AsiaDry Cargo

Masterbulk turns 20

Singapore: Yesterday saw shipowner Masterbulk celebrate its 20th anniversary.

Founded in Singapore as the shipowning entity for the dry bulk fleet of the Westfal-Larsen, Masterbulk was one of the first, Norwegian-owned shipping companies to establish themselves in Singapore under initiatives created by the Maritime Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) to attract shipping investment to the island state.

Nick Fisher, the ceo of Masterbulk, told SeaShip News: “It’s been a rollercoaster ride all the way. We’ve expanded, contracted, outsourced, in-sourced, and expanded again. Still, we are proud to have been here so long, and to have played some small part in the development of Singapore, now in its 50th year, and at the same time we recognise the 110th year of the Westfal-Larsen Group.”

As well as being an owner, Masterbulk has also recently started offering third party management services.
Another new venture has been the establishment of Saga Welco – a 50/50 joint venture between Masterbulk and Saga Ship Holding. Saga Welco is now the pool manager responsible for the world’s largest fleet of open hatch gantry crane vessels.

Sam Chambers

Starting out with the Informa Group in 2000 in Hong Kong, Sam Chambers became editor of Maritime Asia magazine as well as East Asia Editor for the world’s oldest newspaper, Lloyd’s List. In 2005 he pursued a freelance career and wrote for a variety of titles including taking on the role of Asia Editor at Seatrade magazine and China correspondent for Supply Chain Asia. His work has also appeared in The Economist, The New York Times, The Sunday Times and The International Herald Tribune.
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