Thome Group Boosts its Presence in Asia

Thome Group, a global leader in quality ship management, has underlined its commitment to the burgeoning South East Asian shipping cluster by opening a Crew Recruitment and Placement Services Agency in Myanmar. 

The move was announced at an inaugural reception held in the country at the InnWa II Ball Room, Summit Park View Hotel in Yagon. The reception was hosted by Thome Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Olav Eek Thorstensen as well as Thome Group President Claes Eek Thorstensen and attended by Myanmar dignitaries including U Aung Khin, Minister for Transport, Daw San San New, Minister for Finance, U Maung Maung Oo, Director General - Department of Marine Administration and U Ye Htut, Honorary Consul of Denmark. Principals from both the Myanmar Maritime University and Myanmar Mercantile Marine College were also present as well as representatives from the maritime sector. 

Thome Myanmar is seen as an important step in the company’s expansion into the growing economies of South East Asia and positions it well to offer, in time, its full range of shipmanagement services to the country. It will immediately enable Thome to tap into the vast wealth of seafarer potential that Myanmar has with its 60 million strong population. 

Thome Group Chairman Mr Olav Eek Thorstensen said: “Establishing a strong manning operation in Myanmar underlines the Thome Group’s commitment to this fast-moving and highly important seafarer recruitment market. The oil and gas sectors are also very important in this part of the world and the opening up of an office here places the Thome Group in a good position to service the future needs of this and other growth areas.” 

The Myanmar/India/Sri Lanka region is seen as an area of massive potential growth for Thome, not only as far as crew recruitment and training is concerned but also in the supply of general shipmanagement services. Thome already employs close to 1,000 crew from the region and it sees significant opportunities for expansion through the new office. 

Welcoming the opening of the new office, Claes Eek Thorstensen, President of the Thome Group, added: “Thome brings over 50 years of quality ship management experience to this important market and we look forward to working even more closely with new and existing clients in the months and years ahead.” 

According to Capt. Michael Elwert, Director of Group HR, Strategy and Support at the Thome Group, seafarers from the country are “extremely qualified as they are educated to a very high level”. 

He said: “Thome Myanmar has received its manning agency and MLC licences and a programme of cadet recruitment has already started with 30 cadets already taken on. Training is important to us and we have appointed a Regional Training Manager who will oversee the training of such cadets and others from the Myanmar/India/Sri Lanka region.” 

Thome is totally committed to growing and developing this important market. It was one of the first ship management companies to visit as part of an earlier Scandinavian fact-finding trip to the country.