Torm of another colour

 I like to see tankers from the Danish company Torm A/S because of their unique livery - a colour scheme of black hull, burnt orange superstructure with the company name and flag emblazoned on the hull. I was surprised however when I saw the Torm India with a white superstructure. The ship arrived on April 12 at Irving Oil's Woodside terminal from Amsterdam, but I did not actually lay eyes on it until it sailed for Saint John, NB today, April 14. Due to the persistent fog and rain over the last few days it wasn't visible from the Halifax side of the harbour until this morning.

The tugs Atlantic Oak and Atlantic Bear ease the ship away from the pier.

The explanation for the non-typical colours may be because the ship was not built for Torm, and has not needed repainting since it was acquired.

Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co Ltd built the ship in 2010 as a typical 29,141 gt, 46,838 dwt MidRange chemical and product tnaker. It was originally named Atlantic Queen for a Hong Kong company and operated under a variety of managers until Torm purchased the ship in 2020. Although they applied the company funnel marks and hull banners, they did not see the need to repaint the entire superstructure.

The ship is not due for another drydocking until 2025, so perhaps if they still own the ship at that time they may repaint the superstructure. 

When painted in the company colours, Torm ships stand out from the rest. There have been many Torm ships in Halifax over the years, including the occasion in June 2016 when Torm Mary and Torm Madison were both in port at the same time. In those days some ships had the hull banner, but not those two.

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Torm and Torm Again

One of the world's leading tanker operators, the Danish company TORM is noted for its unique colour scheme. Their black hulls and burnt orange superstructures mean that they stand out wherever they go. TORM is also noted for having survived a near death experience following the 2008 economic crisis.

TORM tankers stand out.

As a resulted of a complex restructuring process over a five year period, the company, now known as TORM plc, with a British parent company, is traded on the NASDAQ Copenhagen exchange.
Founded in 1889 by Dietlev Torm and Christian Schmiegelow and publicly traded since 1905, it was known as TORM A/S until the recent transaction. Oaktree Capital Management, an American bail-out specialist, and a number of banks managed to rescue the company which now has a fleet of 77 owned tankers and 4 charters, with several more under construction for delivery over the next two years. It has exited the unprofitable bulker business.

Even with so large a fleet it is unusual to see two of them at the same time, but that was the case this evening.
First to arrive was TORM Madison which tied up at Imperial Oil dock 3 yesterday.

Torm Madison sports a gigantic satnav"golf ball" on its monkey island.  

 

Built as Nina in 2000 by Daedong Shipbuilding Corp of Jinhae South Korea, it became Madsion in 2001 when it was purchased from Seaarland Management by OMI. In 2008 in a previous deal, TORM A/S and Teekay took over the OMI fleet as a joint venture and renamed the 23,8423 grt, 35, 828 dwt  tanker TORM Madison. 

By contrast Torm Mary has a miniature version on its signal mast.

Today's arrival is the much larger TORM Mary, from Bonny, Nigeria. It was built in 2002 by STX Shipbuilding Company in Jinhae, South Korea. The 30,128 grt, 46,348 dwt ship anchored in the harbour and is due to sail later on.
It is one of the ships purchased from TORM A/S by Oaktree subisidiary OCM Njord in 2012. In 2015 Njord contributed 25 ships to TORM in exchange for controlling interest in the company.  TORM Mary was managed all along by TORM, but returned to TORM owership.

Both are handysize (under 50,000 dwt) or Medium Range (25,000 - 54,999 dwt) size product tankers.
TORM  has 62 tankers in this size range. It has 7 Long Range 1 (55,000 - 79,999 dwt) and  8 Long Ranger 2 (80,000 - 159,999 dwt) size crude oil tankers.

The setting sun turns the back hull into a burnt ortange to match the superstructure.

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