Thome Group Links with Doehle Danautic to Strengthen Its Indian Foot Hold

Thome Group Links with Doehle Danautic to strengthen its Indian foot hold

Singapore/Mumbai, December 19th, 2012: Release: Immediate: Thome Ship Management of Singapore today inked a joint venture partnership deal with Doehle Danautic, a leading shipping service provider in India. In what is to be seen as a significant further step into India for Thome Ship Management, the group is joining with Doehle Danautic to expand the pool of Indian officers for its tanker, drybulk and offshore fleets reaffirming its long-term commitment to India as a future maritime sourcing hub for qualified Indian officers for worldwide trading. The Thome Group of Companies already has a long track record of successfully deploying Indian officers for its fleet via two main Indian manning companies. Existing manning companies’ relations will continue and be further strengthened in parallel to the new joint venture. Currently around 10% of Thome Group’s total officer complements deployed on its 300+ managed vessels are from India and Sri Lanka. As the Thome managed fleet continues to grow the intention is to maintain the 10% officer supply ratio as a reoccurring strategic objective. Carsten Ostenfeldt, Chief Executive Officer of Thome Ship Management said: “We are indeed very pleased to announce this strategic joint venture with Doehle Danautic which is one of India’s premier growing Shipping Company. We complement each other well” “It means that Thome will now enjoy a much stronger platform to expand our global services as complement our existing network of Thome offices around the world. I strongly believe this demonstrates the group’s commitment to further strengthen our links with India, a country with a great maritime tradition and one that consistently produces some of the world’s best Officers.” The main driver is to build up the partnership with Doehle Danautic to provide well trained, professional officers for Thome’s tanker and drybulk fleets in parallel to its officers provided by existing manning agency relations in India and Sri Lanka.

The plan is also to use the joint venture setup as a vehicle to target Indian offshore officers for the Thome Offshore managed fleet and by doing so enhance career opportunities for more Indian officers in this segment. Olav Eek Thorstensen, Group Chief Executive Officer & Chairman of Thome, said : “I am delighted to be linking with Daniel Chopra and Doehle Danautic , one of the great dynamic and successful names in Indian shipping today. “ Under Daniel Chopra’s dynamic leadership, Doehle Danautic has gained an excellent reputation and results and I believe Thome can both contribute to and benefit from that.” Doehle Danautic currently has offices across India including Mumbai, New Delhi, Goa, Chennai, Kolkata, Gurgaon, Mundra and Bhavnagar. Daniel Chopra, Managing Director, Doehle Danautic India Pvt. Ltd. added: “We are humbled that our relationship with Thome has got further cemented with this JV. Thome Ship Management is one of few companies having people from diversified nationalities at various leadership positions. This cultures stems from simple principle “Distinguish people by merit and competence”. He further added, that Thome and Doehle Danautic complement each other due to similar philosophy of being exceptional and innovative. I am sure this relationship will witness lot of opportunities in future together in addition to Crewing.” Giving his take on Indian seafarers he pointed out: “Indian seafarers are renowned globally for their command over English, knowledge, aptitude and professionalism. Owners prefer Indian crew due to their analytical, expressive and innovative skills. However, in recent years, there has been a shift in preference. With this JV we will be able to reverse the table and increase the demand of Indian crew in global markets.”

Doehle Danautic India Pvt. Ltd. Doehle Danautic India Pvt Ltd owns, operates and maintains one of the largest shipping networks in India, with a global reach and broad capabilities, catering to a wide spectrum of services to 26 + principals worldwide. With an accomplished team of 140+ ashore staff, Doehle Danautic is on an unparallel growth path with each passing day.

Along with a number of high profile customers, Shipping Corporation of India to this day considers Doehle Danautic as their numero uno and singular most exemplary shipping related service provider. Doehle Danautic India offers a plethora of shipping related services which includes: • Crew Management • Technical Management • Commercial Management • Chartering • NVOCC / Freight Forwarding • AMTI (training institute) • Ship agency The company has rightfully earned themselves the title of being the champion provider of Crew and Technical Management services for Indian Flag vessels with showcasing strong capabilities in manning and operating Indian Flag ships along the Indian coast. The company has cemented itself as the irrefutable leader in crew and technical management provision for ships undergoing demolition. The Company aims at growing into a diversified group that creates businesses for the future. The primary goal is building and establishing the Doehle Danautic brand as one that keeps transforming and innovating into new practices and areas of operations. Doehle Danautic believes in focusing on their customers, productivity, continuous innovation and profitability, thereby delivering solutions and results that are truly exceptional and a cut above their competition. Doehle Danautic : www.doehledanautic.com Thome Ship Management Pte. Ltd. Thome Group of Companies is a dynamic provider of integrated ship management services to the international shipping and offshore industries. Based in Singapore, and celebrating50 years of

service, the Thome Group of Companies represents a unique combination of the best elements of Scandinavian shipping tradition with the modern drive of Asian business enterprise. From ship management to offshore structure management, port agency, vessel inspection and crew training, Thome offers a complete range of services & product under one roof. Building on Singapore's Dynamic grow as an international maritime centre, the Thome Group has grown to be recognised as one of the world's leading independent international ship manager with more than 300 vessels under full technical management serviced by 550 shore staff and 10,000 crew members. Today, Thome Ship Management ranks among the world top five best performing global ship management companies with a wide range of clients from every corner of the world. Since the very beginning when Thome started its ship management operations, the company has built up a solid list of principals from Europe, Scandinavia and from across Asia, Japan and Korea in particular. Thome ship management principals are mainly blue-chip, often stock market listed shipping companies and recognised as leaders in their own fields. Thome: www.thome.com.sg