E.R. Schiffahrt has traditionally been involved in container ships, but has over the past few years diversified into other segments, such as offshore supply vessels and bulk carriers.
E.R. Schiffahrt CEO Knud Stubkjær.
The programme consists of ten Capesize vessels, all of 179,436 dwt, and 14 Supramax vessels, all of 55,738 dwt. “All the vessels are already fixed on long-term charters, so we are fully committed with regard to our present bulker vessel newbuilding orders,” says E.R. Schiffahrt CEO Knud Stubkjær.
“We have had a long and very good cooperation with HHI on our containership fleet and, since the yard is also very experienced in the construction of bulk carriers, we placed our new orders there. All our bulk carrier orders have been placed to DNV class – a classification society that is very experienced in the construction and operation of bulk carriers.”
A number one quality provider
“Dry bulk is an important segment of world trade. Traditionally we have been in the container ship segment, and have built up our engagement over the years to a position where we are now among the globally leading companies, with a fleet of 81 container ships in service and under construction. We have since diversified into other segments, so we now have a fleet of 15 anchor handling tug supply and platform supply vessels on order which will join our existing fleet of four PSVs. Our bulker fleet will comprise 24 vessels equal to a total of over 2.5 million dwt. In our first diversification step, we successfully moved into offshore supply and we are now entering the third segment, namely bulk carriers,” says Stubkjær.
“Moving into bulk carriers is a well considered step,” continues Stubkjær. “We concentrate on quality, both for service and assets. This is why we have placed the order with HHI, where we have a long and good history. This is a good project for our investors and the vessels are all chartered out to world-leading bulk operators. Our objective is to provide our customers with a strong, professional and reliable service and to be among the best bulk carrier service providers in the industry. We have a strong focus on providing quality tonnage to our customers, with vessels built to the right standards, and on leveraging our know-how as a dedicated provider of reliable service. We move when we feel the opportunity is right,” underlines the very engaged and charismatic Stubkjær.
“The current slowdown in some of the markets is clearly something all stakeholders take seriously. In the shipping business, it is not unusual to see cyclical fluctuations – actually, it would be unusual not to experience them. On our own part, all the business areas we engage in are for the long term and our ambition is to be the number one supplier of fit for purpose vessels. Quality is our first and foremost priority – and our selection of DNV to class our bulk carriers is a good match for this,” continues Stubkjær.
The environment is a responsibility
“The environment is a responsibility – also in shipping. We must hand over a proper world to our kids! For this reason, class standards are an important issue. Complying with the minimum standard is not always good enough. But this is an issue we as a company cannot solve on our own, shipping as an industry must act together. It is not only a discussion about CO2. We must all reduce the impact on the environment from our activities. This requires foresight above all about how and what we are to build for the future,” says Stubkjær.
Building competence
“Bulk carriers are of course a new segment for us, but it is not like we are starting from scratch. We have good in-house competence and to complement our know-how we have also engaged DNV in our development. DNV has been contributing on a consultancy basis with advice on matters such as cargo hold cleaning systems. In my view, this is good team effort,” continues Stubkjær. “The experience of our own site team as well as the DNV site team now during the construction period is of great importance, and class’s ability to oversee the process is essential to us. There may sometimes be a need for corrections and class’s experience, credibility and above all ‘willingness to act’ can be a decisive factor here.”