Running a 200-year-old company such as German containership manager FA Vinnen & Co presents unique challenges.

“When you take over something that has a tradition, you’re maybe a little extra careful, extra committed. You don’t want to be the generation that blows it,” managing partner Michael Vinnen said.

The 54-year-old is the seventh generation of the family behind the second-oldest company in Germany, which recently celebrated its bicentennial milestone.

Its name is derived from Friedrich Adolf Vinnen, a fourth-generation family member who more than a century ago moved into the building in Bremen, where the company is still based.

But more than two decades after taking over from his father, Vinnen is now seeking to grow the outfit's positions.

A fresh focus on growth dawned in 2016 when Vinnen seized the opportunity to take the company back into family hands, buying a majority stake from Hamburg-based trading group Wunsche.

Vinnen conceded there was a degree of emotional satisfaction in returning the company to the family, but that the move to buy back the outfit was "a clear business decision".

Coming at a time when container markets were on their knees and banks were selling ships, it was a gamble.

But it was one that Vinnen believes has "paid off" and put the outfit on a firm footing for the future.

Pillars of growth

This future is being built on three pillars: shipowning, third-party shipmanagement and crew management.

Vinnen believes there remains a market for medium-size shipmanagers with 10 to 20 ships.

“People say the shipmanagement will be consolidated — I am not sure about it at all,” Vinnen said.

“There are certain prerequisites [for success as a medium-size player],” he said. “You have to do purchasing in a big group.”

To that end, Vinnen is a member of Trampko, a purchasing group comprising German owners that has about 350 ships.

Medium-size companies, he argues, can be more efficient. For example, his company has just 15 people in the office but is “still big enough to offer particular services or knowledge in the various fields”.

Vinnen’s shipmanagement gained some kudos in May 2017 when it took over technical and crew management on five vessels taken over by leading Greek containership owner Costamare.

Four are 5,000-teu wide-beam containerships the US-listed outfit acquired after the insolvency of the former KG (limited partnership) Hansa Treuhand, while a fifth is a sub-panamax boxship that was later sold to Costamare.

“They [Costamare] are the biggest container owner in Greece, very demanding, we really have to be on our toes.”

The move required Vinnen to undergo rigorous checks on its systems to meet the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which sets out auditing and financial regulations for US-listed companies.

“It puts us in a special position ... whoever requires [compliance with] it has this extra guarantee.”

One of the advantages of midsize managers, he added, is that they are “personally committed” to their ships.

We know what’s happening on our ships, we know our crew. So, these are big pluses that offset certain efficiencies if you have a bigger fleet

Michael Vinnen

“We know what’s happening on our ships, we know our crew. So, these are big pluses that offset certain efficiencies if you have a bigger fleet.”

But it is also important for smaller managers to be able to competitively staff their vessel with quality crew. “The crew make a big difference onboard, also in the cost structure.”

Germans add to crew business

For this reason, Vinnen is starting to expand its crew management.

A crewing company, FA Vinnen Philippines, was established in 2012 and has been used to source crew for Vinnen’s owned vessels and those of Costamare.

It has also initiated a programme in the Philippines to train more than 60 cadets and intends to employ an all-Filipino crew on at least some of its vessels.

Vinnen started to market the service this year to third-party owners.

“That has reaped rewards,” Vinnen said. He added that two more German owners are about to hand Vinnen their crew management business.

If all goes well, Vinnen is prepared to hand the business to the eight generation of the family. He has three children and is keen to show that shipping is an interesting business. “But I’ll not push it,” he said.