SSG No 4 - Shipgaz

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February 23, 2007 4 

IT & COMMUNICATIONS 

VILLY LARSEN: 

I regret my behaviour 

Master Mariner 

or Master CRIMINAL? 

LATEST IT makes Dover Strait passage safer 

Baltice – Internet aid for WINTER NAVIGATION 

3D – the NEXT GENERATION of nautical charts

Finnlines’ aim is to be the leading company in 

its field. For a company operating in the service 

sector, competent and enthusiastic employees 

are a key resource. 

A good, well-planned human resource 

policy serves to guarantee the enthusiasm and 

expertise of our personnel. 

A CAREER OPPORTUNITY 

WITH ROOM FOR MY 

PERSONALITY 

Employee satisfaction are one of the main values 

of Finnlines. We are constantly aiming 

to achieve this by being a reliable and motivating 

employer treating employees with 

fairness and equality, encouraging every 

employee to continuously develop his or her 

own competence and expertise. 

THE WAY TO GO IN SHIPPING 

The competence of our personnel is ensured 

through continuous training. One of the challenges 

for the future is to attract new, talented 

persons as Yourself. 

For further information on vacancies 

please contact our human resource offi cer at 

Finnlines Ship Management. 

FINNLINES PLC, PORKKALANKATU 20 A, FI-00180 HELSINKI, FINLAND, 

TELEPHONE: +358 (0)10 343 50, FAX: +358 (0)10 343 4242, EMAIL: SEAPERSONNELFIN@FINNLINES.FI 

FINNLINES SHIP MANAGEMENT AB, BOX 158, SE - 201 21 MALMÖ, SWEDEN, 

TELEPHONE: +46 (0)40-17 68 40, FAX: +46 (0)40-17 68 41 / 17 68 51, EMAIL: SEAPERSONNELSWE@FINNLINES.FI 

WWW.FINNLINES.FI

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SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE, FEBRUARY 23, 2007 

22 

34 

IN THIS ISSUE 

12 

12 Villy Larsen: I regret my behaviour 

16 Inherent problems in Baltic Rim 

economies 

40 

REGULARS 

4 News Review 

8 SES Onboard 

11 Editorial 

42 Technical News 

43 Fleet News 

44 Finance & Insurance 

48 Market Reports 

SPECIAL FEATURE 

IT & Communications 

19 We look at vessel traffic control, the high-tech bridge, AIS 

as used by Danish pilots, simulated ice navigation and new 

3D navigational charts. All of this and more are vital to an 

efficient fleet operation. But, as we show, it is a challenge. 

FRONT PAGE PICTURE 

20 

Grimaldi Lines is the leading ro-ro 

multipurpose carrier in its trading areas. 

Grimaldi Lines provides regular services 

between North Europe, the Mediterranean, 

West Africa, the East Coast of 

South America and Intramediterranean. 

The new generation of ro-ro multipurpose 

vessels of the Grimaldi Group is 

highly technological and provides for 

reliable and high quality services.

NEWS REVIEW 

FREDRIKSEN BUYS INTO STX John 

Fredriksen has, through his private 

investment company Greenwich Holding, 

bought a 9.7 per cent stake in the 

big South Korean STX Corporation for 

USD 60 million. Among the corporation’s 

companies is STX Pan Ocean. 

Fredriksen has previously invested in 

South Korean companies like Hyundai 

Merchant Marine and Hanjin, both 

short-term, profitable investments. 

RUSSIA SUPPORTS SHIPBUILDING Aid 

for the development of shipbuilding 

will, according to SeaNews.ru, amount 

to RUB 48 billion (EUR 1.39 billion) 

in the period 2007–2009, of which 

RUB 29.5 billion (EUR 856 million) 

will come from the national budget. 

The Russian strategy, which is currently 

being discussed in the Duma, 

the Russian parliament, also involves 

aid measures in the form of reductions 

in or exemption from taxes and 

charges on both equipment and facilities. 

CONSAFE ORDERS NEW RIGS Consafe 

Invest AB in Sweden and Yantai Raffles 

Shipyard Ltd in China have signed a 

letter of intent to build two 30,000 ton 

semisubmersible service and crane vessels 

of a new Yantai design. An option 

on an additional two vessels is also 

included. 

The first rig, the SSCB Safe Lifter, 

will be ready for delivery within 18 

months and the second, the SSCB Safe 

Carrier, within 28 months. The total 

order value, exkluding optional rigs, is 

USD 300 million. 

MORE CAR CARRIERS FOR MAERSK 

A.P. Møller-Mærsk has signed up for 

more car carriers for the new pool with 

Höegh Autoliners. The group has 

signed an agreement with the Chinese 

Xiamen Shipbuilding Corporation for 

the four units with a capacity of around 

5,000 cars. Each ship has a price of 

USD 58 million. The Maersk group has 

also secured an option on four more 

sister vessels. 

The contract will secure A.P. Møller- 

Mærsk Group’s position as one of the 

largest individual clients of the Chinese 

shipyard with a portfolio of container 

carriers, VLCCs, chemical tankers, supply 

ships and now car carriers. 

PORT OF GÖTEBORG 

The container terminal in Port of Göteborg. 

