Japan’s Marubeni Corporation and Norwegian dry bulk operator Klaveness are merging Panamax Pool activities.

A jointly owned pool management company, Maruklav Management Inc., will be led by Michael Jørgensen as the company MD, with Masashi Kobayashi from Marubeni as Deputy MD.

The combination of existing fleets in the MG Harrison Shipping and Baumarine Pools will see the venture with a fleet of approximately 30 vessels starting operations in early April.

The two companies said that the combined entity will become “the leading Panamax pool operator in the world.”

“Combining the strengths of major trading house Marubeni and long-term Owner and Operator Klaveness will not only leverage individual capabilities, but also capitalize on a more analytical approach to pool management and enable greater flexibility and adaptation to the risk appetite of each individual vessel owner,” Klaveness explained.

“While the increase in fleet size will give the pool increased global exposure, both houses remain confident the joint effort around data analytics, machine learning and research will facilitate correct positioning and allow the core chartering teams to optimize in terms of duration and direction at any given time.”

 “Every participant will not only benefit from improved earnings and market insights but will also have a manager taking care of their vessels for strong asset preservation over years of employment through the safe hands of our joint operations teams,” Takeshi Hisatomi, General Manager of Marubeni Corporation said.

The companies said they want to challenge existing period structures and pool models.

“MaruKlav in this respect welcomes all owners in the industry to collaborate around the existing and common challenges in our industry,” the company added.

The daily management of the pool activities will be run out of Klaveness’ offices in Oslo, Dubai and Singapore, where existing teams will be strengthened by experienced executives from Marubeni pool operations.

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