Columbia Shipmanagement (CSM) has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Hong Kong-listed shipowner and operator Seacon Shipping Group that will see the Qingdao-based company’s Chinese-owned and operated vessels managed as clients out of CSM’s Greece office.
The cooperation agreement includes all vessel types with a particular focus on Chinese-owned LPG, LNG and product tankers.
Zhao Yong, president of Seacon Ships Management Group, said: “The cooperation between the two sides is not only the complementary of resources, technology, personnel, etc, but also the integration of eastern and western management culture and management concepts.”
In a busy few days for Columbia and its expanding Asian business , earlier this week the group announced its expansion into Indonesia.
Columbia Shipmanagement Indonesia will offer manning solutions in Indonesia and its surrounding regions, diversifying the crew pool on Columbia managed vessels.
With more than 12m people employed in the maritime sector in the country, the Indonesian commercial fleet has doubled in size since 2005.