Posted on November 4, 2026
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German shipping companies MINSHIP and Oskar Wehr have launched a joint shipmanagement venture, BellRock Maritime, with an initial fleet of 12 vessels and ambitions to expand into third-party management.
The company commenced operations yesterday, combining the partners’ technical management, crewing and QHSE activities from offices in Hamburg and Schnaittenbach, Bavaria. The partners each hold 50% of the venture, with five ships contributed by MINSHIP and seven by Oskar Wehr. The operation has a shore team of nearly 20 employees.
BellRock is headed by Thomas Klehr and Matthias Epp, executives with longstanding ties to the two founding companies. Klehr has served as managing director of Oskar Wehr alongside third-generation family boss Thomas Wehr since 2006. He helped steer the Hamburg company through its restructuring in 2015, when Germany’s KG shipping crisis forced a substantial fleet rationalisation.
Epp previously headed MINSHIP’s projects and insurance department, bringing experience of vessel-related investments and risk management.
Founded in 1945, Oskar Wehr has a history of collaborating with other German owners. In 2019, it joined Nordic Hamburg and Bertling to establish OneBulk, a commercial management platform for handysize bulk carriers.
MINSHIP’s predecessor businesses date back to 1985. The Bavarian company previously joined forces with Hamburg’s Auerbach Marine, whose operations were subsequently integrated into the MINMARINE group.
BellRock will be led operationally by fleet director Lasse Grundmann, previously with Oskar Wehr. Both shareholders will retain their independent commercial shipping operations, while the new company seeks additional technical and crew management contracts from outside owners.
