Winter 2003

Winter 2003 

NORD NEWS

LR2 Pool luncheon, 30th May 

2003, at Villa Nord 

Clockwise: Mikael Skov 

(Executive Vice President - 

Torm), Per Juul (LR2 

Management), 

Jonathan Holloway, 

Kurt Klemme, 

Kristian Moerch (Senior 

Director, Products - AP Moller), 

Christiane Oldendorff, 

Klaus Kjaerulff (A/S D/S 

Torm), Kristian Lohmann 

(General Manager, LR - AP 

Moller), Peter Rybarczyk 

NORDMED undocking 11 October 2003 

NORDMILLENNIUM 

at the Rock of Gibraltar

Dear Seafarers and Readers! 

When a year comes to an end, one also tends to think about a new calendar for the next 

year. Our Reederei "NORD" calendar for the year 2003 was as I feel extraordinary. 

It shows one of our Panamax bulkcarriers, the NORDMORITZ, sailing in blue waters 

under a beautiful wide-spanning rainbow. My dear late husband, Mr. Klaus Oldendorff, must have 

had a vision when he chose that photo, because the colours of the rainbow and its surroundings 

are symbolic for things which happened in 2003. 

The sky above the rainbow is very dark grey with a tendency to black and that is how the year 

started. Freight markets for most types of our vessels were very low and at that time the outlooks 

were bleak. And then came 17th March, the darkest day in my life and a sad day for all of us. My 

husband all of a sudden then passed away and we are all still missing him sadly. 

However, he left us with the unspoken heritage to carry on in a positive future-orientated solid 

path. Coming back to the rainbow, at least as far as shipping circumstances are concerned, the 

colours became a bit lighter in the second quarter of the year. Even for shipping experts 

unexpected, the economy especially in South East Asia further strengthened and the increased 

import and export volumes triggered high demands for mainly containerships. Due to the political 

situation in Venezuela and the Middle East, the tanker trades were more volatile than ever with a 

generally positive trend and, same as the colours of our rainbow varying from dark to very light 

colours, also the third part of our company's fleet, the bulkcarriers, picked up in the second half 

of the year and are enjoying rates they have never ever seen in history so far. This is mainly driven 

by the enormous demands for iron ore for the steel production in China combined with drastic 

increases in transport volumes of coal. 

Our four 2500 TEU containervessel newbuildings were timely delivered from the Aker MTW 

Shipyard in Germany and we were able to find employment on satisfactory rates for them. We also 

have, just a couple of weeks ago, signed contracts for another two containervessels of about 

2600 TEU which the STX shipyard in South Korea is building for us. Deliveries will be in 

November 2005 and January 2006. The newbuilding situation with the international shipbuilders 

became very tight in the second half of the year and it is almost impossible to contract for deliveries 

in 2006. I cannot remember a time when ships were 'sold out' for three years ahead. 

Looking again at the rainbow photo, we see bright light blue skies with only a few clouds. Let 

us all enjoy these times and let us hope that they are lasting for a while, because we need strength 

to master the reverse: namely low rates. 

My sons and I after being now fully aware of what solid group of companies with an extremely 

good standing we have inherited, are definitely willing and able to carry on in the spirit of 

Mr. Klaus Oldendorff and we are inviting all of you to join us on the challenging ways into a good 

future. I thank you again for having supported the Oldendorff family and let's hope for a 

successful 2004. 

I wish all of us Merry Christmas and a peaceful, healthy and happy New Year. 

Limassol in November 2003 Christiane E. Oldendorff 

NORD NEWS Winter 2003 3

4 

Yesterdays 

Mr. Hans-Jürgen Wolf, Technical Director in our Hamburg office, takes us back to 

his time onboard M.V. Klaus Oldendorff 

When I talk about the yesterdays 

I mean the 1960's, the days when 

I myself was enticed and drawn by 

the sea. 

It was in early 1968 when I joined as chief 

engineer on the 9.981 GRT / 14.675 tdw 

Bulkcarrier "Klaus Oldendorff" of Reederei Egon 

Oldendorff, the company owned by the father of 

the late Mr. Klaus E. Oldendorff. Yes! there was a 

ship named Klaus Oldendorff which carried the 

Oldendorff name to many places around the 

world. The "Klaus Oldendorff" was no small ship 

considering that at that time the large Bulkcarrier 

like today's Panamaxes were not in existence. 

The "Klaus Oldendorff" of the 60's traded 

mainly with coal from Chesapeake-Bay to the 

Continent or with iron ore for Bethlehem, Steel 

from Puerto Ordaz on the Orinoco River to 

Wilmington, Delaware. She also made some trips 

with Petro-Coke from Norfolk to Japan. When 

she was built in 1958 for Leonhardt & Blumberg 

at Rickmers Werft in Bremerhaven, she was 

named "Walter Leonhardt", she was a very modern 

vessel fitted with one Radar unit and Gyro 

Compass combined with automatic steering. The 

hatch covers where the MacGregor wire pull 

system. She had one single-acting two-stroke 

engine of 5.400 BHP made by MAN in 

Augsburg, Germany. Two MAN G6V 23,5/33 

diesel engines of 275 BHP at 500 min-1 

connected to an AEG generator of 180kVA - 

281/400 V. On 10.10.1960 the vessel was sold to 

Egon Oldendorff and renamed "Klaus Oldendorff" 

and traded for them for 14 years. 

In 1974 she was resold to New Star Shipping 

Monrovia and sailed under her new name "Okay". 

On 28.2.1983 she ended her career in San 

Esteban de Pravia where she was demolished. 

All together there have been 3 vessels which 

have carried the name of the founder of Reederei 

NORD Klaus E. Oldendorff. 

The first "Klaus Oldendorff" was a cargo 

steamship of 1.101 GRT/1530 tdw of 71,37m 

length and propelled by a 400 BHP triple- 

NORD NEWS Winter 2003 

expansion engine. She was built in 1893 and sold 

to Egon Oldendorff on 12.06.1936. On 

24.11.1942 she struck a mine and sank on the 

25th at 04:55 hrs in the Bay of Bothnia when on 

a voyage from Reval to Helsingfors. 

