Tanker pool operator Heidmar and New York-based TBS Ocean Logistics said on 7 May that they are working together to strengthen the latter’s bulker pool operations.
The agreement brings together the strengths of the two companies to service shipowner clients with a geared bulker pool.
Heidmar will provide its pool expertise and proprietary commercial ship management software eFleetWatch, marking its entry into the dry bulk market.
TBS will continue as pool manager of a series of dry bulk pools, combining the Heidmar systems with TBS’ own commercial logistics expertise.
The TBS pools control a fleet of 20 vessels and will add new tonnage, including a recently delivered 2010-built Supramax from its latest participant, Mitsubishi Corporation, to their Supramax and Handysize pools.
Heidmar CEO Ben Ognibene said, “For some time, Heidmar has explored expansion into the dry bulk market. Before entering this segment, we wanted to ensure our clients would receive the superior market returns, transparency, and integrity that they know and expect from Heidmar. TBS, with its global footprint, extensive cargo relationships, proprietary trading business and its 22-year history of exceptional and consistent dry bulk outperformance, is the ideal partner to expand our product offering.”
The establishment of the pool in June 2014 came after TBS was restructured after a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in 2012. The company claims that since the pool was formed, it has outperformed the Baltic Supramax Index (BSI) by about 10% net of pool fees, due to TBS’ relationships with industrial shippers ranging from Asia to Latin America.
TBS CEO Gregg McNelis commented, “We are confident that our pools will continue to outperform the market. That said, we firmly believe that our pool members deserve not only premium returns, but also the first-class transparency and integrity which are synonymous with Heidmar. Heidmar’s unparalleled systems, best practices, and reputation are the perfect complement to our platform. We are excited to combine our respective expertise to create the world’s preeminent geared dry bulk pool. We could not have chosen a better partner.”
Recent months have seen the formation of several bulker pools as owners seek ways to mitigate the impact of an overtonnaged market and weak demand.
This post was sourced from IHS Maritime 360: View the original article here.