SSG No 10 - Shipgaz

SHIPPING AND SHIP MANAGEMENT
remaining problem to solve. I’m afraid that
the final solution to this particular issue
could be moved forward a couple of years
as has happened in Denmark.”
Regarding the tonnage tax mr Widén
thinks that Finland has an advantage, as all
main competitors but Sweden have already
played this card.
“The manning costs for mixed crews
are rising with the increasing global shortage
of competent seafarers. We have been
working under a lot of cost pressure con-
The Aila, Oy Langh Ship’s newbuilding.
Finnlines’ new ro-pax vessel Finnlady,
Godby Shipping’s newbuildings
Misana and Misida as well as Langh
Ship’s container vessels Aila and Linda
had a clear impact on the statistics
of the Finnish merchant fleet last
year. But above all the two large
Finnish flagged product carriers Stena
Poseidon and Palva increased the
Finnish-flagged tonnage in 2007.
Like several years before, the smaller shipping
companies have been active secondhand
buyers despite the fact that there are
still many unsolved issues in Finnish shipping
policy. During the last years the fleet
of coasters and cargo vessels of river-sea
type has grown. At the same time the average
age of the vessels has become lower.
stantly, and we have adapted ourselves to
the situation. The tonnage tax may have a
great positive impact on the future development
of the fleet.”
He stresses that there are many small shipowners
with a strong growth potential. If they
were provided with the right preconditions
for new investments, their activities could
expand much more rapidly than today. The
growth of the fleet of small cargo vessels has
been amazingly strong during several years.
This indicates that there is a growing supply
Several newcomers
under the Finnish flag
Due to the limited supply of ice strengthened
tonnage and high second-hand prices
the typical second-hand coaster acquired
by Finnish owners was built some 20 years
ago.
Growing fleet of coasters
Vidar Shipping Company Ltd bought its
third vessel, the former British 2,379 DWT
dry cargo vessel Scot Pioneer. Built in Germany
in 1985 the vessel has been renamed
Frida. Meriaura Oy provides management
and chartering of the vessel.
During 2007 two second-hand cargo
vessels were added to the Prima Shippingfleet,
of which one was bought by the
company and the other was put under its
management. Prima Shipping bought the
2,510 DWT dry cargo vessel Elwin from
of cargo for this market segment and that
the young generation shipowners have taken
their chance to expand even if the circumstances
have not been ideal.
“It is positive that the tonnage is growing.
During last year the number of membership
vessels in Cargoship Association
increased from 38 to 44. Half of them are
cargo vessels in the smallest segments”, mr
Widén informs.
text and photos:
pär-henrik sjöström
the Dutch shipping company Scheepvaartonderneming
Koolhof and renamed
her Celina. She was built in 1992 in the
Netherlands. The recently founded shipping
company Gran Ship Oy Ab started
their activities in April 2007 by buying
the 2,086 DWT dry cargo vessel Beetpulp
Trader from German owners. The new
acquisition was renamed Carisma and
she is under management by Prima Shipping.
The Carisma was built in 1985 in the
Netherlands.
Last spring another new Finnish shipping
company Oy Kraft Line Ab was established.
They bought the 1984-built 3,175
DWT dry cargo vessel Mangen from the
Swedish shipping company Ahlmark Lines
AB and renamed her Alholmen.
A renewal has also occurred in the fleet
of Ab Ronja Marin Ltd. In spring 2007 the
company bought the dry cargo vessel Triton
Elbe, which was renamed Riona. Built
in 1988 by Schiffswerft Cassens in Germany
as the Sea Danube, the Riona has a
boxed cargo hold with movable bulkheads.
For the rest of the year Ronja Marin operated
two vessels, but in December 2007 the
1,020 DWT dry cargo ship Rebecca was
sold to Croatia to enable the investment in
another larger second-hand vessel in spring
2008.
There were also a couple of second-hand
acquisitions carried through by the larger
shipping companies. Birka Cargo Ab Ltd
bought the ro-ro vessel Norcliff, which
entered the Finnish register in January 2007
as the Baltic Excellent. Built in 1995, she is
employed on a five years time charter to
the Swedish paper manufacturer Holmen
Paper AB.
The fleet renewal of the Finnish shipping
company Bore continued in 2007 as
the dry cargo vessels Smaragden and Passaden,
both built in 1991, were replaced by
the ten years younger general cargo vessels
54 SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • MAY 16, 2008