The second "Klaus Oldendorff" was a cargo 

steamship of 3.651GRT / 6.276 tdw, 109,69m 

length and propelled by a triple-expansion engine 

of 1.250 BHP. She was built in 1920 and sold to 

Egon Oldendorff in June 1950. On 30.09.1960 

she was sold again and sent for demolition to La 

Spezia on 10.01.1961. 

But back to the third "Klaus Oldendorff". Down 

in the cellar turned an 8 cylinder single acting 

two-stroke MAN built engine, of the type K 8 Z 

70/120 capable of delivering 5.400 HP of which 

usually released not more than 4.900 HP. 

Sometimes it delivered nothing at all! Then there 

is a piston seizure or a fire in the under-piston 

space. Unfortunately this happens almost always 

at night or just in front of the port where the 

piston was due for overhauling. Pulling out 

pistons for maintenance was due every 2000 hrs. 

Anyway, when the horses were in the mood we 

made a good speed of 14 knots and the healthy 

noise of the engine makes every engineer smile. 

There were no hydraulic tools available as the 

engine design at that time was outlined to use 

slacking wrenches and a 20 kg sledge hammer. 

Prior to pulling a piston 12 nuts with a wrench 

opening of 180 mm had to be disconnected. This 

was not an easy job when standing on a slippery 

cylinder-cover and swinging a 20 kg hammer and

thrashing on a spanner. The time taken to loosen 

the 12 nuts normally took around 4 hours; we had 

the same difficulties with the 4 nuts of the pistonrod-foot 

mounted on the crosshead. To undertake 

the work we had 3 different slacking wrenches, 

straight, 30° and 60°. The 4 nuts of the pistonrod-foot 

were the most difficult to loosen and the 

work was quite complicated as every few 

millimeters a differently curved spanner had to be 

used and all work had to be done within a hot and 

oily crankcase, whilst doing this type of work 

accidents happened regularly. After completion of 

this work of course the piston had to be replaced 

which was very precise work as the parts had to be 

aligned exactly in order to avoid seizing. 

Let me also mention that for lifting the cylinder 

cover and drawing the piston, muscle power was 

required as electrically operated overhead trolleys 

in the engine room did not exist at that time, we 

only had a hand operated chain hoist. Now you 

will understand why at that time on deep-sea 

going ships an engine department had a crew of 

up to 15 skilled men who were guided and trained 

by 4 engineers. 

The feature at that time of MAN engines was 

the loop scavenging air system which has made 

the exhaust valve redundant - no exhaust 

turbocharger was available for changing the 

charge of engine. Valve cases with incorporated 

suction and delivery valves are fitted to the piston 

underside, which acts as scavenge air pumps 

operating in parallel with a large double acting 

piston pump attached to the motor. This principle 

has thermodynamic advantages, which are 

particularly important with respect to a higher 

degree of charging 

air on large bore 

engines. This is 

naturally a fine 

thing, apart from 

the fact that some 

130 so-called 

Hoerbiger valves 

had to be 

maintained and 

ground in on a 

monthly basis. 

Two-part 

cylinder liners were 

The K 8 Z 70/120 main engine of 

the third “Klaus Oldendorff” 

inserted into the 

individually cast 

cylinder blocks. The cylinder liner containing the 

scavenge air and exhaust ports required for the 

change of the charge. The lower part of the 

cylinder liner is flanged to the cylinder block and 

serves to guide the piston with its extremely long 

piston skirt. 

The piston consists of three parts, i.e. the piston 

top, the piston crown (carrying the ring grooves) 

and the long piston skirt. The long piston skirt 

was required to keep the exhaust- and scavenge 

ports closed in top dead center position. These 

two liners, upper and lower, did not make 

changing of liner easier. 

The cylinder cover had a horizontally split 

cylinder cover. The bottom part encloses the 

combustion chamber and extends very far down 

so that the joint between the cover and the liner is 

not in the hottest area. The single fuel injection 

valve is arranged in the centre of the cylinder 

cover. For maintaining the piston with its 1.200 

mm long piston skirt had to be turned upside 

down at least once whilst crossing the North 

Atlantic from Hampton Roads to the Continent - 

remember all with muscle power. 

However, finally I would like to say, I would 

not forget one single hour from the yesterdays. 

Data of the MAN KZ 70/120 which you may want to 

compare with those of the main engine installed on 

your vessel: 

Number of pistons 8 

Output 5.336 Bhp (3.926 kW) 

Output cylinder 667 Bhp (401 kW) 

Revolution 125 min-1 

Cylinder diameter 700 mm 

Stroke 1.200 mm 

Mean piston speed 5,0 m/sec 

Mean effective pressure 5,2 kg/cm2 

Length of engine 12.770 mm 

Height of engine 7.960 mm 

Weight of engine 354 mt 

Mr. Hans-Jürgen Wolf 

Technical Director, 

Hamburg office 


6 

ISPS Approaching! 

In the summer edition of Nord News 

Capt. Menon wrote an article about 

the forthcoming implementation of the 

ISPS Code. The International Ship 

and Port Facility Security Code is 

indeed the 'hot topic' in maritime 

circles with much discussion at all 

levels of the industry. By now many of 

you will have received familiarisation 

training from one of our Training 

Masters. Also all ships have now had 

onboard security assessments. 

Time is tight for implementation with every 

ship in the world having to comply with the code 

by 1st July 2004. Where flag states have issued 

their requirements shipping companies can 

move ahead and in 

October we heard that 

the first Ship Security 

Certificates were starting 

to be issued by flag states 

and class societies. 

At the time of writing 

this article we are still 

waiting for the Cyprus 

Department of Merchant 

Shipping to announce 

who will be their 

Recognised Security 

Organisations (RSO's). 

This will likely be the 

IACS Classification 

Societies. Once the 

RSO's have been 

appointed we can then send our chosen one the 

individual ship security plans for approval. 

