Norway’s Klaveness Combination Carriers (KCC) is chasing more Asian and African business through its new office in Dubai.
The Oslo-listed operator of ships that can carry oil and dry bulk cargoes said having a commercial presence in the Middle East “reinforces KCC’s commitment to delivering exceptional services to its customers across diverse global markets and time zones”.
The Dubai office will act as an extension of parent Torvald Klaveness’ existing office, which was established as a branch of Klaveness Asia in 2018.
“The integration with Klaveness’ existing foothold gives KCC’s Dubai team a smooth start in building Dubai as a strategic hub between Oslo and Singapore to strengthen KCC’s reach into the key markets in Middle East, South Asia, and Africa,” the shipowner said.
The Dubai office started operations earlier in August.
KCC has eight Cabu ships transporting caustic soda and dry cargo, plus eight Cleanbus handling oil products and dry bulk.
Last month, the company revealed a mixed picture for its fleet during the second quarter.
Earnings for the Cabu vessels gained ground, but the Cleanbus experienced a big drop to 30 June.
Preliminary time charter equivalent figures for the Cabus were $34,502 per day, up $3,000 from the first quarter, mainly due to higher caustic soda shipment volumes.
The Cleanbu carriers managed $29,482 per day, but this was down by $16,400, driven by lower capacity in tanker trades, down from 91% to 57% quarter on quarter.
This was attributed largely to normal quarterly variations in the vessels’ geographical positions and unpaid waiting time between voyages, as well as a seasonally weaker product tanker market in early summer.
