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Taylor Maritime: Handy timing

Ed Buttery, the founder of fast growing Hong Kong handy owner Taylor Maritime, stars on the latest cover of Maritime CEO magazine, which launches today.

Founded in 2014, Taylor Maritime has grown rapidly and as of today boasts a fleet of 28 ships with more being inspected regularly.

“We felt the timing was good earlier this year to acquire more ships since interest in buying from competition was scarce and we had some old friends in Japan with whom we were able to transact privately as with most of the deals we have done,” Buttery says of the busy year he and his team have had.

There is no ideal fleet size in mind for this young company, Buttery maintains. Ships continue to be inspected but there is no urgency to bulk up.

“With 28 vessels, we now have scale, so we remain open to the right opportunities but we are in no rush,” Buttery says, elaborating: “The risk reward equation is the main dimension along which we view ship investments and with the market outlook as it is, we feel that we have a good level of exposure and can create value for investors from where we stand now. That being said, we continue to inspect ships and are in a position to be opportunistic where we see value. Overall, we do believe there remains considerable upside even at today’s prices.”

On the handysize markets, Buttery says he’s cautiously optimistic on prospects for 2019.

“What we are experiencing in our business is that trade patterns are changing, which is not necessarily to our detriment,” he says, observing that minor bulk demand is looking healthy in the coming years and supply is limited.

“We expect the market to improve, with bumps along the way, and we hope our timing will prove fortuitous but of course we aren’t clairvoyants and can only rely on the research we are doing and the track record and experience we draw upon from our investors, directors and advisors,” the CEO says.

The full interview is carried inside the magazine, available both in print and online. Buttery is one of many shipowners interviewed in the 50-page quarterly. Other articles look at STCW, Chinese pollution and what Hong Kong is doing to reassert its maritime hub status.

Splash readers can access the full magazine for free by clicking here.

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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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