When received back the approved plans are then 

sent to the ships for the requirements to be 

implemented and documented. After a suitable 

implementation period proper working of the 


security plan requirements are first checked by 

internal audit and then by external audit, after 

which an International Ship Security Certificate 

(ISSC) is issued. A process very similar to 

obtaining a Safety Management Certificate for 

ISM Code purposes. 

By the end of this year each NORD ship will 

receive various items needed to implement the 

code, such as gangway logbooks, restricted area 

notices, etc. In addition we will send out a 

package of computer based training modules so 

that our crew can further familiarise themselves 

with ISPS requirements. 

It is important that all crewmembers are aware 

of ISPS requirements in the near future. Already 

the USCG and the Singapore PSC have stated 

they will start ISPS checks as from 1st January 

2004. Any ship 

where the crew does 

not have an 

understanding of 

security matters will 

be given a warning, 

though of course 

'official' sanctions 

cannot be imposed 

until after the 

mandatory 

implementation 

date. 

But what does all 

this ISPS stuff mean 

in reality and how is 

ISPS going to affect 

the day to day work 

of our seafarers? Of course when any new 

requirement appears on the horizon the first 

thought is that it all seems rather complicated 

and will place a huge burden on all concerned. 

This of course is normal, we don't like change. 

Cast your minds back to the introduction of the

ISM Code. 'Ships would cease to operate under the burden of new rules' and 'world trade would grind 

to a halt' - the most pessimistic commentators were telling us. But in the end not such a big shock. 

A ship security plan has procedures for anti-piracy watches, for stowaway and drugs searches. But these 

are already part of our ISM procedures - so 

nothing really extra. A security plan includes 

lists of which spaces should be locked in 

port. But to lock most compartments is 

already standard practice in many ports - so 

no changes there. 

To my mind probably the biggest change 

that our crew will have to get used to is 

making sure a proper gangway watch is 

maintained. Of course we have gangway 

watches on our ships but in the past this has 

often been a bit casual. Visitors are asked 

who they want to see and then given 

directions how to find that person. The 

Officer of the Watch would often use the 

gangway watchman to help with other tasks 

such as adjusting mooring ropes. 

From now on gangway watches must be 

very strict. The gangway must never be left unattended. The identity of every visitor must be verified 

and recorded. If he is carrying any bags or containers these must be searched. Visitors will not be allowed 

to enter the ship unless they have an escort. They must also be escorted back to the gangway once their 

business onboard has been finished where their name will be crossed off in the visitors book to show they 

have gone ashore again. 

This strictness will require quite a change 

of mentality amongst our seafarers. Strict 

control of access to the ship is something 

most have not been used to in the past. But 

just the same as airports, in these modern 

times we have to adapt to new requirements. 

To be security conscious is not something 

that comes naturally and this will be our 

biggest challenge in the coming months to 

adapt our seafarers to a new way of thinking. 

Whilst we in the shipping industry will be 

doing our best to meet these new challenges 

we must hope that those in the ports are 

working with the same commitment. 

Remember the ISPS Code also applies to 

ports and there are many connected with 

these facilities that also need to change their 

attitudes and working practices. 


8 

Spotlight on: NORDGULF 

November 2002 saw the first ever docking of a NORD tanker when NORDISLE 

(105,000 dwt, built in 1998) entered the Lisnave shipyard in Portugal for her 

special survey drydocking, shortly followed by her sistervessel NORDLIGHT in 

December. Next came our two LR2 Aframaxes, NORDSTRENGTH and 

NORDMARK, conducted at the ASRY shipyard in Bahrain also in December 2002. 

The Lisnave shipyard once again hosted a special survey drydocking for one of our 

tankers, this time for NORDGULF, supervised by Superintendent John Price. 

The drydocking of NORDGULF 

The preparation for the drydocking 

started many months in advance with 

the technical department working on a 

detailed drydock specification, which was sent to 

the shipyards who were asked to quote for the 

business. After analysing the quotes and looking 

at price, facilities, quality of work, weather 

conditions, deviation costs, off-hire time, 

Lisnave, based in Setubal, Portugal was chosen. 

En route to the shipyard various preparatory 

work was carried out by the ship’s staff such as 

tank cleaning and gas-freeing. As the 

NORDGULF is a Crude Oil Carrier, this was a 

major operation and additional men were put on 

board the vessel to assist the ship’s staff. Tank 

cleaning progressed 24 hours a day during the 

trip from the US Gulf to Setubal. 

Superintendent John Price joined the vessel on 

arrival and ran 

through the 

drydocking plan 

with Capt. Dobrev, 

the Chief Engineer 

and the shipyard 

managers. He was 

then joined by 

Assistant Superintendent 

Robert 

“The A-Team” 

Robert Jelcic & John Price 


Jelcic, who 

attended the 

shipyard to obtain 

valuable experience of a Tanker drydocking. 

The vessel prepared her tanks at the tank 

cleaning station first and then proceeded to the 

dry dock. 

Once NORDGULF had entered the drydock 

and rested safely on the blocks, work on her hull 

commenced. After two and a half days of 

Cleaning and hydroblasting the ship’s hull 

cleaning and blasting the hull, the ship was ready 

for re-coating. New tin free anti-fouling paint 

from two different manufacturers was applied to 

the port and starboard parts of the under-water 

hull, allowing us to compare the performance of 

the products in the future. 

A special project that was undertaken was the 

coating of the propeller with a product called

NORDGULF’s hull is ready 

for coating 

INTERSLEEK. 

This product is 

designed to 

prevent fouling of 

the propeller and 

so reduce the slip 

of the vessel 

through the water. 

The first Five- 

Year Special Survey 

was carried out. 

Parts of the ballast 

piping in the cargo 

pump room were 

removed and 

repaired. The repaired sections were internally 

coated with “Glass Flake” before they were 

replaced, to prolong their life. The cargo pumps 

and ballast pumps were opened up for inspection 

and overhaul, so that they would be in good 

condition for the next five years. 

