50 YEARS OF INNOVATION. 50 YEARS OF THIRD-PARTY SHIP MANAGEMENT.
BSM turns 50 this year, marking half a century of quality third-party ship management services. Throughout our history, innovation has always been our hallmark.
BSM turns 50 this year, marking half a century of quality third-party ship management services. Throughout our history, innovation has always been our hallmark.
We were established in 1972 at Limassol in Cyprus. Then, we were the first international ship manager and offshore company. Besides our core business of ship management, we have broken new ground through expanding into related business areas to create the best value for our customers.
More than a decade ago, we anticipated the need for a dedicated software for ship management. MariApps Marine Solutions was thus formed, today offering a suite of state-of-the-art software applications for the industry.
Highly skilled seafarers have been in demand since the foundation of BSM, and we understand our clients’ need for an international pool of trained talent. As such, we constantly expand our recruitment network from Ghana to South Korea. We encounter the need for specialised crew with our LNG training hub in Cyprus.
Hanseatic Shipping opens in Limassol, Cyprus, in April. It is the first international ship management company to be based on the island that would become what we know today as BSM.
In our first overseas expansion, the Philippine Hanse Ship Agency opens in Manila, giving Filipino seafarers access to international operators. Today, it is recognised as one of the leading maritime manning agencies in the Philippines while also serving as BSM’s Crew Service Centre in Southeast Asia.
The first Maritime Training Centre (MTC) is established in Limassol to train highly skilled crew and improve standards across the industry. Additional MTCs were later created in Manila, Mumbai, Shanghai and Accra to build capacity for local crew across regional maritime industries.
Seachef Hospitality Services, BSM's catering unit, begins to offer nutritious and tasty meals to our crew. Today, it has more than 1,200 hospitality professionals who support crew welfare and well-being – by catering to the taste and dietary needs of more than 40 nationalities on board over 450 vessels.
Schulte Marine Concept (S.M.C.), the new building and conversion arm of the Schulte Group, opens in Shanghai. Today, the Schulte Group combines ship owning, ship management as well as new building experience to add value to our clients’ projects.
With a vision to become a leading global maritime solutions provider, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM) is formed following the merger of Hanseatic Shipping (established in 1972 in Cyprus), Dorchester Atlantic Marine (established in 1978 in the Isle of Man), Eurasia Group (established in 1981 in Hong Kong) and Vorsetzen Bereederungs- und Schiffahrtskontor (established in 1999 in Germany). Today, BSM spawns a network of 11 Ship Management Centres, 25 Crew Service Centres and four Maritime Training Centres.
Leveraging the sea change brought about by Industry 4.0, our enterprise digital solutions company, MariApps Marine Solutions, begins offering state of the art software applications to the marine industry.
BSM expands into the offshore industry, taking into management WINDEA La Cour, the first of two offshore accommodation vessels owned by Bernhard Schulte and chartered by Siemens Gamesa.
BSM leverages new opportunities in Mexico by launching a new Ship Management Centre in Mexico City and a Crew Service Centre in Ciudad del Carmen.
BSM makes its foray into the management of Ultra Large Containerships with over 20,000 TEU, joining a select group of operators with the required expertise to manage the world’s largest containerships.
BSM and S.M.C. oversee delivery of the world’s largest LNG bunker supply vessel, the M.V. Kairos. Having had an extensive track record in LNG ship management since 1990, the delivery of this ‘first of a kind’ vessel – along with the more than 50 LNG carriers it manages – further augments BSM as an LNG partner in the maritime industry.
BSM marks its expansion into passenger vessel management with the introduction of BSM Cruise Services, which offers highly qualified and experienced personnel to the cruise industry.
BSM furthers its expansion into the LNG space after acquiring LNG manager Pronav. Thanks to their extensive track record spanning over 30 years, BSM and Pronav are today the LNG ship managers of choice.
BSM joins hands with Columbia Ship Management to form GenPro, a maritime procurement company that negotiates framework supply agreements to deliver greater value in ship supply costs to clients. Today, GenPro has more than 1,000 vessels in its pool and an annual turnover of US$300 million.
A dedicated Fleet Performance Centre (FPC) is established to develop methodology and software for monitoring and improving vessel performance. All vessels under BSM management have a “digital twin” – specially created to enable digital performance monitoring and ensure full compliance with future European and international reporting requirements.
To increase safety within the industry, Hanseatic Maritime Advisory Services begins offering both in-person as well as remote ship inspections and support – including audits, maintenance, repair and consultancy services.
The launch of LiveFleet, a performance monitoring mobile app, offers customers full visibility of their fleet operations 24/7 – from fuel efficiency to vessel emissions – from anywhere around the world.
BSM opens its state-of-the-art LNG training facility at the Maritime Training Centre in Limassol. With a structured career progression model and complete with liquid cargo carrier simulators, the Centre ensures its crew is trained to competently support growing LNG shipping operations.
To raise awareness on critical issues and empower stakeholders with transparent sustainability reporting, BSM launches its first ESG Sustainability Report. This report highlights the company’s annual progress on relevant topics, while sharing insights into its ambitions for the future.
The Schulte Group launches its first hybrid-drive Service Operation Vessel purpose-built for the wind industry – the WINDEA Jules Verne, managed by BSM. The state-of-the-art platform not only supports wind farm maintenance, but also doubles as accommodation quarters and a warehouse for tools and spare parts. Among its innovative design are a walk-to-work gangway that ensures safe and efficient crew transfer under challenging weather conditions, as well as a hybrid diesel-electric propulsion system that minimises fuel usage by switching to battery power during energy demanding operations.
The launch of a digital payment platform offers seafarers and their families a hassle-free way to manage their finances safely, efficiently, and in real time.
BSM is testing drones for shore-to-ship deliveries. The investment in aerial drone transportation is expected to take shipping logistics to a new level – by providing timely delivery on items like medicine and spare parts to vessels.
BSM partners with technology start-up Signol to reduce vessel emissions by leveraging behavioural data science. Using a dedicated app, the pilot scheme explores how giving personalised performance feedback can incentivise crew members to select optimum vessel speeds that ultimately lead to more fuel-efficient voyages.
BSM launches a series of technical consultancy services and solutions to help shipowners comply with new IMO regulations aimed at minimising carbon emissions and environmental impact. This includes vessel performance monitoring, decarbonisation management, data collection as well as data analytics managed out of its very own Fleet Performance Centre – all of which demonstrate BSM’s continued commitment towards global carbon reduction efforts.
BSM rolls out an electronic logbook and digital Environmental Record Books on more than 450 vessels under its management. This enables the standardisation of vessel logbook entries, while making them more transparent and accessible for onshore analyses. Likewise, shipowners and managers can leverage eRBooks – a software solution that maintains shipboard environmental records in real-time – to comply with existing regulations in a more efficient and transparent way.
BSM launches a Cadet Training Module – a digital solution that enables both live and remote management of practical sea training for cadets. Using structured and evidence-based monitoring of a cadet’s progress on board sea vessels, it enables trainers to plan and deliver STCW COC training requirements alongside company-specific knowledge and mandatory practical requirements.
The shipping industry has its eye on the future. Get in touch with us to discuss about 3d printing, ammonia as a future fuel, the way towards smart maintenance or any other topic that is of interest to you to make your business future safe.
Contact UsThank you to all our customers, business partners, as well as sea and shore employees, without whom this journey would not have been possible. We look forward to working alongside everyone, helping you to achieve your business goals in the next 50 years and beyond.
Ian Beveridge
Chief Executive Officer