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Anglo-Eastern Univan: Crew costs unlikely to come down

Shipowners looking for any savings whatsoever in these tricky times are unlikely to see key item, crew costs, come down anytime soon, a leading shipmanager tells Maritime CEO today.

Bjørn Højgaard, ceo of Anglo-Eastern Univan Group, says there’s little chance crew wages will go down on account of the continued global shortage of quality officers and ratings.

“We are under pressure from owners, particularly dry bulk owners, to keep operating costs to a minimum,” the Dane says from the group’s headquarters in Hong Kong. Højgaard is adamant, however, that cost cutting on his managed fleet of more than 600 ships will never come at the price of safety.

“Our key consideration is safety which will never be compromised for opex,” he says.

“We strive hard,” Højgaard continues, “in terms of procuring the best possible supplier prices, managing inventory and maintenance whilst always keeping in mind the preservation of long-term asset value.”

While admitting there are not many bright spots in terms of the shipping market outlook for the main shipping sectors, Højgaard says his company is interested to selectively enter some more niche shipping segments.

For the long term at Anglo-Eastern Univan the strategy, Højgaard says, is to ensure it is harnessing the best in terms of IT systems and process design in order to bring efficiency benefits to clients and the company’s own organisation.

“I am positive about the future of the shipmanagement industry and the trend towards outsourcing, driven by increased regulation, economy of scale benefits, and the increasing competition for access to quality crew,” Højgaard concludes.

Anglo-Eastern merged with Univan 11 months ago, as first reported by Splash.

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Splash is Asia Shipping Media’s flagship title offering timely, informed and global news from the maritime industry 24/7.
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