Features: - Tanker Operator

INDUSTRY - FOCUS ON GERMANY
A joint venture - Scorship - was also
formed with Monaco-based Scorpio, which is
involved in the running of two tanker pools, in
which Koenig is participating. "To have a
joint venture, such as Scorship, seemed to be
logical as Scorpio was seeking access to the
German market and we had been looking for
a partner to invest in Panamax tankers,"
Koenig explained.
"Therefore, our Panamax and handymax
product tankers had been managed by Scorpio
Ship Management, Monaco. Later on Scorship
Tankers GmbH was formed by the two
partners, which has now taken up the
management of these vessels," he said.
"There is a lot of interest outside Germany
to find a local partner. And this is the reason
others have formed partnerships and will
probably continue to do so in the future," he
added.
Last June, Scorship Tankers GmbH
christened two further double hull tankers at
New Times Shipbuilding, located on the
Yangtze River.
The tankers were the last two in a series of
six sister ships. They were christened King
Daniel and King Douglas. The latter was
handed over to the charterer ST Shipping and
Transport, Singapore and King Daniel will be
delivered in September. The six double hull
crude oil/product tankers were ordered in
2005 for delivery in 2007 and 2008. They
were Panamax class LR1 product tankers.
The last two both make up the Product
Tanker Fund IV, which had been open to
16
Koenig & Cie investors since the end of
March 2008. The fund concept is a
combination of fixed charter and pool
earnings, with one vessel benefiting from the
stability of the former and the other vessel
from the variable earnings of the latter (this
vessel will be deployed in a leading
tanker pool).
Koenig uses what it perceives as the best
partners available to technically manage the
vessels, for example, Columbia
Shipmanagement (CSM), Thien & Heyenga
and V Ships. For example, all of the Marenave
vessels are managed by CSM Hamburg.
The issuing house invests in containerships,
bulk carriers and product tankers. But thus far
the different ship types have not been included
in one fund.
For tankers, Koenig thought that initially,
this had proved more difficult. However,
today Koenig & Cie is a successful tanker
company with…."an unparalleled network in
the tanker markets. We offer investment
opportunities that are hard to match, which is
giving us a competitive advantage over other
German issuing houses," Koenig concluded.
In another move, Jens Mahnke recently
joined Koenig & Cie GmbH as a managing
partner to take on responsibility for all
shipping matters.
Prior to this, Mahnke worked with the
Nordcapital Group, where he was managing
partner for shipping project development for
the last six years.
From 1st June, the shareholder structure of
Koenig & Cie GmbH was Tobias Koenig
holding 86%, Klaus Fickert and Jörn Meyer
each holding 5% and Johannes Bitter-
Suermann and Jens Mahnke each holding 2%.
Since TANKEROperator's visit, Scorpio
Tankers GmbH & Co KG and Scorpio
Shipping Company, Monaco have said that
they are set to broaden the business scope and
as a result have been renamed Scorship
Navigation. As part of the expansion plan, the
company will soon manage drybulk carriers as
well as tankers. Jens Mahnke was named ceo
on 1st August.
Essberger expands
John T Essberger is expanding its tanker
fleet by ordering a series of newbuildings
from China and Turkey. The company has also
extended its shipmanagement portfolio by
winning a management contract for a series of
Swedish product tankers newbuildings.
The Chinese order involves two 8,500 dwt
Ice Class 1A chemical tankers fitted with 16
stainless steel tanks, plus another two options.
The first vessel will be delivered at the end of
2010 and the second in February 2011.
Essberger chose Dingheng (Jiangsu)
Shipbuilding, which Captain Stefan Buelow,
managing director John T. Essberger Ship
Management described to TANKEROperator
as a new yard specialising in LPG and
chemical tankers. The vessels will be built in
co-operation with the Dutch-based Volharding
Shipyards and were designed by a Norwegian
concern. They will be powered by MAN
The 5,771 dwt chemical tanker
Georg Essberger seen in the
Kiel Canal.
TANKEROperator � August/September 2008