Overseeing dry-bulk shipping from the principality

C TRANSPORT MARITIME (CTM) I PROFILE

Monaco based C Transport Maritime (CTM) is a dedicated and highly qualified vessel management company with nearly two decades of experience. With strong roots in the Greek and Italian shipping industry, the company has its own unique insights into overcoming the trials and tribulations of the Covid19 pandemic. “The last year-and-a-half has actually been quite positive from a business perspective, and adding to this we also helped our shipowner clients have a more resilient approach during these tough times,” said Carlos Pena, Chief Commercial Officer for CTM.

Formed in 2004 when DryLog acquired Coeclerici Group’s bulk carrier pools and management activity, C Transport Maritime (CTM) today manages a hugely impressive fleet of Capesize, Panamax, Supramax and Handysize vessels. Following the acquisition, the company relocated to the Principality of Monaco, from its previous location in Genoa in Italy, taking the majority of the team with it.

Today, CTM is owned by Carras Ltd after the Radziwill family brought the company under the Carras umbrella; this was in 2013 and CTM has continued to thrive ever since.

Currently employing 90 employees in the beautiful surroundings of Monaco, CTM has continued to grow over the years and is now managing around 200 ships at any one time between core client companies and Revenue Sharing Agreements (RSAs).

Currently managing vessels for five core companies (Carras Ltd, CBC, CTM Ltd, GoodBulk and Stone Shipping), CTM’s stewardship has seen the fleets of these clients grow in size and continue to deliver outstanding results.

Over 2021, CTM managed vessels on behalf of 35 clients including traditional shipowners, family offices, publicly listed companies, commodity traders and financial investment platforms.

During last year, ships under management carried approximately 70 million tonnes of cargo, were fixed for over 40,000 days with around 230 separate, carefully vetted counterparties and called at over 2,100 ports. CTM concluded over 620 fixtures indicating its strong presence in the spot market.

Carlos Pena, Chief Commercial Officer for CTM said: “We are a management company that can deliver this exemplary service at very competitive market rates.”

Manifest of services

In order to ensure optimum service to its clients, all of CTM’s many operations and services are coordinated out of its centralised office in Monaco. These services span four major areas: commercial, operations, technical and logistics.

The commercial arm of the company’s services have over 100 years’ experience combined and offer chartering, forward

C TRANSPORT MARITIME (CTM) I PROFILE

freight agreements, sale and purchase and tanker management. Within the umbrella of commercial services, CTM also operates RSAs for Supramax, Panamax and Capesize vessels; the latter of which are automatically entered into Capesize Chartering Ltd.

Mr Pena stated: “With an average of 68 vessels over 2021, the CTM Supramax Revenue Sharing Agreement once again proved itself to its members and to the market, delivering outstanding results with an average monthly outperformance of +5% over the second half of the year and a strong +15% in the fourth quarter vis a vis the Baltic Supramax Index.

“The Supramax RSA sold $600 million worth of freight in 2021, 2.6 times more year-on-year and we achieved a 97% utilisation despite the challenges associated with congestion, quarantines or delays.”

The company also has a team dedicated to managing all aspects of insurance and claims management: not limited to this they are also knowledgeable about bunker markets and hedging.

The highly trained Technical Management team is hands-on with all vessels and their work encompasses newbuilding support, conversion and modifications, sale and purchase inspections, safety and maintenance, and compliance and performance.

Logistics is also at the heart of what CTM has to offer. This department pro-

LETH AGENCIES

In recent years, Leth has evolved from being transit specialists into complete service providers in some of the busiest ports and maritime hubs.

We are proud to assist a high-quality company such as C Transport Maritime at the locations for which we offer our services. Through local offices as well as offices in Norway, Denmark, and Singapore, we are always available to assist, whether it is in Egypt, Panama, Denmark, Turkey, Singapore, or Gibraltar/Algeciras.

