Torvald Klaveness has outlined how fleet renewal, digital services and commercial partnerships reshaped its business over 2016–2026, as the shipping group marks its 80th anniversary. An account supplied by the company and published by Hellenic Shipping News describes a shift towards distinct businesses covering combination carriers, dry bulk shipping, digital services and strategic investments.
Klaveness Combination Carriers was formed as a separate company in 2018 and started trading on the Norwegian stock exchange. In 2019, MV Baru entered service as the first of eight CLEANBU vessels, extending the group’s combination carrier operations into clean petroleum products while preserving the ships’ ability to transport dry bulk cargoes. Development also continued in the established CABU business. The account records delivery of three third-generation CABU vessels in 2026 and describes an energy-efficiency programme intended to reduce the fleet’s carbon footprint.
Digital development followed a similar path towards a standalone business. Klaveness Digital was established in 2017 around CargoValue, a commercial software platform designed to help industrial customers coordinate seaborne supply chains. Separately, Klaveness Dry Bulk developed tools to support freight and commercial decisions, while the ZeroLab initiative examined technology and business models for customer decarbonisation. According to the account, these activities increasingly converged within Klaveness Digital, broadening its offering beyond the original software product.
In dry bulk, the group concentrated on longer-term customer relationships, pool arrangements and data-supported commercial decisions. A partnership with Marubeni Corporation to operate the Baumarine Panamax pool began in 2020. That relationship deepened in 2023, when Marubeni bought a 25% holding in Klaveness Dry Bulk, Hellenic Shipping News reported.
The wider restructuring included disposals, new partnerships and the creation of a dedicated investment team and holding structure to support the group’s businesses. Looking ahead, Klaveness identifies greater efficiency in seaborne trade as its shared direction for the next decade. It says its maritime expertise, shipping services and digital capabilities will underpin efforts to help customers develop more resilient, lower-carbon and cost-effective supply chains.