Features: - Tanker Operator

As for AMC, this concern offers third
party technical newbuilding supervision and
only puts its own people in the shipyards,
rather than relying on third party
newbuilding surveyors. For example, ACM
newbuilding standby chief engineers will
move into the office as engineer
superintendents, once the newbuilding
supervision period has ended.
Seaarland Shipmanagement only employs
ex seafarers and a cadet scheme is run in a
joint venture with ASP Ship Management
Scandinavia based in Mariehamn, Finland.
KG expertise
The German KG (Kommanditgesellschaft)
equity syndicating system is perhaps not
suffering as badly as other forms of raising
finance in today's economic gloom and doom.
Whereas some would be investors in
shipping equity will still rely on the debt
financing to purchase shares in vessels, other
private shareholders do not.
KGs were originally designed to help the
German shipyards and shipping industry. A
general partner (GmbH) is usually required.
Individuals participate with fixed equity
INDUSTRY - FOCUS ON GERMANY
SAM Electronics – Your Partner for
Automation, Navigation and Communication
With a few, highly flexible hard- and
software modules our 2200 series
provides solutions for all automation
requirements onboard of your vessel.
SAM Electronics GmbH
Behringstrasse 120
22763 Hamburg . Germany
portions on a non-recourse basis.
To qualify for syndication, vessels must in
compliance with international class society
standards, while both the commercial and
technical management of the vessels must be
undertaken in Germany and the vessels must
be registered in Germany, although an
internationally accepted flag is also possible.
Once the domain of smaller container and
multipurpose vessels, all types are now being
considered providing they have a long term
timecharter attached, but not a bareboat, or
demise charter contract.
The change in the German tonnage tax of
1st January 2007, bought no substantial
difference to equity finance deals. Basically,
the tax is based on the gt of a vessel and not
the profit/loss performance (see page 18).
However, Tobias Koenig founder of Koenig
& Cie GmbH said that the syndication
market, which is most important in Germany
for larger projects, is almost totally disrupted
by the current financial crisis. "The KG funds
are not lenders. They are syndicating equity
and combine it with debt financing to buy
ships, which they operate and charter out,"
he explained.
The success of our navigation and command
system NACOS is based on the
unique concept to functionally integrate
radar operation, ECDIS and autopilot.
Phone: +49 - (0)40 - 88 25 - 24 84
Fax: +49 - (0)40 - 88 25 - 41 16
NAVCOM@sam-electronics.de
www.sam-electronics.de
Please visit us at SMM 2008, 23 - 26 September, Hall B6, Stand 340.
Koenig said that despite this, the company
had managed to realise new products. He
criticised HSH Nordbank, the world's largest
ship financier, saying that the default rate in
the vessel mortgage loan sector is zero per
cent. "Their caution with the granting of
loans does not always seem reasonable to
us," he said.
Koenig was founded in 1999 and in 2006
established Marenave Schiffahrts with HSH
Nordbank. It is claimed to be the first German
shipping trust set up legally as a public listed
company. The objective was to provide
institutional investors with the possibility of
investing in the shipping market on a long
term basis, creating a new asset class for
better investment portfolio diversification.
He said the most KG investors were
experienced and many of them invest 'anticyclically'
and "...were in it for the long run."
Due to their cyclical nature, the volatile
markets have led to diversification being
highly valued. For example, besides shipping,
Koenig is now established in real estate,
private equity, renewable energy, secondary
market of UK life insurance policies and
infrastructure.
Our communication product scope
comprises a wide range of systems for
rapid and efficient aid to ships indistress
as well as internal communication.
August/September 2008 � TANKEROperator 15