Schoeller-owned Columbia Group continues to improve its access to seafarers from Asia with a new manning agency in Vietnam.

The ship manager said the establishment of Columbia Shipmanagement Vietnam (CSM Vietnam) satisfies its “long-standing ambition” to tap into the developing Vietnam seafarers’ market with direct access.

“Whilst CSM has been employing Vietnam seafarers for years via third-party arrangements, possessing its own manning agency in Vietnam for this purpose marks a crucial step for Columbia’s far-reaching initiatives in Vietnam and Asia, more generally,” the Mark O’Neil-led company said.