Regardless of location, personal made-to-measure services are an essential part of the Leth DNA. A flat-structured organisation makes it possible to adapt quickly to our clients’ individual needs and through a vast network of partners worldwide, we save fortunes in terms of time and money on behalf of our principals. Going forward, we endeavour to maintain our position as technological frontrunners and look forward to assisting C Transport Maritime and other first-class companies in maritime hotspots.

C TRANSPORT MARITIME (CTM) I PROFILE

vides innovative, reliable and cost-effective solutions to whatever problems may present themselves. A case study that showcases the effectiveness of this team is how they were involved in the design of a multi-purpose coastal vessel (MCV) for a foreign consortium requiring coal transhipment services from larger bulkers to supply a coal-fired power plant.

Modern solutions to old problems

CTM’s newest business venture is the chartering vehicle Stone Shipping Ltd, incorporated in Bermuda. This company was formed in 2019 to charter-in Supramax and Ultramax vessels on behalf of investors. According to CTM, this novel innovation within the sector is a breath of fresh air for many as it opens up a historically closed market to new investors, where normally this is reserved for those with pre-existing knowledge on the sector and long-standing reputation with strong financial footing.

Talking about this new venture, Mr Pena summarised: “With Stone Shipping, we are bringing our chartering abilities to individuals. If you cannot access all of the capital required to invest alongside us, we raise money from different investors and we then charter ships on behalf of clients.”

Taking market expectations into account, the chartered-in vessels are either chartered out on a fixed rate or employed in CTM’s Supramax Revenue Sharing Agreement (RSA). Investors are able to gain access to CTM’s extensive expertise in the market and commercial capabilities.

Since its inception, Stone Shipping has successfully raised $15 million over two years for three privately invested funds. So far results have been in line and above targets, and Mr Pena confirmed capital raising for a fourth fund will start in April 2022.

CTM is also embracing technology, by building a proprietary trading algorithm and creating a mobile/desktop CTM App for its members. This has really set CTM even further out from the crowd, in how they are modernising a sector that may be considered entrenched in its ways by some. “Technology is coming onto the ships more and more,” underlined Mr Pena. “We have developed an app, for example where our clients can see where their ships are and where we have positioned our fleet. We also have some new databases and algorithms that assist us with our trading activities.”

Evolving requirements and back to normality

The coronavirus pandemic has affected nearly all sectors of industry, and shipping has been no different. Delays at ports, crew changes, outbreaks and differing restrictions from country to country have been just a handful of the obstacles over the past couple of years.

However, CTM and its affiliated companies have reported positive news. GoodBulk, for example, which is a publicly listed company, has given $131 million in dividends during the pandemic which is equivalent to $4.38 per share. CBC also grew its fleet by

about 60% during this period and CTM took several ships on long term charters.

Mr Pena stated: “Our fleet is employed predominantly on the spot market and 2021 was one of the best years to be in the spot market with a huge divergence between period and spot rates after the first quarter.”

Mr Pena was quick to highlight one of the most pressing factors that the pandemic has impacted – the ships’ crews. Isolation is something that many of us will have faced during this trying time and seafarers may know this feeling better than anyone. Managing this isolation and loneliness was CTM’s top priority – no mean feat when you manage over 1,000 seafarers. By providing more training, 24/7 internet on board, extra entertainment and crew changes to name but a few of the actions the company has taken, CTM has continued to prioritise the wellbeing of its crews.

Speaking on this Mr Pena said: “We have helped our clients perform several crew changes over this difficult period as well as arranged and assisted drydocks and special surveys. With good timing, practicing good hygiene and utilising all the necessary protections (and using local representatives where necessary), we have achieved this.”

Speaking of human connections, 2022 looks set to finally welcome the return of global trade shows and events. Looking ahead to Posidonia 2022 in Athens this summer, Mr Pena said getting back to faceto-face meetings in what is such a personable industry will be hugely positive for everyone in shipping.

“Due to the pandemic, we have not been able to travel too much, so meeting our friends and colleagues is so very important, as is keeping that human side of the industry that other industries might not consider as important as we do in shipping,” closed Mr Pena. n