Chemical Ranger Japan

Springbreak 2023 was going to be a special one. Our latest new building the Chemical Ranger was to be delivered to Chemship from the Kitanihonshipyard. It was an honor to be asked to witness the ceremony and to have my wife present as “Godmother”.

Since it was springbreak we could even bring our little girls, for this wonderful, once in a lifetime experience! After a long journey we arrived in the North of the main island of Japan ( Honshu ) at Hanchinohe port.

A wonderful diner was organized by our hosts, accompanied by a local traditional dance performance. Next morning it was a beautiful sunny day, snow was melting away rapidly. Perfect conditions to start the maiden voyage of the Chemical Ranger. We went to the shipyard where the Christening, blessings and traditional Hindu- and Japanese Shinto-ceremonies were being performed. Thereafter a tour on the ship and waving her goodbye in the sun with the beautiful ribbons attached to the ship, all held by the spectators to wish her well, smooth sailings and calm seas!

It was time again for a lovely lunch with some breaks to celebrate, the sailing of our latest new building vessel and to express our thanks to the builders, the banks, the brokers and owners involved, for the fruitful cooperation, which is now ongoing for so many years. As per good Japanese habit with presents for everyone! We felt so lucky and we still had 5 days left to get back to Tokyo and do some sightseeing in this wonderful country. Spring was coming, the blossoms where opening and one very lucky, happy family was there to celebrate it all!

A very big and special thanks to Chemship for making this all possible, on behalf of the Marelis family!

Michiel Marelis
Operations Director

After the departure in Japan, the Chemical Ranger came on her maiden voyage to Europe. When she called the port of Antwerp, Chemship visited the vessel with her crew and spoke to the captain and chief engineer about their experiences with the new vessel during her maiden voyage.

Japanese tonnage provider Hanada san visiting the Chemship office

Kowa Kaiun’s president Hanada san who is the owner of the Chemical Traveller, Chemical Ranger and Chemical Frontier visited the Chemship office together with a small delegation of Japanese ship owners. Kowa Kaiun’s partnership dates back to 1998 when Chemship’s very first Japanese Chemical Tanker was supplied by the Suzuki family.

Taking in account the good business relation and the fact that we are far away from each other we hosted a small welcoming party with our Commercial, Operational and Technical staff. Guest of honor where the three godmothers, Stella Doctors of the Chemical Ranger, Nicole Wevers – Auée of the Chemical Frontier and Esther Auée of the Chemical Traveller. The three godmothers presented Hanada san with a small silver sailing vessel sealing the good relations we have with Kowa Kaiun and it’s employees.

Niels Grotz
CEO

Chemship event: Harlingen – Terschelling Race 2023

On the 1^st and 2^nd of June, a Chemship Team participated with the 75  edition of the Harlingen Terschelling sailing race. A motivated team of 14 people joined this two-day sailing race from the Port of Harlingen to Terschelling. The team consisted of people from Chemship, ABN AMRO Bank, NIBC Bank, KVNR, Zuyderzee Capital and Econowind. A well selected and diversified team with the right balance between experienced sailors and ‘Junior sailors’ was ready for the challenge.

After a fruitful introduction dinner and party in the Port of Harlingen the night before, Thursday morning it was time to meet with the professional sailors of Rederij Belle, leaded by Sasha Emmerich. They welcomed us on ‘De Grote Jager’ (Dutch flag, ENI 2325375), a beautiful sailing boat that would be a vital part to a successful race. A day with favorable winds, good collaboration and tough competition followed and we managed to win the race! After arriving as first in our class in Terschelling, we sailed to the jachthaven in Vlieland to enjoy a drink to celebrate the glorious victory. After the celebration drinks the ‘Vliehors Expres’ brought us to our hotel, te prepare for a nice dinner and an evening with live music.

On Friday, after a proper recovery breakfast, we sailed from Vlieland to Harlingen, together with the three other participating sailing boats. On this second day there was more sun, but less wind. Driven by the victory feeling on the evening after winning day 1, Niels challenged the other teams to also include the return trip to Harlingen in the race. Though admittedly enjoying the nice sun, unfortunately we did not manage to win this second racing day and arrived as third out of four back in Harlingen. Nevertheless, we enjoyed this two day event, with a nice group of people and some surprisingly good sailors.

Thijs Vlaanderen
CFO

In November 2022 I was in Japan as Godmother of the MT Chemical Frontier, June 2023 was the first time she was in The Netherlands, so together with Laura and Valerio I visited the ship. I brought a nice cake with a print of the vessel for the crew. We had a nice chat with the captain and thereafter we went to the messroom where I immediately got a smile on my face because there on the wall was the picture which was made in Japan after the naming ceremony.

A couple of pictures were taken with the crew and after that we had lunch. It was delicious, they prepared some nice dishes like Biryani, fried chicken and fish. We enjoyed it, although they actually wanted some more preparation time so that they could have prepared even more dishes for us!

Nicole Wevers-Auée
Administration

Chemship: Dutch Grand Prix weekend

One of the National holidays in the Netherlands is Kingsday; A day when Holland turns completely orange. A “Little Kingsday” was celebrated on the 27st of August when the Dutch Formula 1 driver Max Verstappen won the Dutch Grandprix in Zandvoort for the 3^rd time in a row. Although Formula 1 is not always associated with family outings or bonding with colleagues, Chemship took the opportunity to change that idea. During the various days of the weekend, members of Team Chemship were invited to go to the grandstands of the Zandvoort Circuit to join the race.

I can hear you think: Does that fit in the Sustainability agenda of Chemship? It sure fits in the ESG principles Chemship has adopted, in which the word “Social” plays an important role. And although the Formula One in itself is working hard to become more and more sustainable, we all arrived to the circuit on a typical Dutch way of transportation: The Bike! (oh yes, it was an electrical). On Friday, the gods of Sun were with us the whole day, but on Saturday and Sunday the Rain Gods have been quite active. This however only added to the great atmosphere and the excitement on the track. One of the greatest memories I have of this weekend, is the great smile on my sons’ face, while wearing his Max Verstappen cap, which was a thoughtful gift from Chemship.

On Sunday, on the main event, the race itself, a number of industry partners were invited to take a glimpse at the fast world of the Formula One as well. As said, the weather gods decide to test our resilience against the rain showers, but as any F1/Motorsport enthusiast knows, rain only adds to the excitement of the race. Covered in raincoats and wearing raincaps, our group embraced the great atmosphere on the grandstand and helped us to overcome the wet conditions.

Looking back at this remarkable weekend, I can only say that it was much more than high-speed thrills. It was a weekend full of appreciation, bonding and celebration.

Chemship thank you very much,

Yorick and Will Boverhof

Wilfred Boverhof
Commercial Director