LIQUID PRODUCTS FOR THE FOOD INDUSTRY

SPECIAL SHIPPING: Although Copenhagen has become one of international shipping’s focal points, there is an extensive spread of shipping companies outside Copenhagen. In the shipping town of Svendborg alone, 13 new ships have been ordered.

 
Ship owner Lars Hjorth Simonsen

“Niche sailing or specialised shipping – it is about being best at what you are engaged in,” says ship owner Lars Hjorth Simonsen, who represents the fourth generation of the small shipping company M.H.Simonsen in Svendborg. Since 1961, the shipping company has specialised in tanker shipping with liquid edible products such as molasses or oils for the food and feedstuffs industry.

“There are very strict requirements on the transport of food, so it is necessary to have special knowledge. In return, you get very loyal customers who feel confident about the quality we can offer,” says Lars Hjorth Simonsen. “Most of our customers have stayed with us since the start.” Together with a few other shipping companies, including Danish companies, M.H.Simonsen has a sizeable chunk of

the tanker market for edible products in northern Europe. The shipping company operates 16 tankers of 1,700 – 4,500 dw, of which the company owns seven. The shipping company’s own ships all have the capability of warming the tanks to keep the cargo liquid.

While the market for small tankers for edible products is relatively static, it is growing in a number of other areas such as bio-products.

“In order to keep our leading position, we must constantly grow,” says Lars Hjorth Simonsen. “We have four new product tankers on order at a shipyard in Turkey for delivery this year. Two of the ships are specially equipped for sailing in icy waters since we are supplying oil and petrol to a number of towns and settlements in Greenland.”