Veson Nautical at Work for Tesoro Maritime Company, PMI Comercio, Brostrom Tankers and Gannet Shipp

Case Studies: Veson Nautical's VELAS and IMOS software provides solutions for a wide range of maritime-oriented firms

• Tesoro Maritime Company

Tesoro Corporation, a Fortune 200 company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, is an independent refiner and marketer of petroleum products. Tesoro Maritime Company (TMC), a division of the Tesoro Corporation, is responsible for marine vessel operations among four water borne refineries in California, Hawaii, Alaska and Washington State.

For many years, the vetting staff at the company’s refineries as well as in Texas and Singapore maintained its own individual records of vessel performance and past history. Having multiple ship vetting records spread across several global sites meant that there was limited ability to share information when it was needed. Tim Plummer, president of TMC explains, “Because there was no central repository for the vetting group to access the data, we were faced with a complicated and disjointed process.”

After reviewing its options, TMC chose VELAS from Veson Nautical, which was customized and installed at the beginning of 2006. Integration with Q88 data gives TMC up-to-date details of the ship, the owner, and the operator, allowing it to immediately determine if a ship meets the company’s standards. Links to SIRE and Port State databases along with a Facility Feedback capability allows a full review. Plummer concludes, “We now have a central vetting record that everyone can access, giving everyone the same data so we can make informed decisions. VELAS allows us to do a better job of keeping track of ships we vet. And we are dealing with electronic data versus paper, which is a huge benefit. It gives us everything we wanted.”

• PMI® Comercio Internacional

PMI® Comercio Internacional, based in Mexico City, Mexico, is a trading company involved in the transportation of oil, gas and other products. Like most businesses in commercial maritime shipping, PMI conducts a number of complex vessel clearance processes that are crucial to their success.

In 2003, PMI conducted a benchmarking study with other Oil Majors. One goal was to review software developed by those companies and identify areas of internal improvement. After conducting extensive research, PMI selected Veson Nautical because Veson understood their needs and wanted to work synergistically to create a turnkey solution.

The VELAS product that PMI purchased was the result of input from both parties. Veson Nautical’s web-based VELAS tool allows the PMI to access ship information, including inspection reports and historical evaluations. “An accurate database containing historical data is crucial, since the risk of not having access to this information can be high,” Max Córdova, Marine Safety Assistant Director for PMI explains, “There is the very real possibility of dealing with sub-standard ships that can place human lives, the environment, facilities, cargo and the company’s reputation in danger.”

PMI installed Veson’s VELAS and today utilizes it as the official database for the company. Mr. Córdova concludes, “We take full advantage of automatic information updates and the questionnaire is linked directly to VELAS. We are pleased with the system and plan to install v2 when it becomes available.”

• Broström Tankers

Broström, headquartered in Göteborg, Sweden, is one of the leading logistics companies for the oil and chemical industry. Broström Tankers AB, Gothenburg runs approximately 35 vessels …quot; owned, partly owned, and some on commercial management…quot; operating mainly within Europe. The fleet transports refined petroleum products including gasoline, diesel and some easy chemicals.

Back in 1993, Broström Tankers AB was using a DOS-based calculation program. Working closely with Michael Veson, founder of the predecessor of today’s Veson Nautical, Broström became one of the first users of the early Integrated Marine Operations System (IMOS); the company has been a satisfied customer ever since.

Today Broström Tankers AB, Gothenburg vessels conduct about 2,000 voyages per year, transporting cargo for major oil companies such as BP, Chevron Texaco, Exxon Mobil and Shell among others. The chartering and operations staff strongly believes that the Veson software provides them with a competitive edge. “With IMOS, we can always evaluate which cargo is the best for each vessel. In addition, the ability to combine voyages is both significant and unique,” remarks Börje Forss, Chartering Manager at Broström Tankers AB, Gothenburg. “I’m sure we make better decisions, because when you have a good calculation tool and you can combine voyages, it’s truly a benefit.”

• Gannet Shipping

Gannet Shipping was founded in the Netherlands in October 2000; today the company time-charters 70 vessels and executes nearly 200 voyages annually in the dry cargo 5-30,000 dwt sector. Gannet books part and full cargos in South America, the Mediterranean Sea and the Caribbean.

As Gannet grew, so did its need for a powerful software system that could determine cargo costs despite daily market fluctuations and control cash flow automatically. Additionally it wanted constant information updates and the ability to link to other areas of the business. Diederik Tjeenk Willink, managing director of Gannet Shipping explains, “We were looking for an integrated system and IMOS was the only one that offered the adaptability and flexibility we required. We considered a competing product, but it would not adapt to our needs. Veson offered much more.”

IMOS consolidates information across many leases/ships and manages cash flow. Gannet’s staff also feels that the IMOS simulation tools and the visual schedule are both important and useful. Diederik Willink explains, “With the visual schedule it’s easy to see what is going on at any given time. And the simulation tool is an excellent feature that enables an informed decision. After you’ve used simulation to book the right cargo, you can link directly to accounting, which means we make fewer errors and have immediate access to up-to-date reports. With Veson’s IMOS, we can calculate total profit on all voyages at any given moment.”

IMOS has allowed Gannet to substantially scale up their business without adding staff members. In the future, Gannet can increase their time chartering operation utilizing existing systems and processes.