Eberhard Koch, who presides over a Cypriot based ÖL Group and is a big fan of Maritime CEO, has plans to expand his fleet. The group, which rebranded from Österreichischer Lloyd last year, has a history stretching back to 1836.
Koch points out that even though ship financing might seem tricky at the moment, the industry is here to stay.
“You always have to keep in mind that shipping contributes to 90% of transport, and in our opinion funding must be available in this respect despite access to capital markets being presently limited”, he tells Maritime CEO.
The ÖL Group has five multipurpose containerships (MPC) and one multipurpose cargo ship (MPP). It currently has no ships on order, but Koch says he is looking to add ships in the future.
“We have every intention of increasing our fuel- efficient fleet with new generation ships in order to leave a green footprint. We do not have any ships on order because the market is already oversupplied with fairly new ships. However we are looking for on-the-water vessels, bearing in mind that demand is expected to increase over the next several years through global GDP, trade growth and hub and spoke models – especially in our niche market,” he tells Maritime CEO.
