Thome Offshore Arm Tipped to Rival Shipmanagement Profits
(30 March 2007, Lloyd's List )

Thome Ship Management says its rapidly growing offshore business will rival the profits of its long-standing shipmanagement activities within a few years, writes Marcus Hand in Singapore.

Thome Offshore’s contribution to the bottom line “should be the same as Thome Ship Management”, said Olav Eek Thorstensen, president and chief executive of the parent company.

Thome Offshore was set up last year and is run by Mr Thorstensen’s son Claus Eek Thorstensen. It generates higher profit margins than the traditional shipmanagement business, in which Thome has 75 vessels.

“We have about 30 anchor handling supply vessel newbuildings under technical supervision,” said Mr Thorstensen. “We have taken delivery of six or seven which we already manage and we also focus on FPSOs [floating production, storage and offloading vessels].”

The company has just signed a deal to take over the management of three aframax tankers for a six-month period before their conversion at Jurong Shipyard in Singapore, including a one-month process of de-slopping and cleaning the vessels.“We have taken over the vessels to make them ready for conversion,” said Mr Thorstensen. “We will be involved in the conversion, but we will not be doing the project management.”

Thome declined to say for whom the projects were.

The first vessel is due for conversion in six months’ time. The two remaining vessels will follow at intervals of six months.

Thome is confident about taking management of the FPSOs once conversion is complete and Mr Thorstensen said: “We are well placed to offer the management services. Within two to three years we expect to manage five to six FPSOs.”

The company at present manages one FPSO.

Meanwhile, Thome’s move into managing bulkers is progressing and it has a fleet of 10 under management by its office in Manila.