Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM) has marked a half-century in third-party management with a big party in Cyprus.
More than 600 guests gathered at the marina in Limassol to celebrate 50 years since the establishment of predecessor Hanseatic Shipping in 1972.
One common factor during all that time is Heinrich Schulte, 86, the founder and chairman.
He told guests: “50 years of BSM — that’s really something special.
“This anniversary fills us all with joy and with great pride. What started in 1972 with a handful of employees became the blueprint for an entire industry,” he added.
Schulte thanked all his customers and partners. “But my special thanks go above all to our employees worldwide for their great commitment, who have made this success story possible,” the chairman concluded.
Vassilios Demetriades, shipping deputy minister of Cyprus, said the “Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement name” has a firm place in Cyprus’ shipping history.
“The decision of the company’s management at the time to choose Limassol as the location for the start-up has had a significant impact on the development of our country as a maritime hub of global importance,” he added.
By 1976, Hanseatic Shipping was already managing 25 ships. In 1987, this had risen to 200.
The first seafarer recruitment agency was founded in 1979 in Manila.
BSM born through merger
Five years later, the first Maritime Training Centre in the old port of Limassol was established.
In 2008, BSM was founded by merging four ship management companies — Hanseatic Shipping, Dorchester Atlantic Marine, Eurasia Group and Vorsetzen Bereederungs- und Schiffahrtskontor.
Schulte Group chief executive Ian Beveridge said the company looks forward to continuing its legacy for the long term under the stable shareholding structure of the Schulte family ownership, now in its fifth generation.
“As a company, we have to decide today on large investments, the success of which we can often only see after a decade or even later,” he added.
“That’s why we need stability and a clear course, but also the flexibility to hold our own in a very volatile market. Of central importance are well-trained committed employees at sea and onshore who continue to be at the cornerstone of our future journey,” the CEO said.
BSM has been at the forefront of managing new vessel types, such as ultra-large container ships of more than 20,000 teu.
