OSM MARITIME AND KRISTIAN GERHARD JEBSEN REINFORCE NORWEGIAN SHIP MANAGEMENT

OSM Maritime (OSM) will be taking over management responsibility for 37 vessels currently operated by Kristian Gerhard Jebsen Skipsrederi (KGJS), confirming OSM’s position as Norway’s biggest player in ship management.

The decision by reputable and tradition-steeped shipping company KGJS to transfer the operation of its vessels to OSM is being implemented in a way which preserves continuity, expertise and high quality.

Effective 3 August 2020, KGJS Fleet Management operations in Bergen, Singapore and Manila will become part of OSM. The 30 staff working today at its Bergen headquarters will be transferred to the newly established OSM Bergen, a company wholly owned by OSM. Roughly 1 300 seafarers in KGJS will also be transferred.

“We’re both proud and respectful of the trust KGJS is showing us through the agreement we’ve now entered into,” says Tommy Olofsen, executive chair of OSM. “This is a quality shipping company with highly competent and experienced employees and first-class vessels.”

“We are also proud to become part of the maritime cluster in Bergen, which is widely regarded as one of the world’s strongest. Whereas our hometown Arendal historically played a key role in Norway’s maritime legacy, we will now soon be able to call Bergen our second home in the country,” says Olofsen.

The agreement will strengthen OSM’s position in Norway, and particularly in the bulk and tanker segments. With a significant potential for growth as part of the larger OSM group, OSM Bergen will from the outset be responsible for managing 37 ships which currently belong to the KGJS fleet. OSM Bergen will be headed by Ole-Johan Haahjem, currently CEO for KGJS Fleet Management.

“Our initial ambition is that both employees and our customers should experience business as usual. Over time we aim to provide even better services through close interaction between our customers and our combined knowledgeable and experienced staff and crew, because as we say in OSM, it’s all about people,” Bjoern Sprotte, CEO OSM, adds.

Geir Mjelde, CEO of KGJS echoes this desire for continued improvement: “The shipping industry faces major challenges ahead in terms of technology and environmental regulations. Tackling these challenges demands scale and depth of competence. With the expertise built up in KGJS over many years and partnering with a reputable ship management company such as OSM, we ensure that KGJS is in the best possible position to deal with future requirements.”