British Marine Plc

The British Marine plc group (formerly Verney Services Ltd) was established in 1999 in the UK for the purpose of owning and operating ships. Until February 2007 when a reorganisation of the group took place, the company was operating as one of a group of companies under common control, known as the Ocean Bulk group of companies, which included Ocean Bulk Carriers (OBC) Ltd, the flagship and main trading company within the group. As part of the reorganisation, all the shipping interests of the Ocean Bulk Group, including the entire business of OBC was transferred to British Marine plc.

The group was one of the first to enter the UK tonnage tax regime which was established in 1999 and as a matter of policy has always maintained its owned fleet under UK flag. The company's first piece of business in 1999 was to place an order for a new building 48000 dwt handymax bulk carrier, which was subsequently delivered in 2001 under the name "Britannia". Since then the group has been steadily developing its fleet of owned ships through timely and selective acquisitions and disposals. At the end of January 2010, the group owned 2 Panamax and 6 Supramax relatively new vessels.

In September 2003, the company set up an office in Mumbai, India with the aim of supporting the group's in-house technical management activities, controlled from London. The presence in India, through its subsidiaries, also enabled British Marine to develop relationships with potential customers of freight transportation in a region that promised a huge expansion in dry cargo business.

In November 2008, the group transferred its Operating business from London to a recently established subsidiary in Singapore. Having established a presence in Singapore the group intends developing this as a strong regional centre.

The group continues to steadily build what has become a significant transportation service business directed towards satisfying customers’ needs. It has expanded the number of ships employed using both chartered-in vessels from third parties as well as its owned fleet, to meet the continuously increasing volume of customer-driven business.

British Marine plc is a specialist in the bulk carrier market. The Board is based in London and provides the strategic direction of the group. The group has built its own commercial and technical management platform and has considerable experience and expertise in the complexities of oceangoing vessel operations.