Histria success is built on resurgent Romanian industry

From modest beginnings managing vessels for domestic owners in Constanza, Histria Group has been built into a multifaceted company with an international reputation for quality and innovation

The story of Histria Group is intimately entwined with the story of Romania’s renaissance as a maritime nation. Founded in 1992 in Constanza by Gheorghe Bosinceanu, a former master mariner and director of the tanker division of state shipping company Navrom, today’s diversified portfolio of companies began life as Tanker Ship Management SRL.

Any thoughts that his senior position and lifelong association with Navrom (he started out with that company as a deck cadet in 1979) would immediately guarantee work from his former employer were quickly quashed. “Perhaps ironically, I started by taking into management a number of vessels owned by independent Romanian owners rather than Navrom,” Captain Bosinceanu recalls with a smile. It was not long however, before his fledgling company took into management some of the vessels he had been responsible for when he was head of Navrom’s tanker department. “We soon reached a point where we were responsible for 16 ships, the majority belonging to state owned companies.”

Against the backdrop of a liberalising business and political environment, Tanker Ship Management prospered and was able to move into ownership. “Around 1998/1999, the Romanian government promulgated a law whereby state owned assets could be sold through direct negotiation with private companies. We benefited immensely from this legislation and, backed by international financiers such as BNP Paribas, Fortis Bank, The Royal Bank of Scotland and especially Calyon, we were able to take ownership of the majority of vessels for which we were responsible for as managers.” The acquisition trail, however, did not stop there: “We then started buying additional tonnage, both from domestic companies and on the international market.”

The process of diversification also continued. A series of sister companies – which today span chartering, operations, crewing, repair, technical support and safety – were gradually established, and form the bedrock of what is now the Histria Group. Along the way, Tanker Ship Management was rebranded Histria Shipmanagement and has since become the first Romanian company to achieve ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 14001:2000; it is now working towards ISO 9002.

In 2002 the Romanian government put its shares in the shipyard Santierul Naval Constanta up for sale. Following almost two years of negotiation, and assisted by well-known consulting companies such as PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Société Générale, these were acquired by the Histria Group. “We brought new people in at the management level, re-organised the corporate structure and embarked on a significant investment programme.” A deliberate decision was also taken to evolve the yard’s design capability, and this resulted in a brand new design for an IMO III oil/chemical tanker in the 37,000 dwt to 41,000 dwt range. Perhaps the most innovative aspect of the design is the positioning of the cargo control room on the bridge.

“We took a risk in the interests of safety!” says Captain Bosinceanu. “By integrating the navigation and cargo control alongside the communications equipment, the deck officer on duty will have under his direct control everything happening on the main deck and everything happening alongside. At the same time he can follow up on all the data he will be receiving on cargo loading and discharging.”

An order for 18 of these vessels was placed at the yard, the first all-Romanian project (embracing ordering, design and build) in the post-Communist era. The design has been modified along the way: where the earlier vessels were built for IMO Type III cargoes, later hulls will be built to handle Type II loads and upgraded to comply with the requirements of IACS’ common structural rules.

The first in the series was delivered in 2005, three more in 2006 and at the time of writing ten have been
delivered, all to Germanischer Lloyd class. “Build times are around 10 months; typically, vessels of this type take 16 months,” says Captain Bosinceanu with evident pride. Of the 10, three have been sold to Interorient Navigation Co Ltd, and the other seven have entered into Histria Shipmanagement and are on time charter to major oil companies such as ENI, Repsol YPF, Glencore International AG and the Saudi Aramco company, Vela. The remaining eight examples of this type are to be delivered to the likes of Interorient, Augusta Due and Motia Cia di Navigazione.

Over and above these vessels, the yard, in partnership with German design agency SDC Ship Design & Consult and the HSVA test tank in Hamburg, has produced a novel 50,000 dwt product tanker design, fully compliant with common structural rules requirements. Ten have already been contracted at Constanta, ensuring the yard will be busy through to the end of 2011. Again, Histria Shipmanagement will take a number under its own wing, the first one being set for delivery in November 2009, the rest following in 2010 to 2011.

The design is actually the culmination of a study that the Histria Group undertook between 2000 and 2002 into the likely future development of the tanker market. “We concluded that larger tankers offered both greater trading options and a more stable income when compared to
smaller sizes.”

For added security, the yard is also working on a new 61,000 dwt Supramax bulk carrier design, which can be powered by the same MAN B&W 6S50MC-C engine as the 41,000 dwt and 50,000 dwt designs. The yard expects to start marketing this design around 2011. “One of the restrictions that we have today as a shipyard revolves around contracting and timely delivery of main engines – due to all engine works operating at full capacity. The rationale is therefore to order an engine and have the flexibility of deciding in which ship it will be installed. Owners benefit as they can take options at the yard and declare them at a late stage, according to market conditions.”

This bulk carrier development does not denote the end of the yard’s ambitions in the tanker segment. Preliminary designs have been finalised (again in partnership with German designer SDC) and tank tests performed for a 115,500 dwt Aframax tanker, which the yard expects to start marketing around 2012.

For all its creativity in design, the yard is not about to follow the Turkish example and start building vessels speculatively. “This is not an approach we will follow,” says Captain Bosinceanu, leaning forward intently. “Even the ships contracted by group companies for delivery in 2011 are time chartered, generally for between three and seven years.”

The vessels that enter into Histria Shipmanagement are entirely manned by Romanian crew. “We still have a very good supply, which should not be a surprise, given that the state-controlled fleet at its height operated some 300 ships. Also, here in Constanza, the biggest port on the Black Sea and the Rotterdam of the region you might say, there are three marine academies and a well-organised ship training centre.” That said, Captain Bosinceanu acknowledges that more and more international manning companies are setting up in the port and Romanian officers are “being hunted”.

For Captain Bosinceanu, the key to crew retention is motivation. “It is about the standard of life on board, the quality of newly delivered ships and the future promotion you can offer. By 2011 we expect to have 20 vessels under management which creates opportunities
for progression.”

Fifteen years ago the company established its in-house ‘training and promotion programme’ for aspiring seafarers and cadets. “Most of our captains and chief engineers pass through this programme and we do not have sufficient vacancies to offer them. So what we are finding is that they are taking positions with well known owners such as Tanker Pacific, V Ships and Columbia. Then, when we have a vacancy we call them, they are happy to come back.” TST