Manila: Thome Shipmanagement is set to grow its fleet by 30 ships over the next few months on the back of three new clients. The Singapore-based ship manager says it has three new principals, Norwegian owner Solvang, Sirius and another undisclosed Swedish owner. "We will have 30 ships coming over to the fleet in the next few months," said Olav Eek Thorstensen, chairman of Thome. The majority of the new ships will come from a recently signed a joint venture agreement with Solvang, an owner of 18 liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) vessels. Gearing up for growth Thome opened a 1,065 sq m extension to its Manila regional headquarters at the weekend. The company expects to employ a further 25 to 35 people in the Manila office this year. However, Thome could lose some vessels currently on its books with Frontline setting up its own ship management operation in Singapore. Currently all the Norwegian owners' ship management is contracted out to Thome and V.Ships. While the Frontline plans to continue using both managers some tonnage will be managed inhouse in future. At present Thome has 138 vessels under technical management, and a further 10 are managed by sister company Timur Ship Management. [16/03/10]
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