It is difficult to estimate the number of small and medium-size multipurpose (MPP) shipmanagement players to have exited the German market since the market went down following the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008.

Several are said to have grown originally from being small, shortsea owners after Beluga’s Niels Stolberg persuaded them to take F-type ships he was pioneering at Chinese yards in return for long-term time charters.