Seaarland, Roxana Establish Tanker Pool

Seaarland Shipping Management and Athens-based Roxana Shipping have established a new pool for LR1 tankers. The Global Tanker Pool will be operated from Seaarland’s Asian arm, Seaarland Management Services Singapore, and has commenced operations with six modern LR1 tankers. The pool manager is Karl Arthur Braein, previously head of chartering in Asia-Pacific for ConocoPhillips.

Antonio Zacchello, managing director of Seaarland said, “We have committed five new, owned ships and one chartered ship shared with Roxana to the pool, and Roxana has committed four ships with delivery starting by the end of 2009. We aim to attract other long-term-minded owners/operators of LR1 tankers and build the pool to around 20 vessels. The present market conditions invite more consolidation in the shipping industry and this consolidation is something we will continue to be part of.”

The Global Tanker Pool will initially focus on the growing clean petroleum products trade as its core business. Antonio Zacchello said, “Irrespective of the present serious global financial constraints we have a fundamental belief that consolidation is the way forward.” Seaarland Singapore, headed by Rasmus Bach Nielsen, began work in April 2007 and today employs twenty-five people covering commercial, operational and technical management. The office consolidates Seaarland’s presence in the Asian transportation markets.

Constantinos Krontiras, director of Roxana, said, “This new pool is the way to join forces with other like-minded owners to provide our charterers with better service and give ourselves a less volatile earnings stream. Global Tanker Pool is our first active pool participation and we appreciate the importance of consolidation in the industry. The concept of revenue consisting of spot market exposure as well as fixed and floating rate coverage, which the pool intends to offer going forward, covers our portfolio management needs very well.”

(www.seaarland.nl)
(www.roxanashipping.com)