Croatian tanker and bulker owner Alpha Adriatic has formed a joint venture with Australian ship manager ASP Ships to ensure a steady supply of seafarers.
The Zagreb-listed company said it has set up ASP Adriatic in Croatia, taking an 80% stake.
Rijeka-based tanker and bulker crewing executive Eduard Hibser owns the rest.
The idea is then for Melbourne-headquartered ASP Ships to come in as a majority owner.
"The investment was made and a new company is established to strengthen and further develop the human resource management business, which is one of the key functions in the ship management industry," said Alpha Adriatic.
The shipowner has been working since 2005 with ASP, which also has offices in Singapore, New Zealand and the UK, with crewing outposts in India, Ukraine, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Vietnam.
"This project is of great importance for Alpha Adriatic, which will, in addition to Croatian seafarers, significantly increase the availability of other quality maritime personnel for the fleet managed by the group," the Croatian company said.
This will contribute to the competitiveness of ship management services the owner can offer in the international maritime market, it added.
Alpha Adriatic — the restructured former Uljanik Plovidba — also has a shipowning joint venture with Dutch financial advisor DC Maritime Partners, run by former DVB Bank executives.
Earlier this year, Alpha Adriatic raised cash by selling two of its bulkers to the joint venture, called Alpha DCM Investments, which was established in July to acquire and operate vessels.
The fleet now consists of two owned supramax bulkers and an MR tanker.
