Cardiff-based Graig Group and Global Maritime Investments are extending their co-operation to provide Chinese shipyards with safe havens and tailor-made solutions for problematic deliveries.
Working together, the two groups will provide yards with employment and management for vessels which have been built but which cannot be delivered to the owner. The joint approach builds on Graig’s extensive knowledge of Chinese shipyards and shipping and the outstanding freight market expertise and access to capital investors of GMI.
Hugh Williams, CEO, Graig Group , says, “There are many shipyards in China which are facing problems delivering ships or which are effectively building for their own account because owners cannot meet their commitments. They need good commercial and technical management for the ships to get them into operation and an exit route for the future. GMI has access to investors and employment opportunities and Graig knows the yards and ships and has the technical and crewing management expertise to get the ships into operation economically. Together we can help yards ride out this crisis of delays and cancelled deliveries.”
Steve Rodley, Managing Partner of GMI says, “In a prolonged poor market complicated by a deluge of new tonnage there are real opportunities for people with access to capital and employment. We have that, and with Graig we have the Chinese connections and technical competence to take up these opportunities. Ships which have been built but which would otherwise end up as fire resales or stuck in the yard can be put into service by us and later sold on when the market improves. Our large physical portfolio and robust freight management systems provide a low-risk pool for tonnage, which is why we are the charterer of choice for risk-savvy counterparties. Extending this expertise into taking on distressed deliveries is straightforward and offers an optimal solution to current market challenges.”
Graig has active ship management divisions in Shanghai and Cardiff and has unrivalled experience working with Chinese shipyards and leasing companies. It has built for its own account or advised on and supervised over 120 ships in Chinese yards and currently manages a number of vessels built in China for different investors. GMI is one of the largest freight trading groups in the world and consistently provides an outstanding risk-adjusted return to its institutional shareholders.
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Source: Graig, September 4, 2012;