Aft section 

Work was also carried out in the Engine 

Room, with overhauls and survey work of 

various components as per the DNV CSM fiveyear 

cycle. 

On completion of the repair period the vessel 

faced a hectic time, carrying out tests and sea 

trials. Various problems were encountered and 

solved with the ship's staff working closely with 

shore service engineers and the shipyard. 

The Officers and Crew did a fantastic job in 

preparing the ship for drydock. 

The vessel sailed from Lisnave for Algeria 

where it loaded cargo for the USA. 

Work on deck 

Turbo charger rotor 

Propeller 


10 

Photographic Competition 

Many thanks to everybody who took the time to send in photographs for our 

competition. Below you can see the winning photograph and runner-up as selected 

by Mrs. Oldendorff, with the third place winner shown on the cover page (taken by 

Capt. Montgomery). A collage with some of the other entries can be seen on the 

opposite page. 

“Honey, I miss you!” 

1st Prize - taken by 2/O Ervin Crnkovic showing 3/E Diani Dugandzic on NORDGULF. He gets 

first choice between a Digital Camera, a Personal CD Player and a World Radio Receiver 

Painting ship’s side at anchorage in South Africa, NORDTRAVE 

2nd Prize - taken by C/O Szkutnik showing O/S Mr. Digamadula painting ship’s side. 

He gets second choice of the remaining prizes. 

NORD NEWS Winter 2003


12 

Personnel Department 

Describing a working day in the Personnel Department, reveals that no one day is 

typical... 

We realized that we could not easily 

define what should be called the 

'TYPICAL DAY' of Personnel. We 

deal with people. Days without problems to be 

solved, when crew join and leave vessels exactly as 

per schedule, when planes take off and land on 

time, when all port agents read our messages and 

send timely replies, when Personnel Officers can 

spend their time thinking about proper planning, 

speaking to people on leave, catching up with 

paperwork and filing, 

are rare and by no 

means typical. On the 

other extreme, days 

when everything goes 

wrong and we have to 

deal with several 

major problems at a 

time, although more 

frequent than the first 

category of days, are 

also not typical. I 

think that the kind of 

days which can be 

placed in between the 

two earlier described 

categories may be called TYPICAL. 

Let us have a look at one day from the life of 

Personnel Department. Let this day be Friday, the 

24th October. We will describe the events of the 

day, as they were: 

02h15 - Personnel Officer Ramesh Jayakody 

receives a phone call from the offsigned Third 

Officer of one of Aframax Tankers, who is stuck in 

New York JFK airport. Kuwait Airlines, who were 

supposed to take the Third Officer to his home 

country, refuse his boarding because the flight 

New York - Kuwait makes a stopover for refueling 

in London - the fact unknown to us at the time 

booking was confirmed. Even staying inside the 

plane, the 3/O needs a UK transit visa, which he 

does not have. Mr Jayakody arrives at the office at 


Left to right: George Ktistis, Barbara Zorpa, Sergey Parkhomenko, 

Capt. Ivelin Ivanov, Sergey Simakin, Mary Moyseos, Krasimir 

Halachev, Vaso Constantinou, Ramesh Jayakody 

02h30 and stays there till 04h00 communicating 

with the 24-hour service of travel agents and 

looking for a new suitable flight booking, which 

he eventually finds. Payment for the new ticket is 

sent already during office hours, after 10h00. The 

happy Third Officer is again on his way to Sri 

Lanka, to be home in time for his wedding! 

07h00 - Personnel Officer Sergey Simakin 

receives a call from the Training Officer, who 

traveled to Egypt in order to join one of our 

bulkcarriers in 

Damietta. The agent 

did not send a taxi for 

him, despite the fact 

that he knew the 

arrival schedule of the 

Training Officer. Mr 

Simakin gets in 

contact with the agent 

and is told that the 

Training Officer 

should get his own 

taxi from Cairo 

airport to Damietta. 

Later in the day 

another call from the Training Officer - he made 

his way to Damietta, but he is not allowed to get 

through the gates of the port. The agent did not 

inform the security at the gate. Mr Simakin gets 

on the phone again. This time he obviously has 

some communication problems (Friday in Egypt, 

the people in charge are enjoying their holiday). 

To make himself understood to the agent on duty, 

Mr Simakin simplifies his English to such an 

extent that his colleagues in Personnel cannot 

understand which language he is speaking! He is, 

however, successful in passing the message through 

and gets acknowledgement from the agent that he 

will do the necessary to secure transit of the gate by 

the Training Officer. Finally, the Training Officer 

makes it on board vessel - it is 15h15 in Limassol! 

08h00 - Personnel Department staff arrives at

the office for the last working day of the week. The 

computers are switched on. We are reading 

messages - let us see what Friday will bring us. 

08h20 - Mr Simakin has another problem to 

deal with: 2 Kiribati crew members signed off 

from one of the container vessels, who were 

supposed to fly from Caracas to Nadi via London, 

called from Los Angeles! Yes, they were initially 

booked to fly via Los Angeles but this booking was 

later cancelled and agents in Venezuela were 

advised. Agents in Venezuela offered a perfect 

excuse - their computer had a breakdown and they 

did not receive a message about change of flights 

schedule for offsigners. It remains a mystery how 

the two crew members managed to get the tickets 

up to Los Angeles - our travel agents withdrew the 

payment. Mr Simakin has the difficult task to find 

the 2 Kiribati seafarers among thousands of 

travelers in one of the biggest airports in the world, 

and advise them of their new flight schedule. We 

will not describe all the details of this case - this 

would probably occupy a couple of pages. In the 

end the two seafarers were located, rebooked and 

issued with their new tickets. 

08h30 - Personnel Officer Barbara Zorpa 

receives a message from Tarawa that the wife of 

one of her crew members gave birth to a baby girl. 

Congratulations to a happy father! Message has 

been passed on to the ship with pleasure. 

