Oslo, Norway. Columbia Group president and chief executive Mark O’Neil has called for the ship management sector to move away from traditional third-party models toward a more integrated partnership approach. He said the industry’s future depends on closer alignment between shipowners and managers, according to the company’s statement.
Industry event in Oslo
Columbia Group, which describes itself as a leading integrated platform across maritime, logistics, leisure and hospitality, and offshore services, held an industry event in Oslo this week. The event’s theme was “Partner-Shipping: What does partner shipping look like for your business?”
Origins and benefits of third-party management
In his opening speech, O’Neil said third-party ship management emerged more than 50 years ago to separate vessel ownership from technical and crewing operations. He said the model enabled shipowners to gain economies of scale, access global resources, and benefit from investments large managers could make in technology, training, and operational systems.
Commoditisation and margin pressure
O’Neil said the model became increasingly commoditised over time. “Margins in ship management are extremely small, which often led to services becoming standardised,” he said, adding that this sometimes turned management into “simply joining the dots” rather than actively acting in the owner’s best interests.
Partnership approach and “second-party management”
O’Neil said the perception that ship managers were detached from owners’ priorities has been a major barrier to third-party management growth. He said Columbia Group has focused on what he described as a partnership, or “second-party management,” model in which the ship manager operates as an extension of the owner’s organisation rather than as an outsourced service provider.
“It’s a mindset as much as a structure,” he said. Columbia Group calls this approach “Partner-Shipping,” which he said requires an “insourcing mindset.” “Even if we are based in different locations, mentally we must be insourced, not outsourced,” O’Neil said, adding that managers should think and act as if they are part of the owner’s team.
How do you think a “Partner-Shipping” model would change the relationship between shipowners and managers?
