Some shipowners prefer to place their ships under the management of specialist companies who manage the vessels. This might be because the owner does not have the resources or experience to manage the ship properly, or the company has only a few ships and it is difficult to operate a few ships economically while retaining all the necessary management departments ashore. The benefits – particularly to owners of small fleets – of placing their ships under ship management companies include the following :

• The management company – which probably has a number of other ships under its control – can negotiate better deals on bunker purchases, supplies of stores, drydocking fees, and even canal transit tariffs. (A two-ship owner would not get as good a deal from a supplier as a management company that may be negotiating to buy supplies or to arrange drydocking or refits for 20 or 30 ships.)
• The shipowner may have not experience in shipping and can benefit from the expertise of those in the management company. This is particularly important with regard to legal, technical and operational issues