09h00 - Personnel Officer Krasimir Halachev 

learns that the joining Master of his container 

vessel has a problem - Spanish Embassy issued an 

entry visa to him with the validity period ending 

before the joining date. Mr Halachev spends the 

rest of the morning speaking to the agents in Spain 

and to the Embassy trying to arrange a new visa 

with the proper validity period. The problem is 

not fixed on Friday and the issue is left to be finally 

resolved on Monday, when the validity date of visa 

was in the end changed, allowing the Master to 

travel on schedule. 

10h30 - Sergey Parkhomenko receives tragic 

news from the manning agent about the sudden 

death of a Third Officer, scheduled to join one of 

tankers in a month's time. No words can describe 

the sadness for the loss of a young life. The 

management has been informed. The General 

Manager will write a letter of condolence to the 

widow of the Third Officer. 

11h00 - Sergey Simakin receives a message from 

the Hamburg office that a Fourth Engineer on one 

of the management vessels suffers from chest pain 

and may have to sign off on medical grounds in 

Singapore. Mr Simakin has to look for urgent 

replacement, in case it is needed. Finally a doctor 

states that the Fourth Engineer's medical 

condition does not allow him to continue his 

contract - he has to be repatriated for further 

treatment. 

12h30 - Sergey Parkhomenko receives a call 

from Rotterdam - someone is looking for reference 

for a company Fourth Engineer. This Fourth 

Engineer is planned to rejoin NORD end of 

November but he is short of money and needs to 

join a vessel ASAP. The arrangements are made to 

find an earlier position for this young man and he 

leaves his country on the way to join NORD vessel 

already on Sunday, 26/10, to replace his colleague 

who has fallen sick. 

14h15 - Sergey Parkhomenko receives a call on 

the duty mobile, while driving his son home from 

the school. This is a company Technical 

Superintendent on board a bulkcarrier in 

Damietta, advising that the Training Officer is still 

not on board. Sergey Parkhomenko heads for the 

office to check on this matter again and soon he 

gets confirmation that the Training Officer has 

finally made it! 

The Personnel Accountants George Ktistis and 

Vaso Constantinou are very busy all day long with 

their usual accounting matters. Administrative 

Assistant Mary Moyseos, who joined our 

department recently, is already familiar with her 

duties and she is helping the Personnel Officers 

with various tasks, mainly paperwork handling, all 

day long. 

The rest of the afternoon does not bring new 

problems but problems from the morning keep 

Personnel Officers busy till late hours of Friday 

night. 

In between solving problems Personnel Officers 

find time to do their regular work like making 

flights booking for new crew changes, adjusting 

officers forward planning, making phone calls to 

officers on leave, checking payrolls, etc. - jobs 

common for a TYPICAL working day in 

Personnel. 


14 

A Trip to Egypt 

A round voyage by air/ship/car within Egypt by Rudiger Knust 

Last year I spent 2 weeks in a nice beach hotel in 

Punta Cana/Dominican Republic "all 

inclusive". It was wonderful, however, 2 weeks 

relaxing on the beach under coconut palms can be 

somewhat strenuous. This year I decided to go to 

Egypt to see land & people. My son, Sebastian, 

accompanied me. 

Cairo 

It is a 4-hour flight with EgyptAir from Hamburg 

to Cairo. Our hotel was near the pyramids in Giza 

and from the pool you had a nice "all-round view" of 

the pyramids. There was a big mirror fixed to the rear 

of the hotel building, so you had the pyramids in 

front of you and at the same time at the back. 

Visiting the pyramids, of which Cheops and 

Chephren are the biggest, as well as the Sphinx the 

next day we realised that Cairo is moving closer and 

closer to the 

pyramids. Maybe 

they will "disappear" 

one day amongst 

modern buildings. 

When the local 

people with camels 

or donkeys offer 

their services or souvenirs be 

careful. It starts with taking a 

photo. My son got the usual 

scarf to look like an Egyptian 

and climbed on a donkey 

just to make a photo. I could 

not even raise the camera, 

because the donkey suddenly 

ran away and the owner tried 

to follow him. My son had 

big problems to stay on the donkey, but somehow he 

managed to stop the animal after a course through 

the desert around the pyramids. For the unwanted 

ride a contribution of some pounds was asked for. 

If you want to go inside the pyramids to see the 

tomb you have to be in good health and without any 

back problems, as you have to pass through a very 

small tunnel to get to the middle of the pyramid. 

There is not so much you can see in the tomb, except 

an empty sarcophagus. The grave robbers have done 

a "good" job. In the Egyptian museum you can see 

some exhibits including the gold of the Pharaohs they 

have overlooked, especially the artifacts from the 


tomb of Tutankhamen. It is very impressive to see 

these majestic buildings, although the ravages of time 

have left their marks. The view must have been even 

more impressive when the pyramids were in a new 

shape and covered with a golden top, according to 

Greek sources. You cannot believe that they were 

built thousands of years ago considering the means 

they had at that time. Today's constructional 

engineers using computers could not do it better. At 

least, they had time enough to complete the work 

during the lifetime of a Pharaoh, as it had to be ready 

upon his death. 

The next day we visited Memphis, the capital of 

the old dynasty, the Egyptian museum and the 

alabaster mosque of Mohammed Ali, the Khan el- 

Khalili-Bazaar and the Koptic quarter of Cairo. Apart 

from about 90% Moslems there are about 10% 

Koptic, the Christian successors of the old Egyptians, 

living in Egypt today. 

Today, Cairo including all suburbs has about 16 

Mio inhabitants and is still growing. The 

infrastructure can hardly follow the rapid growth. 

The supply of sufficient water and electricity is a 

problem and of course you must provide sufficient 

food for all the newcomers, but there is only a small 

corridor of arable land on both sides of the lifeline 

Nile. 

More people mean more cars. There is an 

enormous amount of traffic in Cairo. They have 

hardly any traffic lights. We were surprised to see that 

the traffic is somehow moving without big problems. 

The drivers use the horn permanently, even if there is 

no good reason to do so. 

