Shipping company Navibulgar cuts costs to stay afloat

News was prepared under the information support of Online Daily Newspaper on Hellenic and international Shipping "Hellenic Shipping News".

29 Nov 2008

Bulgaria's former state shipping company Navibulgar, put in private hands earlier this year, will trim its crew by 17 per cent in the face of the global economic turmoil, said Hristo Donev, one of the company’s executive directors. All crews will be reduced to 19 from 23 sailors, but the privatisation contract rules out any lay-offs. The sailors will be most probably moved to subsidiaries the new owner, KG Maritime Shipping, was to set up in line with the new holding structure. The size of the crews to stay on the ship complies with Bulgaria’s maritime safety requirements and with international standards, Donev said.
The crews will not be expanded even after the crisis is over with sailors outnumbering the bottom required for Navibulgar’s type of vessels. The measure is aimed at helping the maritime carrier weather the global economic crisis.
Some half a dozen of the company’s newer ships have dropped anchor hoping for cargoes as have done all old vessels earmarked to be sold. However, the crisis has fully frozen the second-hand ship market, and the low prices and the global oversupply of iron make scrap no longer an option.
According to unofficial reports, Navibulgar has suspended about half of its fleet.
The crisis will force many of the region’s shipping companies to stop operations or abandon ships, while others will have to sell for scrap and lay off sailors from inefficient vessels, market sources have said.
More than 1100 vessels have dropped anchor in the Black Sea region, which is double the usual numbers.

Source: Dnevnik