Charting new waters I.M. Skaugen

CHARTING NEW WATERS

I.M. Skaugen (IMS) is a global, multi-faceted marine transportation and services group. Philip Yorke looks at the company’s diverse range of marine activities, its latest achievements and its strategy for future growth.

IN 1916 Isak Marrtinius Skaugen laid the foundations of the I.M. Skaugen group when, as captain of the four-masted barque ‘Alcides’ he established the Eikland marine transportation company. Skaugen was quick to realise that steam vessels were the future for marine transportation, so he sold the Alcides and purchased a new steam vessel of 2040 DWT and christened it the ‘Eikland’ after the company’s first shareholder Mr Olaf Eikland. The Eikland was later joined by two more steam vessels and together they were employed in the North European seaways. Skaugen’s vision and dedication to service survives today along with its operational flexibility, which has made the company one of the most dynamic and successful in its class.

Today the IMS Group employs more than 2000 people on a global basis, of which over 1000 are employed in China. The company operates 42 vessels and is listed on the Oslo stock exchange. It remains a family-owned business, at the helm is third generation, CEO, Morits Skaugen who was appointed in 1992 to head the company.

Exploring new horizons

I.M. Skaugen SE is the group’s holding company which controls its three distinct operating divisions: Gas activities, China activities and Marine Transport activities. IMS is a fully integrated shipping company that designs, builds, owns, mans and manages its own vessels. The group’s customers are major international companies involved in the oil and petrochemical industry, which IMS serves from its locations in Bahrain (UAE), Freeport and Houston (USA), Oslo (Norway), Singapore, Sunderland (UK) and Nanjing, Shanghai, Taizou, Zhangjiagang and Wuhan (China). In addition, the company also operates recruitment and training programmes from its installations in St Petersburg (Russia) and Wuhan (China) for the crewing of its vessels.

As a leading marine transportation company, Skaugen is engaged in the efficient transportation of petrochemical gases, chemicals, LPG and LNG as well as in the transfer of crude oil and LNG.

Leading the way in its dedicated marine transfer activities is SPT, based in Houston, USA, which is jointly owned by I.M. Skaugen (50 per cent) and Teekay Shipping Corpora-

tion (50 per cent). Today SPT is one of the largest companies in the world, providing marine transfer of crude oil and LNG. Although predominantly serving the Gulf of Mexico, the company has extended its horizons to include lightering support services in Europe and West Africa. In order to reduce risk and increase revenues for its fleet of Aframax tankers, the vessels are also used for intra- and inter-continental voyage business. The company’s second major business activity is the provision of global support services. To this end, SPT supplies a wide range of services including workboats, mooring masters and lightering equipment for the support of other marine companies.

Maximising marine potential in Asia

As long ago as 1995, I.M. Skaugen recognised the potential that the emerging Asian markets offered, and in particular, China. The company views China as a competitive market for shipbuilding and as a growing market for the transportation of petrochemical gases, LPG and LNG as well as a source of affordable crewing and management services. IMS was the first to pioneer the transportation of ethylene to and from China as well as the first to establish a passenger cruise business in China in the mid 1980s.

Skaugen’s diverse business interests in China are organised under its Skaugen (China) Holding Company, which was established in Shanghai in 2008. This company is responsible for creating new business opportunities for the group and coordinating the company’s services throughout China. IMS continues to partner with businesses that are both costeffective and service leaders to expand its growth opportunities in the region.

Delivering advanced multi-task tankers

IMS has an on-going new-building programme in China, of which three 3200m3 LPG vessels have already been sold and delivered. In addition, Skaugen has also built three purpose-designed combination carriers with LPG/ethylene/VCM and Organic chemicals carrying capabilities, as well as up to ten advanced 10,000-12,000m3 LNG/ LPG/ehtylene gas carriers. This reflects the company’s commitment to the Asian market where it has built up considerable internal resources and infrastructure, to ensure the continuing ability to design and manufacture innovative and flexible low-cost vessels.

In September 2011 Skaugen took delivery of the last of three vessels in the Wintergas series, which have the unique ability to carry a combination of gas and chemicals. Over the last ten years the company has built 18 gas carriers in China at a gross investment of more than USD $570 million. The new-building programme makes Skaugen’s Norgas fleet the most efficient and modern of all gas carrier operators in the world.

The company’s strategy for further optimisation of its global and Chinese operations is

the building of ten new multi-gas carriers to meet the growing worldwide demand. The emerging markets have become the major growth engines for Skaugen and the rapid rise of the emerging markets has created a shortage of energy resources such as fuel, electricity and gas. As an important energy commodity, crude oil is also the key component in the petrochemical industry and one that the IMS group continues to dominate with ultra-modern tankers and a broad range of flexible marine services. n