Abu Simbel 

EgyptAir took us via Assuan to Abu Simbel near 

the Sudan border. Our hotel was situated at the 

Nasser Lake. It seemed we were the only guests, so we 

had the pool to ourselves. There are not so many 

tourists coming in July/August staying one or two 

days; they prefer to go by bus from Assuan and not to 

stay overnight. It 

was the hottest place 

in Egypt with 

temperatures from 

42 to 45 degrees 

Celsius with no 

substantial cooling 

during the night. 

There is not so

much you can see in Abu Simbel, except the temples 

of Abu Simbel and the statues of Ramesses II at the 

front. Hoch-Tief, a German building contractor, 

indeed did a good job when dismantling stone by 

stone and re-installing everything about 65m above 

the original 

position, because of 

the rising waters of 

the Nasser Lake. 

Ramesses II looks 

to the south. It 

looks like he is 

giving a signal to 

the African tribes 

living south of his 

empire that he is watching them. A local Egyptian 

who spent one year in Cologne taught us to 

understand the hieroglyphics and paintings in the 

temples. 

Assuan to Luxor 

Back in Assuan we did not go to a hotel like the 

Cataract Hotel Agatha Christie once stayed in, but 

embarked on a comfortable Nile-ship with 60 cabins 

for passengers to take us to Luxor. From the sun-deck 

you can see cultivated fields and date-palm groves 

passing by. At times the desert comes very close to the 

river. The Nile is 

not an easy 

waterway for 

maneuvering. The 

ship zigzagged 

across the river to 

have sufficient 

water under the 

keel. 

During the 3 day trip we went alongside in 

between to visit interesting places like the island of 

Agilkia to see the Philae Temple, the Valley of Kings, 

a granite quarry or sailing with a Feluke to the Lord 

Kichener island, which is today a botanical garden. If 

you see the row of high columns belonging to one of 

these temples or a 60 tons heavy obelisk you wonder 

how the old Egyptians could have moved them to get 

them to the final destination about 1000 km away. 

Obviously, they were transported by ships from the 

quarries in the south to the north and then by sledge 

to the building site. It was a logistical masterpiece. 

There are various graves at Thebes in the Valley of 

Kings to visit, however, this time underground and 

not like in the pyramids where the Pharaohs were 

closer to the sky. The simple reason is to hide the 

graves from treasure-seekers, although in vain as 

nearly all graves were plundered. All the places in 

Egypt being of interest to tourists are well guarded by 

police and/or soldiers, although we never had the 

impression that we 

were in danger. The 

first source of 

income in Egypt is 

tourism followed by 

Suez canal tolls. 

Sharm el Sheikh 

After a short flight 

we were no longer in Africa, but in Asia or to be more 

precise on the Sinai peninsular, the Asian part of 

Egypt. The majority of tourists going to Egypt stay in 

hotels situated between Sharm el Sheikh in the south 

and Nuweiba near the border of Israel/Jordan to 

enjoy swimming, snorkeling, diving, etc. in the Gulf 

of Aqaba which is an eldorado for divers. Whilst in 

the Maldives the coral reefs have been destroyed by 

about 2/3 due to the "El-Nino" effect and now 

recovering slowly, the Red Sea reefs are still intact. 

From the deck of a bulkcarrier bound for Aqaba to 

load bauxite or discharge grain, you would see the 

string of hotels on the Egyptian shoreline, whilst 

there is sheer nature on the opposite Saudi Arabian 

side. 

The hotel was well booked. However, at this time 

of the year mainly occupied by Italians, followed by 

Russians. We were told that the Germans come 

during the "winter" months from October onwards. 

The temperatures will of course come down, but you 

must keep in mind that sandstorms may be more 

frequent then. We took a chance for a trip through 

the mountains and canyons of Sinai first by Land 

Rover and then by camels to a place called "blue 

hole", a famous diving ground north of Sharm el 

Sheikh. 

Sharm el Sheikh to Cairo 

Leaving Sharm el Sheikh, the last 600 km were 

covered by car with a stop at the monastery 

St. Catherine near the so-called "Mount Moses" with 

a height of about 2300 m above sea level, where 

according to the Bible, Moses received the Ten 

Commandments. The St. Catherine monastery goes 

back to the 4th century A.D. The crusaders had been 

there, later Napoleon and in this age, the present 

Catholic Pope. The monastery was never destroyed 

during all the centuries. Today 

about 25 Orthodox monks from 

Greece live in St. Catherine. The 

cultivation of the gardens was 

already given into the hands of 

the Bedouins. 

The next day we took camels 

or better dromedary to take us to 

the "Mount Moses". It was a 

wise decision, although we had 

to pay 40 pounds. I do not think 


16 

A trip to Egypt continued... 

that we would have reached the top if we walked, at 

least not during the daylight heat. It was hard work 

for the camels to follow the steep path. Normally, 

these desert ships are used to trampling on sand and 

dunes from oasis to oasis. I was afraid that the camel 

would lose its balance, on the mountain slopes with 

no barriers at the sides. We preferred to climb the last 

700 m. About 3 hours after leaving the valley we got 

to the top of the mountain and could observe a 

beautiful sunrise. During darkness you can see the 

Milky Way with uncountable stars clear and bright. 

On Sinai the atmosphere is still without dirt and dust 

and free of diffusing lights from urban centers. From 

the Sinai mountains it was still a 

6-hour drive across the desert, along the Gulf of Suez 

and finally through a 3 km long tunnel under the 

Suez Canal back to Cairo, only interrupted by a visit 

to some Bedouins somewhere in the desert. 

The Bedouins who originally came from Saudi 

Arabia use the Arabian language, but it is obviously a 

dialect making it sometimes difficult for our 

Egyptian driver to understand them. There are many 

scorpions in the desert, but this seems to be no 

problem for the Bedouins. We were told that women 

grind down the sting to a paste and then rub their 

breast with it. So, the children absorb small portions 

of the poison together with the mother milk making 

them resistant. For snakes it is different. They use a 

plant they find in the desert and place it around the 

area they would like to stay. The snakes do not like 

the smell and move away. If nevertheless, a poisonous 

snake bites a Bedouin he has a problem. Our driver 

added: Life is hard in the desert. 

