Beluga Shipping

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Beluga Shipping was a German project and heavy-lift shipping company in the Hanseatic city of Bremen. The company was declared insolvent in March 2011.^[1]

Beluga Shipping was founded in December 1995 in Bremen, initially as a cargo operator. In 1998, the company acquired its first vessel, the multipurpose heavy-lift carrier MV Beluga Obsession. In 1999, the company built its first own new vessel, the MV Werder Bremen. Beluga Shipping grew significantly during the following years. By May 2010, 69 multipurpose heavy-lift carriers were in service for the company, with crane capacities reaching 1,400 tons in tandem usage (P-series). The fleet further increased to 70 units by end of 2010.^[2] The company offered trade lane management but concentrated on tramp shipping, meaning each transport was organised individually according to the requirements of the cargo and the port of loading and destination.

Since 2001, Beluga Shipping expanded its global network. By March 2009, the company ran twelve branch offices on five continents: Rotterdam, The Netherlands; London, United Kingdom; Stavanger, Norway; Moscow, Russia; Mumbai, India; Shanghai and Beijing, China; Tokyo, Japan; Singapore; Sydney, Australia; São Paulo, Brazil and Houston, USA.^[3] On the so-called Teerhof close to the Weser River in Bremen the new headquarters of the company was inaugurated in June 2009.

Due to the global recession, from 2010 on Beluga Shipping relied increasingly on financial help by the US financial investment firm Oaktree Capital Management. Since 28 February 2011 developments indicated that Oaktree Capital Management, shareholder with 49.5%, wanted to take over the Beluga-Group. The German Bundeskartellamt confirmed this.^[4]

On 3 March 2011, Niels Stolberg's retirement as CEO was announced and Oaktree appointee Roger Iliffe followed on his chair.^[5] With Stolberg, a few other leading managers were replaced.^[6]

Soon after Oaktree's takeover, the company filed for bankruptcy. Oaktree subsequently founded a new heavy-lift shipping company with part of the Beluga Fleet, the Hamburg-based Hansa Heavy Lift.

Core competence of Beluga Shipping is the sea transport of project and heavy-lift cargo. The group is judicially divided into three companies. Beluga Shipping GmbH forms a holding company and is responsible for the strategic planning, finance, marketing, human resources etc. Beluga Chartering GmbH provides for the affreightment of the Beluga fleet with cargo. The Beluga Fleet Management GmbH & Co. KG is responsible for the seagoing personnel, the nautical and technical management of the vessels as well as the newbuilding of vessels.

On 1 June 2011 the Local Court of Bremen in Germany opened insolvency proceedings against Beluga Chartering GmbH..

As one of few companies in this sector, Beluga Shipping runs an own research and innovation department. Furthermore, Beluga Shipping is initiator of the public private partnership project Maritime Campus Elsfleth of which the Maritime Research Centre Elsfleth forms a part. The Maritime Campus Elsfleth aims for the promotion of science, economy, education and research in the maritime sector. Beluga Shipping operates the world’s first vessel newbuilding co-powered by wind using a towing kite system. The goal of MV Beluga Skysails is to reduce fuel consumption and emissions.

The company was recognised by Hermann Simon as a role model for other small to medium sized business in his book Hidden Champions.

The educational concept of Beluga Shipping is unique in the maritime business. On six training vessels and additional units of the Beluga fleet, the Sea Academy of Beluga Shipping offers up to 160 cadets a year the necessary training facilities. The training vessels are equipped with an additional deck including the accommodation for the cadets, a class room and a maritime library. In addition, Beluga Shipping finances several professorships at the University of Applied Sciences Oldenburg/Ostfriesland/Wilhelmshaven and the University of Applied Sciences Bremen. The international study course Shipping & Chartering (ISSC) was developed in cooperation with Beluga Shipping and the University of Applied Sciences Bremen. Social responsibility is a substantial part of the corporate philosophy. In response to the misery and destruction caused by the Tsunami catastrophe in 2004, Beluga Shipping built up the "Beluga School for Life", a village in Thailand for orphans and other juvenile victims. The aims of the project are to provide shelter for the children in family-like accommodations and to provide education intended to break the circle of poverty.^[7]

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