Experienced broker and vessel manager Ross Fothergill has founded a new brokerage aimed exclusively at low-carbon shipping.
He has set up registered offices in Hong Kong and London to offer chartering services to modern, high-performing vessels, including energy-efficient retrofits and ships with innovative designs.
The company specialises in the dry bulk sector, covering handysizes up to panamaxes.
Fothergill told TradeWinds that he is so far the only broker involved.
“But I expect to create a partnership organisation [with] experienced shipbrokers and [those] less experienced but who are passionate about decarbonisation in the shipping industry,” he said.
Futureships is starting out with a chartering operation, but eventually sale and purchase and newbuilding services are expected to be added.
From January 2022 until April this year, Fothergill was operations manager at port agency GMT Shipping in Hong Kong, and previously held the same role at vessel operator Conti GMT Shipping in Hong Kong.
He has also worked at Waterfront Chartering and Saga Welco in Canada.
The new company may be focused on the future, but the old ways of doing business will not be cast out.
“To be honest, it’s not significantly different to traditional ‘good’ shipbroking,” Fothergill said.
Old-school methods
“Futureships will still do old-school service and foster the best relationships through knowledge and experience. As an operator and commercial guy, I’ve seen a lot over the years.”
But he said the brokerage will be focused on and “exclusive” to decarbonisation.
“Eventually I hope that a micro-market of the best-performing ships is created where owners are financially recognised for their efforts — and capital investments — in retrofits and better-performing newbuild ships generally. Every step towards decarbonisation is a good step,” he said.
The Futureships mission is to act as a facilitator and conduit in the collaboration between owners and charterers on the road to decarbonisation.
The regulation imperative as mandated by the International Maritime Organization and the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme is a reality, the broker said.
“While alternative fuels are not yet decided upon in any significant way, this will eventually happen too. In the meantime, it will be about providing the most fuel-efficient ships with high EEOI [Energy Efficiency Operational Indicator] metrics including those ships that have been retrofitted to suit the purpose,” he said.
‘We are there for charterers’
Fothergill described the company as the space for shipowners who have put the money into low-carbon efforts.
“Likewise, we are there for charterers who wish to seek out these types of ships to improve their ESG goals. It’s all about the focus. Will you be in or out?” he asked.
As a tonnage broker, Futureships provides time chartering services for both spot and period deals.
It will guide clients in negotiating tailored contracts that prioritise decarbonisation for new deals and revisions to existing ones. It is also a cargo broker.
And more shipping sectors could be included in future.