The flight back to Hamburg was booked for the 

following day. Just as the aircraft was ready for take 

off on the runway, the captain informed us about a 

minor problem. It should only take 15 minutes to 

solve the problem. The aircraft then returned to the 

original waiting position. Some time later it was 

reported that it should only take another 30 minutes 

and so on. Technicians came and left. Finally, buses 

appeared on the scene to take us first to the terminal 

and then to a nearby hotel to have lunch. Finally, we 

left Cairo in the afternoon. To the relief of EgyptAir 

I have to add that - apart from this delay - everything 

went perfect on this very interesting trip. 


Mr. Rüdiger Knust 

Senior Postfixture Manager, 

Hamburg office 

News from our 

ships 

Some of our crew 

got the opportunity 

to visit a tribal village 

in Mombasa, Kenya. 

In the picture 2/0 

Trifonov is being 

“honoured” as the 

tribal chief crowned 

him with traditional 

headwear. 

BBQ Party NORDLIGHT June 2003 

EPIRB's save lives 

NORDPACIFIC was sailing in the English 

Channel when she was asked by the local Rescue 

Co-ordination Centre to go to the position of an 

EPIRB signal. Once at the position a search was 

made and eventually the upturned hull of a yacht 

was found. A helicopter and lifeboat taking part 

in the search were directed to the scene and they 

put divers into the water. Inside the hull of the 

yacht two trapped crewmembers were found and 

subsequently rescued. This whole incident shows 

how effective an EPIRB can be especially as it 

took place at night and in gale force winds. As 

the Master of NORDPACIFIC, Capt Grant, 

commented afterwards - "that to be involved in 

such an event shows however long you have been 

at sea you are never too old to learn new things".

Lightering 

NORDISLE - NORDPOWER 

Mooring and separation both happened in 

darkness, please find below short story of 

the lightering. 

It was 0300 hrs on the 16th June a beautiful 

moonlit night, we had just arrived at our sixth 

lightering, but this one was different, we were 

lightering our big sister and "NORD"s newest 

building "NORDPOWER". By 0430 hrs we 

had completed taking on fendering and hoses 

and started our approach towards the 

NORDPOWER the wind had started to pick up 

and a few clouds had appeared as we got closer a 

few drops of rain had fallen. As we came close to 

the NORDPOWER both doing 6 kts, the 

heavens opened at this stage the berthing Master 

and myself had to be on the bridge wing and in 

minutes even with rain gear were soaked to the 

skin, the whole mooring operation was 

conducted in these conditions with rain falling 

in horizontal sheets and thunder and lightening 

overhead, we came together and successfully 

made fast at 0612 hrs just as the day was 

dawning. Of course 15 minutes later the weather 

was fine again. 

It was not long before the crew were meeting 

old friends and old 

acquaintances I went 

onboard to see how 

life was on the big ships 

and was warmly greeted 

by Capt. Deshpande 

and Capt. Larbalestrier 

and met a lot of familiar 

faces. 

Capt. Larbalestrier 

gave me a tour and I 

was very impressed. 

The lightering 

operation went very 

well and was completed 

at 1948 hrs the same 

day, we separated 

and said our good-byes 

at 2142 hrs and 

continued on to SW 

pass to discharge the 

cargo at St James. This 

had been pleasant 

interlude to our 

lightering program. 

Neil Fillingham, Master 

Captain goes visiting 

Big and little sister 

Meeting old friends 

Crossing the Equator 

Most of you will remember the first time you 

crossed the Equator. You will also remember the 

initiation you had to undergo if it was your first 

time across. Below NORDENERGY and 

NORDMILLENNIUM paid tribute to the 

Neptune King in their own way. 

On NORDENERGY 

... and on NORDMILLENNIUM 


18 

Office News 

Welcome to New Staff.. ..and Congratulations to 

Rene Niebuhr Hjortskov was 

born on 6th May 1955 in 

Copenhagen, Denmark. He 

completed the Engineering 

School in Copenhagen and then 

worked with Danish Exxon for 8 

years on tanker vessels. He also 

spent a small period of his sea 

going experience with the Royal Danish Navy. 

Between 1980 and 1982 he worked as a 

Superintendent/service engineer for MAN 

B&W in Copenhagen. He also worked for 

another 2 years for a Danish Shipyard and also 

for other Danish companies as a marine 

consultant and superintendent. In June 1999 he 

decided to leave the borders of Denmark and 

come to work in Cyprus for Hanseatic Shipping 

Company. He then joined NORD in July 2003 

in the Limassol Technical Department as a 

superintendent. 

And in our Hamburg office 

Hendrik Schlötels was born in 

July 1982 in Apolda, 

Thueringen, former GDR. In 

1984 his family moved to 

Gelbensande due to the fact that 

his father was a seagoing master 

and liked the seas very much. 

Gelbensande is a small town 

close to Rostock and sited on the Baltic Sea. 

There he completed his schooling and went on 

to “Europaschule - Gymnasium an der 

Rostocker Heide Roevershagen” and graduated 

in June 2002. 

From October 2002 until May 2003, he 

fulfilled his military service, finishing as a private 

first class. 

In August 2003, his long time wish became 

reality and he started his career as a trainee in the 

shipping scene with Reederei “NORD”. 


For 10 years’ service, an engraved silver bowl 

goes to: 

Capt. Ivelin Ivanov started with NORD after 

vacationing in Cyprus and applying for work 

onboard the ships. He joined as C/O in August 

1990. In March 1994 he was promoted to 

Master. Since then he sailed on various vessels 

and in November 1997 he was transferred to the 

Limassol office as an SMS Superintendent. In 

November 1999 he was promoted to Personnel 

Manager and in April 2003 became Personnel 

Director. 

