Gold Magazine June - July 2013, Issue 27 | Page 60

CYPRUS SHIPPING DIRECTORY

BERNHARD SCHULTE
SHIPMANAGEMENT
(CYPRUS) LTD
that all members of the team align to the value
creation.

As a ship management company, rather than
a ship owning company, what are the various
services that BSM provides to its clients?
Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement offers a
highly comprehensive range of services through
a worldwide network. In addition to our
traditional core services of Crew Management
and Technical Management, we provide a
wide range of value-added services, tailor made
to Shipowner clients. These services include
Maritime Training for seafarers, Chartering
services, Marine Insurance, Maritime and
Corporate Travel, Maritime Catering Services,
Technical Consultancy and New building and
Conversion Supervision, and Radio Accounting
Services.

Does the ongoing Turkish embargo of
Cyprus-flagged ships affect BSM?
Based on our current fleet portfolio, this ban
has limited effect on our day-to-day operations.
However, it does affect the Cyprus flag and our
ability to operate ships freely from within the
Republic of Cyprus. The competition in the
market today is so intense that any restriction on
a vessel’s trading ability to call at Turkey places
a constraint on the shipowner looking to charter
his vessel. The embargo thus strangles our ability
to be truly global, offering a comprehensive full
Shipmanagement service should the vessel have
to call at a port in Turkey. We support strong
discussions with all parties on this subject in
order to facilitate the need for us, as Europeans,
to trade freely.
Arthur McWhinnie Managing Director

I

n 1972, Hanseatic Shipping Co. Ltd, which later
became part of the Schulte Group, was the very first
ship management company to be based in Cyprus.
More than 40 years on, you are still here. What’s the
secret?
Actually, we were always part of the Schulte Group
from the very first day on the island! One can say the
corporate benefits are part of the secret but in reality the
people working for the company are what laid down
the roots for the 40 years of success in shipmanagement.
The secret lies in selecting the right leaders and ensuring

58 Gold THE INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT, FINANCE & PROFESSIONAL SERVICES MAGAZINE OF CYPRUS

The downturn in the global shipping
industry coincided with the global financial
crisis which now appears to be at an end. Are
there positive signs for shipping at last?
Nobody is yet in a position to say whether we
have reached the bottom or not. The excess
tonnage of all types of ships is still in the water.
Ships do change hands but not for scrapping
and they still sail the seas. The contract books
in Far East yards are still full and the values
for new buildings still up. There is a lot of
speculation without logical justification. For the
Shipmanagement industry, the shipping crisis