Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM) and the Norwegian ammonia specialist Amon Maritime have announced the creation of a 50/50 joint venture “Ula Ship Management” during Nor-Shipping in Oslo. The joint venture, which will be based in Sandefjord in southern Norway, aims to offer ship management services for the Norwegian market, specialising in ammonia-powered vessels, but open to all types of ships.

Nick Topham, Managing Director of BSM Deutschland, says, “The cooperation with Amon Maritime is a milestone in the further development of our ship management services. Ula Ship Management promotes to access the strong Norwegian market with its diversely positioned ship owners. At the same time, we are consciously entering the operation of ammonia-powered vessels. With Amon Maritime, we have a partner at our side who has extensive expertise in this innovative and sustainable field. Our experience is an excellent match.”

André Risholm, Founder & CEO of Amon Maritime, says, “We were looking for a long-term, high-quality partner with international scale to build a new ship management company in Norway. The company will manage Amon Maritime vessels, and be a new, competitive force in the Norwegian 3rd party management market for complex vessels. After a long and thorough partner search, we found the perfect match with BSM. We look forward to build Ula Ship Management into a successful company together with our German partners.”

BSM has many years of experience in the seaborn transport of liquid gases, including ammonia. BSM is engaged in ammonia shipping though various managed gas carriers transporting ammonia over the past years. In addition, BSM has an extensive track record in operating vessels using gas as fuel. Today, BSM is the largest 3rd party manager of vessels with LNG dual fuel engines with specialised technical and operational knowhow in gas fuel, including the development of crew training approaches. This is a massive advantage for the development of ammonia fuelling solutions.

Amon Maritime has been developing ship projects, technology, and bunkering solutions, with a sole focus on ammonia fuel, since 2019. The company is engaged in several vessel niches, and the development is now sufficiently mature to close in on firm shipbuilding contracts during 2022. The establishment of Ula Ship Management together with BSM is part of building all the necessary capabilities to pioneer the safe use of ammonia fuel – leading the green shift in shipping.

Source: Hellenic Shipping News