Eleni Efthymiou started work in the Limassol 

Office in September 1993 as a trainee. She was 

soon promoted to an Accountant and then to a 

Senior Accountant. After the recent 

restructuring in the Accounts Department, she 

now holds the position of Assistant to the 

Finance Director.

NORD watches for 5 years’ service 

Barbara Zorpa, Personnel Officer 

John Price, Technical Superintendent 

Nicholas Achilleas, caretaker at Villa Nord 

Congratulations to Captain Ramel Menon - 

promotion to Safety and Management Systems 

Manager in August of this year. 

Congratulations for a lot of New 

Deliveries!! 

Yiota Elia of the Limassol Technical 

Department, baby girl Sophia, on 6th June. 

George Ktistis of Limassol Personnel 

Department, baby girl Melina, on 9th June. 

Sergiy Nastachenko, IT Administrator of the 

Limassol office, baby girl Alina, on 

24th September. 

Ramesh Jayakody, also of the Limassol 

Personnel Department, baby girl Nimeshika, on 

15th October. 

Charity Beach Volleyball tournament 

The “Nordstars” team are pictured shortly 

after the last game in this year’s CSC Charity 

Beach Volleyball Tournament, which took 

place from 14th September to 5th October in 

Limassol. 

The “Nordstars” team played well against 

very strong competitors in their ‘group of 

death’, however, it was not good enough to 

reach the quarterfinals. Thanks to all players 

and supporters for the solid performance and 

enthusiasm. A sum of CYP 4,000 was raised 

during the tournament and donated to a 

children’s cancer charity. 

NORD 

NEWS 

Reederei "NORD" 

Klaus E. Oldendorff Ltd. 

Libra Tower 

23 Olympion Street 

P.O. Box 56345 

3306 Limassol - Cyprus 

Tel: +357-25841400 

Fax: +357-25345077 

Tlx: 5938 RNKEO CY 

E-mail: rnkeo@spidernet.com.cy 

Website: www.rnkeo.com 

NORD NEWS is the Company Magazine 

of Reederei "NORD" 

Klaus E. Oldendorff Ltd. 

While NORD NEWS is primarily directed 

at our seastaff, it is also sent to our close 

business associates. 


REEDEREI “NORD” KLAUS E. OLDENDORFF 

PRESENT FLEET AND NEWBUILDINGS ON ORDER 

M.T. “NORDPOWER” 319.000 tdw Tanker 2003 

M.T. “NORDENERGY” 319.000 tdw Tanker 2003 

M.T. “NORDBAY” 301.500 tdw Tanker 1999 

M.T. “NORDMILLENNIUM” 301.500 tdw Tanker 2000 

M.T. “NORDMARK” 105.000 tdw Tanker 1998 

M.T. “NORDSTRENGTH” 105.000 tdw Tanker 1998 

M.T. “NORDISLE” 105.000 tdw Tanker 1998 

M.T. “NORDLIGHT” 105.000 tdw Tanker 1998 

M.T. “NORDGULF” 105.000 tdw Tanker 1998 

M.T. “NORDOCEAN” 105.000 tdw Tanker 1998 

M.V. “NORDELBE” 75.000 tdw Panamax bulker 2001 

M.V. “NORDWESER” 75.000 tdw Panamax bulker 2001 

M.V. “NORDEMS” 75.000 tdw Panamax bulker 2001 

M.V. “NORDTRAVE” 75.000 tdw Panamax bulker 2001 

M.V. “NORDRHINE” 75.000 tdw Panamax bulker 2001 

M.V. “NORDMOSEL” 75.000 tdw Panamax bulker 2001 

M.V. “NORDMAX” 72.500 tdw Panamax bulker 1995 

M.V. “NORDMORITZ” 72.500 tdw Panamax bulker 1995 

M.V. “NORDATLANTIC” 33.850 tdw 2478 TEU 2003 

M.V. “NORDPACIFIC” 33.850 tdw 2478 TEU 2003 

M.V. “NORDBALTIC” 33.850 tdw 2478 TEU 2003 

M.V. “NORDMED” 33.850 tdw 2478 TEU 2003 

M.V. “NORDSTRAND” 34.062 tdw 2280 TEU 1993 

M.V. “NORDEAGLE” 27.000 tdw 2105 TEU 1997 

M.V. “NORDFALCON” 27.000 tdw 2105 TEU 1997 

M.V. “NORDHAWK” 27.000 tdw 2105 TEU 1997 

M.V. “NORDSTAR” 22.878 tdw 1730 TEU 1998 

M.V. “NORDSEAS” 22.420 tdw 1684 TEU 1996 

M.V. “NORDCLOUD” 22.420 tdw 1684 TEU 1997 

M.V. “NORDRIVER” 22.420 tdw 1684 TEU 1997 

M.V. “NORDCOAST” 22.420 tdw 1684 TEU 1997 

M.V. “NORDLAKE” 22.450 tdw 1524 TEU 1994 

* M.V. “NORDWELLE” 20.220 tdw 1388 TEU 1993 

* M.V. “NORDWOGE” 20.200 tdw 1388 TEU 1993 

M.V. “NORDPOL” 20.275 tdw 1354 TEU 1994 

M.V. “NORDPARTNER” 20.275 tdw 1354 TEU 1994 

M.V. “NORDSKY” 14.120 tdw 1158 TEU 1990 

M.V. “NORDSUN” 14.120 tdw 1158 TEU 1991 

M.V. “NORDBEACH” 14.120 tdw 1158 TEU 1991 

M.V. “NORDCLIFF” 14.120 tdw 1158 TEU 1991 

** M.V. “NORDLUCK” 10.964 tdw 798 TEU 1984 

NEWBUILDING H1511 75.000 tdw Tanker 3/2004 




NEWBUILDING S1166 34.000 tdw 2600 TEU 11/2005 

NEWBUILDING S1167 34.000 tdw 2600 TEU 1/2006 

* Sold and delivered to new owners. Continue to be employed by our company until 2004 

** Trading on bareboat charter to Korean charterers

Winter 2003

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?