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INDUSTRY - SHIPMANAGEMENT
employment was highlighted by
Mike McCabe, fleet personnel
manager, Dobson Fleet
Management, who pointed out
that while many European
officers wished for shorter tours
of duty of four months, Indian
officers preferred longer voyages.
Further challenges
While accepting that sourcing
quality crew is the biggest
challenge facing the industry,
McCabe said that there were
further daunting challenges to be
met. "The International Marine
Employers' Committee is
seriously concerned about the
need to not only train more
officers, but to ensure the training
quality improves. The insurance
company AON has warned that
the shortage of skilled officers is
threatening to result in an
increase in claims resulting from
human error and the ILO is
saying there needs to be an
internationally agreed minimum
standard for maritime working
conditions."
According to Papalexis it is not
too late to promote seafaring as
socially acceptable. He said: "I
see thousands of college
graduates who, after several years
of studies, remain unemployed or
are compelled to undertake
menial jobs for which they are
overqualified. I believe that it is
possible to attract these people
and make them believe in this
profession, provided that we will
be in a position to prove to them
that 'we mean business'.
"Provision of long-term
contracts, pension schemes, jobs
ashore ... are some of the
ingredients and incentives which
can be used to attract people and
keep them. And while this is one
aspect of the manning problem,
the other is how we handle the
mariners we already have. We
hope and assume that they will
operate our ships in a safe,
efficient, environmentally
friendly and economical manner."
Papalexis then posed the
question: "Do we ask too much?"
He maintained this probably is
Ms Annette Malm Justad, new EMS ceo.
not the case, "particularly if we
put our demands in a logical
perspective and understand these
people better".
He said: "We have to consider
where these people come from,
their social background, their
educational standard, their
behaviour and their abilities. If
we do not carefully consider all
these factors and, instead, we try
to assimilate them into a
sophisticated environment which
they may have difficulty in
understanding, we will fail as
ultimately it will prove
too daunting."
The key Papalexis believed
was training. "Dealing with the
manpower issue we should bear
in mind the ever increasing cost
of vessels and their equipment.
Assets of many millions of
dollars are entrusted in the hands
of 20 to 30 people serving on
board. It is therefore common
sense that these people [crews]
should be properly educated,
trained and have the appropriate
experience. It is obvious that
when budgeting crew costs, they
should be directly proportionate
to the cost of the investment for
the acquisition and operation of
the vessel itself."
TESMA is no more
Meanwhile, in another rebranding
exercise the well known name of
TESMA has been replaced by
EMS Ship Management. Eitzen
Maritime Services, the parent
company of the global maritime
services group operating within
three business sectors, is to
rebrand all subsidiary companies
in a drive to create a larger and
more competitive group.
According to ceo Annette Malm
Justad: "We believe size is
important and is becoming a
major driver. We at EMS want to
be prepared for the consolidation
in the maritime industry."
The three segments that make
up EMS are TESMA Holding, a
shipmanagement company
delivering full technical
management to 117 vessels and
crewing to 275 vessels; Strømme,
an international ship supply
company delivering products and
services to more than 4,000
vessels annually and Polaris, an
insurance broker to an
international client base. All
subsidiaries were re-branded
to EMS Ship Management,
EMS Ship Supply and EMS
Insurance Broker respectively on
1 st February this year.
Justad explained that the
supply and management sectors
are both essential to the running
of a ship and that by combining
them, EMS can achieve larger
economies of scale and obtain
better terms and conditions by
buying larger volumes to the
benefit of the shipowner
and EMS.
Sales at EMS in 2005 reached
NoK505 mill, up from NoK442
mill in 2004, although gross
profit was down to NoK83 mill
compared with NoK174 mill in
2004. Sales to the third quarter of
last year were NoK445 mill, with
gross profit up to NoK160 mill.
Last year, EMS continued to
expand through acquisition.
Justad explained: "By including
Polaris the group extended the
service range to shipowners and
the acquisition of Blystad Ship
Management gave further
economies of scale. The group is
well balanced with regard to the
two main divisions. Last year was
used to build the business and to
clean up the accounts.
Procurement and branding
projects were initiated and the
number of vessels on technical
management and crewing rose by
25% and ship supply revenue
rose revenue by 31%."
According to Justad, EMS's
strategy is to improve
procurement and organisational
efficiency. "We want to release
operational synergies and volume
potential to deliver high revenue
growth and expand our global
network. Today EMS is located in
the traditional shipping centres,
but we also see other
geographical areas with growth
potential. We will actively seek
acquisition targets and new
partners and also aim to
grow organically."
She continued: "I see ship
management and ship supply as
complimentary businesses where
our people have a better insight
into each other's segments and are
able to provide knowledge driven
services to the shipowners with a
focus on maintaining
transparency and building trust".
Justad is pragmatic in her
approach and accepts that the
EMS' business model is a
concept which will take time to
be established and for
shipowners to realise its
complete benefits.
TO
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TANKEROperator • March 2007