Norwegian dry bulk operator Torvald Klaveness and Japanese trading house Marubeni have merged their panamax pool activities into a new jointly-owned pool management company called Maruklav Management.
Maruklav, claimed to be the world's biggest panamax bulker pool, will be led by Michael Jørgensen as the company MD, with Masashi Kobayashi from Marubeni as Deputy MD.
The combination of existing fleets in the MG Harrison Shipping and Baumarine Pools will see the venture with a fleet of approximately 30 vessels starting operations in early April.
"Combining the strengths of major trading house Marubeni and long-term Owner and Operator Klaveness will not only leverage individual capabilities, but also capitalize on a more analytical approach to pool management and enable greater flexibility and adaptation to the risk appetite of each individual vessel owner," said a press release.
The daily management of the pool activities will be run out of Klaveness’ offices in Oslo, Dubai and Singapore, where existing teams will be strengthened by experienced executives from the existing Marubeni pool operations. MaruKlav will be led by Michael Jørgensen as the company MD, with Masashi Kobayashi from Marubeni as Deputy MD.
The combination of existing fleets in the MG Harrison Shipping and Baumarine Pools will see the venture with a fleet of approximately 30 vessels starting early April, making it the leading Panamax pool operator in the world.
While the increase in fleet size will give the pool increased global exposure, both houses remain confident the joint effort around data analytics, machine learning and research will facilitate correct positioning and allow the core chartering teams to optimize in terms of duration and direction at any given time.
Takeshi Hisatomi, General Manager of Marubeni Corporation said, “Our two organizations are fully committed to provide the best service for all pool participants. Every participant will not only benefit from improved earnings and market insights but will also have a manager taking care of their vessels for strong asset preservation over years of employment through the safe hands of our joint operations teams.”
Lasse Kristoffersen, President and CEO of Klaveness said, “We have been looking for a partner on our pool business and we believe we have found a perfect match in Marubeni. We share the same views on the business and not least the same values on how to run a company. Together we will grow and develop this business beyond what each one of us could do on our own.”
Michael Jørgensen, Senior Vice President and Head of Dry Bulk at Klaveness on the road ahead, “We look forward to this next chapter in our pool operations, alongside Marubeni. With this we will be able to deliver premium earnings and unique service offerings to vessel owners through the leveraging of data analytics throughout our operations, and in many ways act as a market manager to give them the full benefit of our market insights. “
The long terms vision is to challenge existing period structures and pool models. MaruKlav in this respect welcome all owners in the industry to collaborate around the existing and common challenges in our industry.
