VesselsValue Buys Norwegian Shipping Research firm ViaMar

Online valuation and data provider, VesselsValue, said Friday it had acquired the Norwegian shipping research and advisory company, ViaMar.

ViaMar, based in Oslo, is becoming part of VesselsValue which has over 200 employees across eight offices worldwide in the UK, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul, and Manila.

The Norwegian company provides market research and advisory services in shipping, energy and financial markets, and, according to VV, has particularly strong relationships with major banks, investment funds, operators, and traders, predominantly focused in Northern Europe and the Nordics.

Using its forecasting model, ViaMar produces fundamental quarterly forecasts to highlight key turning points for the bulker, tanker, container, and LPG sectors, as well as incorporating freight earnings and vessel valuations into their reports. The ViaMar team has over 100 years of shipping experience, bringing valuable insight and expertise to VesselsValue having lived through multiple market highs and lows, VV said.

Reidar Sundvor will remain as Managing Director of the ViaMar Oslo office running all day-to-day operations. The Oslo team will work  with the VesselsValue teams to expand the forecasting, data, analysis, and advisory products, leveraging VesselsValue’s deep mathematical modeling, data processing, and tech infrastructure to further enhance their offering.

Commenting on the acquisition, Tom Evans, Chief Operating Officer at VesselsValue said: "We are delighted to welcome ViaMar and its clients into the VV family. This acquisition provides VesselsValue a strong base on which to develop our forecasting ambitions both in shipping and aviation. We are pleased to also now have an office in Oslo from which we can provide improved levels of insight and service to all clients in the Nordics. With this acquisition, we hope VesselsValue will continue to refine and grow its product offering, pushing for further transparency across the transportation markets.”

Reidar Sundvor, Managing Director at ViaMar AS said: "ViaMar have been cooperating with VesselsValue successfully for more than six years with a growing number of shared clients and synergies. This next step is very positive, the amalgamation of ViaMar’s experience and forecasting capabilities with VesselsValue’s powerful digitalization and research capacity, we hope will firmly place us center stage. Automated data feeds and cleaned AIS continues to reshape shipping analysis, and ultimately this data with new tools will enable us to offer broader, quicker, and better insights for our clients.”