Market recovery
The shipping company’s most significant core market, the container feeder market, is steadily recovering; it did good business on the market for offshore service vessels and, in 2015, carried out a prestigious restructuring and management project involving six container feeders on behalf of a German shipping bank. JR Shipping particularly sees prospects for its own business in the field of these special projects.
Swift placement of bonds as proof of confidence
The good 2015 group results led, among other things, to the decision to make an early repayment on a bond loan issued in 2011. The capital acquired at the time has been used partly for supporting JR Shipping’s own fleet and partly to generate new business. In early 2016, the Management Board decided to issue new bonds. In record time, an amount of € 2,490,000 in JR Shipping Bonds were placed.
This will give the shipping company the extra resilience and dynamism required to swiftly respond to those developments and investment opportunities which are associated with the transition stage the shipping industry is currently in. The shipping company sees the fast and successful placement of new corporate bonds as proof of trust in the course that it is steering. Therefore, this course will be pursued unchanged. The shipping company will continue to undertake activities in the container feeder, multipurpose vessel and offshore service vessel markets.
SeaZip Offshore Service vessels
After a successful start, in the next few years, the shipping company will place extra focus on operating service vessels that are deployed to support the building and maintenance of wind turbine parks at sea. As from 2016, the shipping company has six SeaZip Service vessels available for this international growth market. The six vessels, of the Damen Fast Crew Supplier 2610 type, set themselves apart with their speed and sailing comfort due to the ‘Twin Axe’ bow principle, and can be deployed for non-stop services.
Ship management for third parties and special projects
Besides operating its own vessels for the container feeder, multipurpose and offshore service vessel markets, JR Shipping undertakes activities in the fields of ship management for third parties and the implementation of complex restructuring and management projects. During the crisis years, the shipping company demonstrated that it has the skills, expertise and manpower required to this end. Successful restructuring processes ensured continuity for its fleet and services. As a result of this achievement, in 2015, the above German banking partner commissioned JR Shipping with the development of a new financing and management concept for six container feeders. Thanks to the effective action of JR Shipping, the vessels were able to be transferred to a new owner at the end of 2016.
JR Shipping Group currently operates 13 container feeders, 2 multipurpose vessels, 6 SeaZip offshore service vessels and 4 vessels for third parties.
For more information on both the developments in the shipping markets that JR Shipping operates in and the shipping company, please download JR Shipping Today.
