Former BP executives complete MBO to launch

A new force in vessel lay-up and marine services for the international shipping and offshore services community is launched today following the management buyout of BP Shipcare Sdn Bhd by a group of former BP Shipping executives.

BP Shipcare has been renamed International Shipcare after it was acquired from BP for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition was led by Gavin Kramer, former Asia Pacific Regional Director of BP Shipping Ltd, and two other former BP executives, Andrew Lockie and Noel Curran.

International Shipcare, formerly BP Shipcare, has been a leading ship lay-up and marine services facility based in Labuan, Malaysia, for 35 years and is the oldest established layup facility in Asia today.
Under the terms of the acquisition, the entire shareholding of BP Shipcare was acquired by the former managers following BP’s decision to divest the non-core businesses in 2010.
Gavin Kramer, Managing Director of International Shipcare, said today: “We are very pleased to announce the launch of International Shipcare. When the opportunity to acquire this business came up, we knew it had significant potential for growth in both its lay-up and marine services activities. Our immediate priority when we took over was to ensure the maintenance of operational standards in Labuan and the integrity of the local team that were put in place by BP.”
International Shipcare believes there are powerful economic reasons for laying up ships in the current markets. Ship owners can expect to see considerable reduction in operational costs by as much as 90%. On average the fully built up cost of layup is around US$1,500 per day against current operational costs which can exceed US$10,000 per day on some of the larger capital ships. There are also very significant savings in fuel costs as compared to leaving a vessel idle and reductions in insurance premiums by as much as 80% for instance on P&I cover.
Gavin Kramer added: “We want to change the negative perception of lay-up among a large proportion of ship owners. Vessel lay-up is an important component of the overall shipping market and should be viewed as a valuable tool available to shipowners to optimise usage of their resources. In times of cyclical earnings, laying up an under-utilised vessel could be preferred to accepting a loss-making charter. We have the capability to get ships back into service quickly should market conditions pick-up and the owner wish to access the improved earnings Lay-up provides owners with the ability to better manage their overall earnings efficiency of their fleet.”
“We believe this will be hugely beneficial to owners who are between contracts; owners who are looking to convert or upgrade their vessels in the near future or owners who want to reduce their exposure to particular markets and increase the efficiency of their current fleet.”