Shipmanagement companies in Germany have faced massive changes in the way they operate following the decline of the KG (limited partnership) system of vessel funding.

Many of the managers were closely aligned with the owners and collecting generous fees.

The collapse of the single-ship KG system has seen scores of projects being liquidated and, in other cases, management transferred.

Many managers have disappeared or downsized, especially in the Ems region of the country, while others have made the switch from the KG-driven shipmanagement model to being internationally focused.