Carisbrooke Shipping Boosts Managed Fleet

zoom U.K.-based Carisbrooke Shipping added eight 8,000 dwt general cargo vessels from Liberty One and Solmunde & Partners to their commercially-managed fleet. The eight vessels are: TIP Oslo, TIP Copenhagen, TIP Helsinki, TIP Bremen, TIP Stockholm, TIP Leer, TIP Emden and Cremona. With the latest additions, Carisbrooke now manages a fleet of over 61 vessels, with 31 ships in the range of 6,800 to 8,500 dwt. Built 2003-2005, with the TIP fleet offering ICE Class 1A flexibility, the vessels have been developed in partnership with German and Norwegian owners, and according to James McConachie, Chartering Director at Carisbrooke Shipping, this is very much part of a drive to both add value, and consolidate a fragmented short-sea, geared mini-bulk, and multipurpose shipping market. It is no secret that both bulk & MPP shipping sectors continue to face challenging markets. Our segments have, if anything, become even more fragmented in recent years, and a degree of strategic tonnage consolidation is very much welcomed to maintain freight discipline, and to ensure successful and sustainable trading models, said McConachie.