Hong Kong's Anglo-Eastern Ship Management has formed a strategic partnership with global tanker operator Teekay to pave the way for the creation of a joint ship management firm overseeing part of Teekay's fleet.
The joint operation, which will handle about 50 of Teekay's conventional oil tankers, will be one of the world's largest pacts between an independent ship management company and a shipowner.
Anglo-Eastern and Teekay confirmed the tie-up in notices sent in the past few days to their customers.
Anglo-Eastern chief executive Peter Cremers and chief operating officer Marcel Liedts said in their note to clients: 'We have entered into a strategic partnership with Teekay Corporation, via a memorandum of understanding, through which we will assist Teekay in evolving their ship management activities in a stand-alone, cost competitive company, using tested Anglo-Eastern Group systems. As a part of this alliance, the crew management and training logistics for Teekay seafarers will be integrated with Anglo-Eastern Group companies.'
They added: 'The new Teekay majority-owned company will operate under a Teekay name. The bulk of the employees will be sourced from Teekay entities, but to enable a proper transfer of Anglo-Eastern management know-how, key positions will be taken up by Anglo-Eastern appointees. Further involvement from our side will be at board level.'
Cremers told the South China Morning Post: 'Most of the staff will be from Teekay, but some senior positions will be taken up by Anglo-Eastern or ex-Anglo-Eastern staff.' He declined to comment further, saying the situation was sensitive.
The move is part of a restructuring of Teekay, still to be publicly announced but expected to involve the closure of its Houston office and scaling down activities at its operational headquarters in Vancouver.