Business
Stena Bulk Singapore:
Asia very significant going
S
By Joakim Persson
tena from Gothenburg, Sweden is a wellknown international shipping business, in particular in Northern Europe for its Stena Line - one of the largest ferry operators in the world. Stena Bulk (one of the world’s leading tanker shipping companies), which is less known in comparison, has offices overseas, including in Singapore, and views Asia as significant to be present in as here is where the strong growth will be going forward. Stena Bulk is also embracing digitalisation to be at the forefront as the world is entering a new era – albeit at a slower pace in the very conservative sector that is shipping. Our pilot to learn more about Stena and the development within this shipping sector is Mr Lars Malmbratt, General Manager of Stena Bulk Singapore. It feels appropriate that from their Suntech Tower top floor, near the waterfront in Singapore, Stena Bulk’s team members have an excellent view of the surrounding waters and shipping activities. There, Lars Malmbratt, who arrived from Swedish headquarters about a year ago, is the 14 ScandAsia.Singapore • April 2017
office manager and GM for the oil sector, while his Danish colleague David Simonsen is responsible for product tankers. Stena Bulk (founded in 1982) controls a combined fleet of around 100 tankers, and the company recently took full ownership of Stena Weco from its Danish partner Weco Shipping. Stena Weco operates Medium Range (MR) tankers. The other two companies under Stena Bulk are: Stena Sonangol Suezmax Pool with the Suezmax super tankers and Golden StenaWeco with its Intermediate tankers (10- 20.000 dead weight). MR vessels transport refined products of various kinds, while Suezmax tankers transport crude oil. The bulk of their customers are major oil and chemical companies. Aside in China new Stena tankers have recently been named in the region. In February 2015 the IMOIIMAX MR chemical tanker ‘Stena Impression’ was celebrated in Singapore, as the first of ten vessels delivered. The IMOIIMAX tankers have been designed to transport both vegetable oils, chemicals as well as clean and dirty petroleum products. In a joint venture this vessel
is owned 50/50 by Stena Bulk and Indonesian Golden Agri Resources (GAR). And in January 2016 another MR tanker, ‘Stena Imperative’, was named at China Merchants Wharf in Hong Kong. “We tr y to have a footprint out here in Asia and it was really a joy to name the ship in Singapore! Our customers are out here, so we try to hold such festivities where we can invite collaborators and give them an opportunity to visit the ship and have a nice dinner where it is presented,” says Lars. “It is one part of the Asian profile to have close partnerships with Asian customers. We look very actively at it; to do something together; not only selling and buying,” he explains this kind of joint venture like with GAR. A few tanker models at the office have French names: “They were built from the beginning to go on a time charter for Total that leased the ship over a longer period. And then they can name the ship.” Aside joint ventures the financing of tankers is usually a mix pot, both own financing via equity from Stena and bank loans.