Trust was key to Ardmore Shipping forming a chemical tanker management pact with Germany's Carl Buettner.
New York-listed Ardmore announced a deal on Monday to expand its chemical fleet to 10 ships when it takes over the commercial operation of four Buettner handysize tankers.
The Ireland-based shipowner's chief commercial officer, Gernot Ruppelt, revealed that the Bremen company had approached Ardmore about cooperation.
"We knew Carl Buettner by reputation and I have known managing director Thorsten Mackenthun for some time through our respective work with Intertanko," Ruppelt told TradeWinds.
"I have also known his son Christian, who is their chartering director, from our time working in New York."
This meant that when Buettner initiated the dialogue, the conversation started from a position of trust, which is "critical for a cooperation such as this".
As talks developed, the two sides quickly found areas in which their thinking was aligned, such as operational standards and a focus on performance.
"From there, it was a very efficient and open process," Ruppelt said.
As for further cooperation with other partners, Ardmore believes this depends on whether there is real strategic merit in a deal.
The vessels need to be the right type and there has to be an organisational fit with the right quality of professional counterparty, according to Ruppelt.
Future opportunities
"It is a possibility," he added. "We believe all of the above applies in the case of Carl Buettner."
The idea is to "bundle" the respective chemical fleets and direct Buettner's ships more towards global trades in non-clean product markets, creating value for both companies.
Ardmore is also a player in the MR tanker sector, but the executive explained that chemical capability has always been part of the company's DNA from its earliest stage.
"We may certainly explore future opportunities," he added. "We believe this is where the future really lies for the tanker market."
Ruppelt thinks the key is how the ships are traded and operated.
The chemical market is more specialised, complex and fragmented, he said, which creates some opportunity to de-commoditise a shipowner's more typical product offering.
Competitive sense
"So also in terms of competitive strategy, it does make a lot of sense."
The Buettner vessels in question are the 24,000-dwt sisterships Apollo (built 2003) and Avalon (built 2005) and the 23,400-dwt Admiral (built 2002) and Aurelia (built 2006).
Ardmore described them as "high-quality". They also operate in vegetable oil trades.
Buettner is listed as controlling 11 chemical and product tankers.
Four are 38,000-dwt units, with two more of 15,000 dwt, and a newbuilding of 38,000 dwt due from Jiangsu New Hantong in China in November.
In addition to the chemical tankers, Ardmore controls a fleet of 21 MR product tankers.
