General Maritime Corporation - Introduction

Introduction

35 West 56th Street
New York, New York 10049
U.S.A.
Telephone: (212) 763-5600
Fax: (212) 763-5602
Web site: http://www.generalmaritimecorp.com

Public Company
Incorporated: 1997 as General Maritime Ship Holdings Ltd.
Employees: 131
Sales: $226.4 million (2002)
Stock Exchanges: New York
Ticker Symbol: GMR
NAIC: 483111 Deep Sea Freight Transportation; 483211 Inland Water Freight Transportation

General Maritime Corporation owns and operates a fleet of close to 50 mid-sized tankers, making it the world's second largest tanker company (based on cargo capacity). The firm contracts with client companies to transport crude oil, principally across the Atlantic. General Maritime serves major worldwide oil companies such as Chevron Corp., Exxon Mobil, Texaco, Phillips Petroleum, and the Citgo Petroleum Corp. Most of its ships are either Aframax or Suezmax tankers, which are medium-sized ships capable of serving most ports. General Maritime finds much of its business on the so-called spot market, where it picks up orders on short notice. General Maritime succeeds in this market because its fleet is primarily young—its ships are on average less than 12 years old—and so considered of high quality and safety. The company also arranges its tanker purchases so that most of its ships have one or two identical "sister ships" that can be used interchangeably. This gives General Maritime great flexibility in fulfilling orders. General Maritime is one of only a handful of publicly owned shipping companies. It is also a large player in a market still dominated by many small companies. The firm was founded by Peter Georgiopoulos, who owns approximately 10 percent of the company's stock.