Norstar Opens Crewing Office in Myanmar

 

Norstar Ship Management, the Singapore-based ship manager, has opened a crewing office in Yangon, Myanmar named “Norstar Crew Management Company Limited”. The office was formally opened by Mr Muang Muang Oo, Myanmar’s Director General of the Department of Maritime Administration at a reception in Yangon attended by Norstar’s guests, crew and staff earlier this month.

Norstar Ship Management’s Director Tom Bonehill said today: “The opening of our crewing office in Myanmar is a very significant step for Norstar. We have been using Myanmar seafarers on our vessels for many years now and the move to establish our own office where we can invest further in training and welfare is consistent with our long term commitment to our seafarers and Myanmar as a whole.”

The new crewing office will now undertake all crew manning and departure arrangements on behalf of Norstar Ship Management in Singapore.

Norstar currently operates a fleet of 19 mainly oil product and chemical carriers. The vessels are predominately manned by Myanmar officers and crew.

The new office in Yangon commenced operations in February 2015 and is an extension of the Norstar Ship Management office in Singapore. Norstar has a pool of around 1,000 Myanmar seafarers making it already one of the largest crewing companies in Myanmar. The company has high retention rates which are expected to grow with the increased training and benefits now being offered to the seafarers and their families.

Norstar Crew Management is also active recruiting local cadets from the Myanmar Maritime University and the Myanmar Maritime Mercantile College.

Tom Bonehill added: “We are investing in Myanmar for the long term and wish to play an active role in the development of the maritime sector in the country. We are keen to explore the idea of setting up our own dedicated training centre here one day and this is something

which is high on our agenda as our fleet grows and our operations expand. We intend to increase the recruitment of Myanmar seafarers to become one of the leading and preferred employers in Myanmar. Our focus will be on training crew and officers to the highest standards supplying seafarers to all sectors in the maritime industry.”

To mark the official opening Norstar held a three day officers’ conference in Yangon prior to the official opening which was attended by around 200 clients, friends, staff and seafarers.