third cadet, possibly this year.
Modin claimed that crew retention
for the Frontline tankers managed
by ITM was running at 80%. "The
challenge is to create new pools
for new clients," he said.
He thought that a seafarer
seeking better security would opt
Aries Maritime Transport’s cfo Richard Coxall (left) is welcomed on
board by ITM’s Lars Modin (right).
for a full employment type deal,
rather than just be hired on
contract terms. "I would like to
see 12-month rolling contracts
introduced," Modin said.
"It is important to look at the
type of ship to be managed," he
said. For example, he thought that
a different way of thinking was
needed to handle handysize
chemical and product tankers. He
said that the Singapore office
hoped to have eight or nine
chemical tankers signed up this
year as there are many being
delivered for Asian interests from
Asian yards.
As for Houston, Myrbakken's
parcel tanker knowledge and the
increasing number of shuttle
tankers in the US Gulf should
create shipmanagement
opportunities. The company
already has Stamford-based
Groton Pacific Carriers on its
books, while Singapore has
signed up Thai Oil.
The Dubai office operates with
one fleet manager and five
superintendents, while Hamburg
also has one fleet manager but
operates with an extra
superintendent.
Modin recently reorganised the
operations departments to create
dedicated sections to manage
quality, vetting and regulatory
issues.
He claimed that ITM undertook
more vessel safety condition
inspections and safety training
than demanded by the ISM Code
and was one of the first
companies to start a risk
assessment scheme. He also
claimed that the tankers carried
more safety equipment than other
comparable vessels.
The shore management team
were also put through leadership
and motivational training courses,
plus team building and time
management schemes. The
seafarers also take courses, which
go well beyond the STCW
requirements at company cost.
Since 2000, ITM has had
24
TANKEROperator March 2008