Balancing excellences and expenses

摘要

Until recently OPEX efficiency has not been a priority area of many German ship managers, but the pressure increases to address all cost positions while achieving a defined operational and asset related performance. Procurement, maintenance and dry docking, crewing and administrative processes need to be looked at With the booming KG model integrated groups of companies have been established combining vessel ownership and trust management for the private investors' stakes in the single purpose companies. Due to the integrated set-up the ship managers operated in a fairly closed market. They primarily managed ships co-owned by their related fund initiators. As incumbents they did not really fear losing vessels to independent ship managers. And in return many of them did not attract a significant number of 3rd party vessels either. Their backbone was the proximity to the fund initiators.