What Chemship does

Chemship B.V. is a privately held Dutch chemical tanker shipping company founded in 1969 and headquartered in Capelle aan den IJssel, Netherlands. The company operates a fleet of 15 stainless steel chemical tankers — 11 owned and 4 under operating lease (time charter) — in a size range of approximately 12,500 to 29,200 deadweight tons. Its multi-grade tankers are designed to transport a broad spectrum of liquid bulk cargoes, including specialized chemicals, vegetable oils, acids, lube oils, aromatics, and clean petroleum products, for chemical manufacturing companies requiring compliant seaborne transport of hazardous and sensitive liquids.

The fleet is deployed on worldwide routes with strategic emphasis on the East Mediterranean to Northwest Europe lane and the East Mediterranean to USA lane, with frequent calls at main and out ports in the US Gulf area and US East Coast, and at the principal NW European chemical hubs of Rotterdam and Antwerp plus major chemical ports in the UK, Germany, and France. Operational technology is being upgraded through a partnership with Manta Marine Technologies to deploy the FuelOpt automated propulsion optimization system across nine vessels (two to be fitted by end of 2025, the remainder in 2026) and to adopt Manta's Fleet Analytics tool for real-time vessel performance monitoring and regulatory compliance reporting.

Chemship generates revenue through time charter contracts and spot market voyages for its parcel tanker services, selling directly to chemical industry customers on a B2B chartering basis. The company has pursued a deliberate fleet ownership build-out — purchasing DH Epoch in 2021, two vessels in 2022, two in 2023, and three in 2024 (Chemical Contender, Chemical Sailor, Chemical Traveller) — converting formerly time-chartered tonnage onto its owned balance sheet to deepen capital intensity in its niche. Leadership is led by Managing Director Niels Grotz, Commercial Director Wilfred Boverhof, Operations Director Michiel Marelis, and Head of Finance Thijs Vlaanderen, with a shore-based staff in the 11–50 range.

Name

Chemship

Legal name

Chemship B.V.

Website

https://chemship.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1969

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Chemship B.V. is a privately held Dutch parcel chemical tanker operator running a fleet of 15 stainless steel multi-grade tankers (11 owned, 4 chartered) on worldwide routes — primarily East Mediterranean to Northwest Europe and the USA — serving chemical manufacturers requiring compliant, specialized liquid bulk seaborne transportation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Chemical Tanker Shipping Services

NAICS

Deep Sea Freight Transportation (483111)

SIC

Deep Sea Foreign Transportation Of Freight (4412)

akta.pro primary industry

Chemical & Petrochemical Tanker Transport (TLADALAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Crude Oil & Petroleum Products Tanker Transport (TLADALAA), Food-Grade Liquid Bulk Transport (Milk/Juice/Edible Oils/Syrups) (TLADALAD)

Keywords

• Chemical tanker shipping
• Bulk liquid transport
• Parcel tanker services
• Marine chemical logistics
• Stainless steel tankers

Headquarters

HQ city

Capelle Aan Den Ijssel

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Chemical Tanker Transportation Services: Chemship operates a fleet of stainless steel chemical tankers providing liquid bulk transportation services on worldwide routes with emphasis on East Mediterranean to Northwest Europe and East Mediterranean to USA routes. Revenue is generated through time charter contracts and spot market voyages.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Chemship B.V. operates a fleet of stainless steel chemical tankers to transport bulk liquid chemicals worldwide for the chemical industry. The company offers parcel tanker services with multi-grade capability, serving routes primarily between East Mediterranean and North-West Europe and East Mediterranean and the USA. The fleet comprises 11 owned vessels and 4 time-chartered vessels.

Product overview

Chemship B.V. is a chemical tanker shipping company operating a unified fleet of 15 stainless steel chemical tankers for parcel tanker transportation services. The fleet includes vessels of various sizes (12,500-29,200 mt deadweight) and serves worldwide routes with emphasis on East Mediterranean to Northwest Europe and East Mediterranean to USA routes. Services include multi-grade chemical transportation, handling specialized chemicals, vegetable oils, acids, lube oils, aromatics, and clean petroleum products. The company operates 11 owned vessels and 4 operating leases (time charter), with coverage of major chemical hubs including Rotterdam, Antwerp, UK, Germany, and France ports.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Chemical Tanker Fleet Chartering Services
• East Mediterranean to NW Europe Trade Lane Service
• East Mediterranean to USA Trade Lane Service
• Stainless Steel Multi-Grade Tanker Vessels

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Manta Marine TechnologiescoreTechnology or Integration · 27 October 2025Manta Marine Technologies will supply and install its FuelOpt automated propulsion optimisation system on nine vessels operated by Chemship B.V., following a successful trial on the vessel Chemical Challenger. Chemship will also adopt Manta's Fleet Analytics tool for real-time vessel performance monitoring and regulatory compliance reporting. Installation will begin with two Japanese-built multigrade vessels by end of 2025, with remaining tankers fitted in 2026.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Scorpio Tankers: Scorpio Tankers is a large publicly listed product tanker operator with broader cargo mix than Chemship but overlapping exposure to clean petroleum product and chemical parcel trades across the Atlantic and Mediterranean. Larger incumbent in the adjacent product tanker space.
• Hafnia: Hafnia is one of the largest product tanker operators globally, with a broad fleet of MR and LR1 product tankers that overlaps with Chemship's clean petroleum product and parcel trades. Large-scale incumbent serving similar shipper customers.
• Frontline: Frontline is a leading global tanker operator focused on crude oil transportation, providing a benchmark for capital-intensive tanker business models though operating in a different cargo segment (crude vs. chemical/parcel).

Direct peers

• Odfjell SE: Odfjell operates one of the world's largest fleets of stainless steel chemical tankers, serving the same parcel tanker market with a similar focus on liquid bulk chemicals for major chemical shippers. Direct competitor in the same niche with overlapping European trade lane exposure.
• Eitzen Chemical: Eitzen Chemical operates a fleet of stainless steel chemical tankers providing global parcel tanker services for liquid bulk chemicals, vegetable oils, and specialty products. Closely comparable niche operator competing for similar cargoes on similar trade lanes.
• Jo Tankers: Jo Tankers operates a fleet of chemical and product tankers with significant stainless steel capacity, competing directly with Chemship for parcel tanker cargoes across European and transatlantic routes. Similar mid-sized, focused chemical/parcel tanker operator.
• IINO Kaiun Kaisha (MOL Chemical Tankers): IINO Kaiun Kaisha operates a significant chemical tanker fleet and is closely comparable to Chemship in stainless steel parcel tanker operations, including Japanese-built multigrade vessels — several of Chemship's newer acquisitions (Chemical Contender, Chemical Sailor, Chemical Traveller) are Japanese-built.
• Stolt-Nielsen Transportation Group: Stolt-Nielsen is the world's largest operator of chemical tankers with a fleet of deep-sea, regional, and inland stainless steel chemical tankers, transporting similar liquid bulk chemicals for the same major chemical company customer base. Most directly comparable peer to Chemship in business model, vessel type, and target customer base.

Emerging players

• Navig8 Group: Navig8 is a ship management and commercial operator with pools across product and chemical tankers, providing fleet management and commercial optimisation services that overlap with elements of Chemship's operational and chartering model.
• BW LPG / BW Epic Kosan: BW Epic Kosan (formerly Epic Gas) operates a fleet of chemical/product tankers focused on parcel trades in similar size classes to Chemship, with comparable European and US exposure. Mid-sized direct competitor in the chemical parcel tanker niche.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/chemship-bv

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Chemship