OSM Thome buys Klaveness Ship Management

Torvald Klaveness has sold one of its four operating companies, Klaveness Ship Management, to OSM Thome in the latest example of consolidation in the ship management space. The transactions will take effect from January 2025.

Torvald Klaveness Group was driven to the sale by a need for scale and investment capacity “to address future demands,” it said. The deal leaves Torvald Klaveness with three companies: Klaveness Combination Carriers, Klaveness Dry Bulk, and Klaveness Digital, owner of supply chain management platform CargoValue.

At the same time as the group agreed to the sale of 100% of shares in Klaveness Ship Management, Klaveness Combination Carriers signed ship management agreements for its fleet with OSM Thome. The companies said OSM Thome will set up a new office in Oslo within the Klaveness premises to handle ship management for the Klaveness Combination Carriers fleet, retaining the name Klaveness Ship Management.

The Klaveness Ship Management team will join a company employing around 29,000 seafarers and 1,600 shore-based staff, a move Klaveness said will strengthen development of ship management for the Klaveness Combination Carriers fleet, which will retain a dedicated team working exclusively on its vessels.

The ship management team will also gain access to technical resources and scale to support future expansion, the companies said, and the sale agreement has a specific focus on retaining Klaveness Combination Carrier’s unique expertise in operating the combination carriers. The owner has eight CABU and eight CLEANBU combination carriers in operation and a further three CABU vessels under construction due for delivery in 2026.

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The latest acquisition continues a trend of consolidation in the ship management space; the buyer in this transaction is the product of a merger of giants OSM and Thome in 2023. Anglo-Eastern Univan Group bought Euronav Ship Management Hellas earlier this year, and Wilhelmsen joined forces with MPC Capital to acquire Hamburg-based Zeaborn Ship Management in late 2023.

CEO of Klaveness Combination Carriers, Engebret Dahm. said: “Through the agreements with OSM Thome, Klaveness Combination Carriers will maintain the best of the current integrated operating model for technical management of its fleet with access to the large operational scale and additional technical resources of OSM Thome, one of the world's largest and most reputable ship management companies.”

Torvald Klaveness and OSM Thome also agreed to work together exploring new ways to utilise new technology and digitalisation to modernise ship management.

CEO of Torvald Klaveness, Ernst Meyer said: “This transfer of ownership represents a new operations model that integrates the expertise, focus, and quality we’ve built over many years in our ship management operations with the necessary scale.”

CEO of OSM Thome, Finn Amund Norbye, said: “Our focus will be on maintaining continuity, and building on the high standards of safety, quality, and efficiency of operating the Klaveness Combination Carriers. We will also work together on future-oriented solutions by utilising new technology and ensuring environmentally friendly operations.”