EuropeMaritime CEO

Frontline: Opportunities in a low market

Oslo: He might no longer be the ceo of Frontline Management, but as a director at Frontline, Jens Martin Jensen remains at the centre of planning at the John Fredricksen-controlled flagship firm.

Jensen stepped down as ceo last November and now has a more roving role as a director, responsible for acquisitions and sales, newbuildings and other maritime projects in the group.

Jensen reckons there are great opportunities to snap up bargains in the current environment, even in dry bulk where the Baltic Dry Index hit record lows this week.

“Great opportunities will arise,” Jensen says of the dry bulk sector, before adding: “for the ones that survive.”

Elsewhere he sees crude tankers on an up turn-swing , but that is, he stresses, after having endured four poor years with losses leading to a more modest global fleet.

“Growth up to now and the orderbook for the next 24 months looks manageable. That combined with a increased ton mile situation has created a tightness in the market,” Jensen says.

Discipline is required among crude tanker owners this year, Jensen says. “Owners should consider keeping slow steaming on the ballast leg and simply avoid panic when the market is quiet for three days,” he suggests.

For the container segment, Jensen is adamant it will end up being “a big boys club”.

“Powerful liner companies and mid-size operators will struggle to survive , owners – or tonnage providers – will have to adapt,” Jensen says.

On the offshore side, the drop in oil prices has hit many badly, Jensen concedes. The plus side, as he sees it, is that older rigs and drilling units will be scrapped , which should mean the low cycle will be shorter. “Owners of modern rigs will prevail in the long run,” he reckons.

Finally, Jensen’s advice for fellow owners in this continued fragile times for shipping? “The best opportunities come in a low market,” says Frontline’s acquisitions man.

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