Heidmar seeks to diversify into new areas

Co-owned by Greek shipowner George Economou and US financial services group, Morgan Stanley, Heidmar, has set up Heidmar Asset Management, which will go beyond the current focus on tankers.

Heidmar cfo, Marc La Monte, said the unit “will work with banks, astute investors, and other new industry entrants who may be looking for a first class partner”.

The aim is to offer a ‘turn key’ solution covering commercial and technical management, as well as extensive financial reporting of vessels of all types.

Up to now Heidmar has specialised in the commercial management of tankers trading in one of its five distinctive pools covering MR, panamax, aframax, suezmax and VLCCs, presently comprising some 100 tankers. It also has a jv with Womar in which around 60 chemical carriers are entered.

Economou, a 49% co-owner of Connecticut-based Heidmar, has been withdrawing ships from the pools, since last April a process expected to speed-up, with the remaining five aframaxes and four suezmaxes due to depart in the months to come. A year ago, Economou’s private crude carrier arm, TMS Tankers, had 14 aframaxes enrolled in Heidmar’s Sigma Tankers pool and nine suezmaxes with Blue Finn.

The tanker pool -- Unique Tankers -- established in December by Peter Georgiopoulos' Genmar and China's Unipec will also impact Heidmar. This pool was established to meet Unipec’s requirements and Genmar will commit 19 tankers to it, the seven VLs it now has in Heidmar’s Seawolf Tankers pool, and 12 suezmaxes.