Statement

Having well maintained, high-quality vessels is one thing, and providing reliable service which meets customer’s expectations is another. Unless an owner makes reasonable voyage plans and adheres to them, a vessel will cause delays at loading ports and further delays at discharge ports no matter how well managed the vessel is.

In order to make reasonable voyage plans, an owner should not take on too many long-term contracts (COA, etc). Too many contracts lead a vessel nowhere. An owner has to figure out which trade lanes he can be most effective and competitive and choose contracts that he is sure to perform well. If a contract is taken for the sake of securing a contract, the company will almost always end up looking for more lucrative completion cargoes to make ends meet, which disrupts his original voyage plans. The charterer of the contract will then complain about the owner’s poor performance, while the owner will have negative feelings about the contract paying so little. Similar stories are repeated over and over again.

Koyo Kaiun’s policy is to secure contracts which fit into its present trade lanes and do not affect its performance for other contracts and traditional customers. The company takes a pride in performing to the full expectations of the customer. This is, however, a very difficult task because berth congestion is an increasing problem in recent years. This reflects the fact that storage capacity is relatively small against increasing volume. The number of calls made by chemical tankers at each berth has been growing, resulting in higher possibility of berth congestion.

Nonetheless, Koyo Kaiun’s highest priority, after safety, is and will be punctuality.