Japanese liner operator Ocean Network Express and container ship tonnage provider Seaspan Corp have formed a technical ship management company.
Singapore-based ONESEA Solutions will provide technical ship management services for container vessels either owned or chartered by the Japanese liner company.
The move marks a further development in the cooperation between Seaspan and ONE, which owns a 28.7% stake in Seaspan’s holding company Atlas Corp.
Seaspan already charters a large fleet of container ships ranging from 7,000 teu up to 15,000 teu to its Japanese partner.
The Japanese company had also been linked to cited as a possible charterer of six 13,600-teu vessels that Seaspan ordered at Shanghai Zhonghua Shipbuilding, although those discussions were not concluded with ONE.
Raman Handa, former fleet director of Seaspan Ship Management in Hong Kong, has been appointed chief executive of ONESEA.
“ONESEA marks the evolution of the partnership between ONE and Seaspan, as it seeks to harness the unique strengths of each company in order to create a high-performing enterprise in the ship management space,” he said.
“Our pursuit of operational excellence will be defined by our focus on safety, efficiency, and innovation.”
ONE, the world’s sixth-largest liner operator, is owned by Japan’s three largest shipowners, NYK, K Line and Mitsui OSK Lines.
It operates a fleet of more than 240 boxships with a capacity of 1.91m teu. A further 45 ships are on order.
In July, the company returned to China’s Jiangnan Shipyard and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding to place orders for 10 extra methanol dual-fuel 13,000-teu ships.
The company is forecasting a profit of more than $3.09bn for the full financial year, up from a previous forecast of $2.75bn on 31 July.
