Features: - Tanker Operator

INDUSTRY - SHIPMANAGEMENT
BSM comes of age
With the ink barely dry on the regrouping programme undertaken by the Bernhard
Schulte Shipmanagement Group (BSM), TANKEROperator spoke with ceo Andreas J
Droussiotis about the coming together of the group’s diverse shipmanagement concerns.
BSM is in the big league and currently
manages a fleet of 648 vessels; 285
fully managed and 363 crew
managed and 44 confirmed until the
end of 2008. Furthermore, the group employs over
17,000 personnel on board and onshore.
Droussiotis explained that the whole
purpose of the merger was to protect the
business and invest in a stronger future. "As
with any unification, the systematisation of
the group is taking time with close cooperation,
and a lot of hard work.
Organisations have used acquisitions to reach
new markets and acquire new customers. We
prefer to expand gradually, keeping all
operations under control", he said.
The decision to merge the various companies
was taken by the group as a whole. The
management teams of each concern considered
this as the best solution for the future.
"Merging a group of companies and diverse
cultures under one banner is a challenge, in
addition to a great opportunity. Situations like
this are never easy to deal with. You suddenly
recognise the need to put in place more
effective standards and policies. In order to
achieve this, effective leadership and
teamwork have to be reached on all levels.
"Both the challenge and the opportunity are
there, and by unifying the group of companies,
Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement plans on
representing just what the power of unity can
Andreas Droussiotis
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mean in the shipping industry. The result? Being
better for the clients, for the employees and for
the shareholders", Droussiotis said.
Droussiotis explained that the company plans to
manage costs within the integrated group to profit
from opportunities in the shipping industry, while
continuing to provide quality shipmanagement.
"Ultimately, there will be savings; however, we
expect the usage of concentrated power to yield
positive results", he said.
"BSM has a strong management team, with
an established reputation for success. Working
under one banner, the new structure will only
reinforce our efforts to further develop the
opportunities throughout our organisation," he
said talking of the integration of senior
management. New roles have been assumed by
members of the management team, and new
roles were also being made available to cope
with the expansion of the group and the shift in
management roles. "Everyone has taken up
their new roles and they will work fully for the
success of the group", he explained.
All ship management units, which were
previously under the control of the separate
main companies will become fully fledged and
provide all the services to clients directly. Due
to the fleet separation, which was organised for
various reasons, they will report to the group
fleet directors for the different vessels who will
be responsible for their operations.
As a result of the coming together, BSM's
clients' fleet are now managed by strategically
located service delivery centres (SDCs)
around the globe. "These have the specialist
knowledge, the experience, the up-to-date
systems and certifications in place to manage
all types of vessel and fleet currently in
service with maximum efficiency", he said.
He said that from containerships,
conventional bulkers, gravity-fed self-unloading
bulk carriers, through Panamax, post-Panamax,
Handysize, ro-ros, pure car carriers, crude,
chemical, LNG, or LPG tankers, to heavy-lift
vessels, semi-submersibles and FPSOs - the on
board and onshore specialists are highly
experienced in managing vessels and fleets of
every type and age.
Basically, the fleet has been divided into
three categories - dry, tanker, gas/LNG and
each category is managed by a team headed
by a group managing director.
Droussiotis said that the most important
issue for BSM was nothing else but the
continuous training and upgrading of its own
people. The majority of people in BSM's
present training facilities/schools come from
the Philippines, Cyprus, India, and to a lesser
extent, the ex Soviet states.
"Our foundations stand by the principle to
own the agencies we recruit from. We have
the company's policies, philosophy, mentality
and recruiting standards within these agencies,
as well as the training we conduct in these
areas", he explained.
He said that building relationship and
professional networks were just some of the
elements that keep the shipping industry on its
toes. Leadership, collaboration,
communication; these are aspects that are
needed to keep the human factor from
growing stagnant. It is the human factor issues
that are capable of acting as catalysts in
developing technologies, expansion rates, and
so on. "However, with strict follow-up of the
policies, we are able to cope with the
immense problem, as well as with the
unreasonable escalation of wages, which we
try hard to cope with", he said.
As for specialist vessels, Droussiotis said
that over the years, the group has managed a
large number of gas and chemical vessels.
The shipmanagement units are capable of
providing experienced crews for these vessels
from the BSM pool with the guidance and
control of the group managing directors.
"We have a number of our seafarers, both
officers and ratings, who have been with us for
over 10 years; a good number who have been
with us over 15-20 years. Dependable seafarers
are harder to come by today; which is exactly
why we work harder to keep them. We have a
good number of senior officers who started as
ratings with us, meaning we have been satisfied
with their performance and they have been
pleased with us as employers", he said.
As for Hamburg, Droussiotis said that
Bernhard Schulte's role in the group today is like
in the past- that is the role of the shareholders.
There is close co-operation and an information
flow, but the company is not involved in BSM
operations at all, he stressed.
TO
TANKEROperator � August/September 2008