Wallem takes ship management opportunities as outsourcing trend continues
Increasing specialization in shipping is tempting new and established owners to use managers so they can focus on core interests, says Wallem Managing Director of Ship Management Ioannis Stefanou
Opportunities for third-party managers are expanding as the rising intricacies of operating vessels encourages exporters new to ship owning to delegate and established owners increasingly seek ways to focus on the rewards available from core business.
For Hong Kong-based Wallem this means expansion among emerging Chinese operators and younger Greek owners, said Managing Director of Ship Management Ioannis Stefanou, after the group increased its presence across all shipping sectors in 2025.
Existing and new clients entrusted more vessels to Wallem, said Stefanou, boosting its fleet of pure car and truck carriers (PCTCs), tankers, LPG carriers, bulkers and container ships.
“Our client base increased, but also we had a lot of organic growth from clients that were already with Wallem which is always a good sign about our service delivery,” he said.
“There are still opportunities out there for third party managers. I believe the opportunities are actually increasing because ship management is becoming so specialised and something an owner might want to outsource to be able to focus on what they do best, which is the commercial side of shipping - operating, buying and selling assets.”
Wallem’s closeness to Chinese markets has helped it gain business from car makers, like BYD, which seek greater control over the export process. Wallem has become the largest third-party manager of car carriers as a result with a growing number of dual fuel vessels entering its fleet.
Stefanou adds that the ship management group’s access to qualified seafarers has proved to be a major attraction for owners.
“Especially for newcomers to the industry, it's much easier to outsource crewing than to try to do it all themselves,” he said. Stefanou remains confident about Wallem’s ability to find and attract the best seafarers, with the company’s safety record meaning up to three generations of families have sailed with it. However, he acknowledged the industry’s need to compete in future for the best talents as technology becomes more and more important in shipping.
The same factors – crewing and increasing technical sophistication – are increasingly in decisive when established ship owners consider the contribution third party management can make to their business, added Stefanou.
“Traditionally Greeks have managed their vessels inhouse, for example, but we see this changing. I see the new generation of owners outsourcing more and it's working very well. We have five clients based in Greece and as more vessels are outsourced, I see our stake growing.”
Japanese owners are also more interested in using ship managers, and Stefanou said Wallem’s ability “to combine the best of Asia with the best of the Western world” put the company in a strong position in the market.
Geopolitical instability and tensions have been a big part of the picture over the last year or two, but Stefanou is a believer in shipping’s ability to face and successfully deal with problems.
“We cannot control geopolitical situations, just as we cannot control regulatory situations. We can only make sure that we are prepared and respond as necessary,” he said.
The postponement by the IMO of its Net Zero Framework last year was one such issue.
“As managers, we are agnostic about regulation. The regulatory framework affects our principals, as to the types of ships they build and the fuels they use. We have to be ready to support them.”
Wallem is now managing several LNG dual fuel vessels and started training for the use of methanol and ammonia some time ago. It has taken on methanol-ready vessels and last year installed wind-assisted propulsion technology on a vessel.
Likewise, the pushback on diversity and inclusion seen in some regions is not diverting Wallem from its vision as an equal opportunities employer.
“Being traditionally conservative, the shipping industry had lagged behind much of the world,” Stefanou said, with very small numbers of female seafarers onboard ships, for example.
Wallem continues to make efforts, with supportive owners, to employ more women on ships and ensure they are protected and treated equally in terms of the opportunities to progress, he said.
Sustaining the attractions of outsourcing also relies on the willingness of third party managers to ‘add value’ where principals need it, said Stefanou. Last year Wallem launched a Vessel IT Security and Management Services (VITS), a suite of support and consultancy services to protect IT systems onboard vessels. Initially an inhouse Wallem system it is also being delivered to owners whose vessels are not managed by the group.
It's not an IT offering from a shore-based company, Stefanou stressed, because Wallem has rolled the system out to many of the 200 vessels it manages with its IT teams knowing exactly how data systems work in a shipping context.
“VITS is attractive for smaller and medium size companies, but also for larger ones that want to outsource their help desk, IT or even office infrastructure. We have been very positively surprised with the interest we received from new clients and there are still a lot of ongoing discussions with potential clients.”
Although VITS is not in itself an AI system, Wallem has computerised its inhouse manual search systems in ways that make it easier and more efficient for crews to find what they are looking for and be able to respond to onboard issues.
Stefanou believes this is the way forward with AI in shipping – with the development of better tools that can ease the burdens on crews and survey teams.
“It's early days, but it is becoming evident that AI can undertake a lot of the repetitive administrative tasks that we have in ship management. Hopefully we will be able to eliminate those and that will be a great help to gaining efficiencies on board ships,” he concluded.
The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Xinde Marine News.
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