Thome Group, Carsten Rehder Form Ship Management JV

Singapore-base ship management firm Thome Group and German shipowner Carsten Rehder have agreed to cooperate in a joint venture to take over the ship management of the latter's owned and managed fleet of dry bulk, container and multipurpose vessels.

The new company is to be called Thome Shipmanagement Germany GmbH & Co. KG with the Thome Group and Carsten Rehder as the two shareholders. The ship management staff at Carsten Rehder will be absorbed into this new joint venture.

Carsten Rehder will remain independent as ship owners and commercial managers and Thome Germany will also seek to win new ship management opportunities in Europe, separate from the business managed by Thome’s Croatian office.

The companies say they have also agreed to work together on projects of mutual interest.

Thomas Rehder, Managing Director of Carsten Rehder, said, “Entering into this collaboration with the Thome Group makes sense as the German and international shipping markets have changed over the last 10 years. For German shipowners, third-party ship management services have become a more important part of the business. So, we decided that the time was right to integrate our ship management into a larger third-party ship manager.”

“The Thome Group was the obvious choice as it is a respected and internationally renowned professional operator with a strong presence in the tanker, bulk and offshore markets. Carsten Rehder’s focus on container and MPP business in addition to bulk, will complement this profile, especially for European markets. The cooperation with Thome will strengthen our activities,” he added.

Olav Nortun, Thome Group’s CEO, said, “This will be a mutually beneficial relationship for both companies and as Carsten Rehder is a partner in Thome Germany, it will use its ship management services for all its owned and third-party operated vessels. We will also work together on some joint projects.”

Claes Eek Thorstensen, Thome President and CCO, said, “Having an office in Germany is part of Thome’s strategy to expand its presence in Europe from a centrally-based location, giving us the opportunity to present our full range of services to different market segments. Carsten Rehder is the perfect partner for Thome and I can assure its clients that we will manage their vessels conscientiously with a focus on safety, reliability and operational efficiency.”