Masterbulk Awards Rickmers with Ship Management

Rickmers Group is pleased to announce the appointment of Rickmers Shipmanagement (Singapore) as Masterbulk Pte. Ltd.’s new primary third party ship manager. Rickmers will take over management of 16 open hatch gantry crane bulk carriers progressively between May and August 2015.

Rickmers Shipmanagement recently announced its intention to step up its bulk carrier management business. The Masterbulk appointment follows the recent addition of seven supramax bulk carriers and demonstrates the successful growth of the managed fleet. Masterbulk highlighted Rickmers’ track record and commitment to  quality service, crew training, and vessel maintenance had been the decisive factor in their appointment as ship manager.

Dr. Ignace Van Meenen, CEO of Rickmers Group, noted the deal’s significance for the company: “By managing such advanced bulk carriers we have proven – again – our wide-ranging shipmanagement abilities. We stand-out because of our profound understanding of customer requirements, and this is greatly aided by the fact that we manage, amongst others, the multipurpose carriers of Rickmers-Linie in-house. Masterbulk will also benefit from the economies of scale of the combined Rickmers fleet – now numbering approximately 130 ships.”

Nick Fisher, CEO of Masterbulk, commented: “Being part of the Rickmers managed fleet brings us considerable operational advantages and savings. We look forward to working with the Rickmers team over the coming years to build on the work we have already done on efficiency maximization and crewing diversity.”v