Port of Göteborg launches 

new investment program 

ssg-göteborg. The Port of Göteborg 

recently concluded a SEK 1.7 billion (EUR 

190 million) investment program and is 

now about to launch a new programme. 

Up until 2010, SEK 1.5 billion (EUR 160 

million) will be ploughed into facilities 

such as buildings, outdoor storage areas, 

ssg-tønsberg. Over 1.1 million cruise 

guests visited Norway in the last year, or 20 

per cent more than the previous year. 

Bergen remains the biggest cruise city in 

Norway with 249 cruise ship calls and 

218,185 passengers, 4 calls and 28,130 passengers 

more than in 2005. The second 

largest cruise city in Norway is Oslo with 

160 calls and 206,233 passengers, up 15 

ramps, cranes and adjustments for storage 

and parking. Last year, the port had a 

turnover of SEK 1.5 billion (EUR 160 million), 

up 15 per cent compared to 2005. Its 

pre-tax profit was SEK 157 million (EUR 

17.2 million), about the same as for the 

previous year. 

New Nordic Master’s programme 

ssg-göteborg. Five Nordic academies 

launches a new Master’s Programme for 

mariners who preferably has worked a couple 

of years after their graduation. The programme 

is a two-year continuation and 

offers three directions, management, logistics 

and survey and technical operation. It 

will be possible to combine this education 

with continued work aboard ships and stu- 

dents on the “Nordic Master in Maritime 

management”, the official name of the programme, 

will take courses on Chalmers 

University of Technology in Sweden, 

Kalmar Maritime Academy in Sweden, 

Åland Polytechnic, Sydväst Maritime in 

Åbo and Vestfold University Collage in 

Norway, all five schools who are partners in 

this cooperation. 

Cruise guests to Norway up 20 per cent 

calls and 20,133 passengers compared with 

the previous year. Geiranger had 155 cruise 

ships visiting, carrying 139,409 passengers, 

or one vessel less and 9,052 fewer passengers 

than in 2005. Two new areas have 

joined the list with places in Norway to call 

at. Olden had 58 ship visits and 51,521 

passengers and Molde-Åndalsnes had 53 

calls and 32,304 passengers. 

4 SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • FEBRUARY 23, 2007

D/S “Norden” sells ships 

and gives shares to the staff 

ssg-ringkøbing. D/S “Norden” has 

reported a profit of USD 64.4 million after 

the sale of five vessels over a couple of 

months. The nice profit has made the 

company decide to give all the employees 

with more than one year of employment 

four shares in the company, which means 

a total of 668 shares with a quoted value of 

DKK 3.23 million. 

The sale of vessels is two handymax bulk 

carriers currently under construction in 

China for delivery in late 2007 and early 

2008. The first is 50 per cent owned by 

“Norden”. Both are sold with a nice profit 

and taken back on charter for periods that 

could go up to five years. 

Furthermore, the bulkcarriers Nord-Spirit 

and the Nord-Phoenix and the product 

tanker Nordeuropa is sold off. The tanker 

continues sailing in the Norient Pool. 

TWO APM PORTS IN BOMB-SCANNING TEST Two of Maersk Line’s ports are being used 

in a bomb scanning test of containers bound for American ports. Container operators are 

expecting delays and bottlenecks in conjunction with the scanning. Eight ports worldwide 

have been set up to work with a container scanner. They are Port Qasim, Pakistan, which 

along with Salalah, Oman, is run by APM Terminals, and Southampton, UK, Puerto 

Cordes, Honduras, the Gamman terminal in Busan, South Korea, and Singapore. 

Trafigura made settlement with Ivory 

Coast after Probo Koala scandal 

ssg-tallinn. The three men imprisoned in 

Abidjan, Ivory Coast, since last September 

– following the hazardous waste scandal 

involving the Probo Koala – have been 

released. 

The men were released after an agreement 

had been reached between the Ivory 

Coast President’s office and the shipping 

company Trafigura, where the men were 

employed. 

The size of the settlement is EUR 152 

million and will cover the cost of cleaning 

up as well as, according to information, the 

cost of a new hospital. The Ivory Coast will 

also pay compensation to the victims and 

waive all claims, both now and in the 

future. Trafigura says that long-term collab- 

oration with the Ivory Coast will be established. 

Trafigura and Prime Marine Management, 

owner of the Probo Koala, both 

deny responsibility for the scandal and say 

that the agreement, in relation to the circumstances 

of the accident, is very fair. The 

agreement states that both companies are 

innocent. 

Greenpeace, which saw to it that the vessel 

was detained in Estonia so that an 

investigation into the scandal could be initiated, 

criticises the agreement. The organisation 

says that the victims will not receive 

any help from their government, which has 

promised to renounce all future claims 

against Trafigura. 

ADVOKATFIRMAN 

MORSSING & NYCANDER 

Est. 1880 

MARITIME LAW • LOGISTICS & MULTIMODAL • MARINE INSURANCE 

ADMIRALTY & CASUALTY • PURCHASE & SALE • SHIP FINANCING 

Box 3299, 103 66, STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Tel: +46 8 58705100 (24-hour service), E-mail: info@mna.se, Fax: +46 8 58705120 

www.morssingnycander.se 

NEWS REVIEW 

BOLIN BUYS UGELSTADS REDERI The 

Swede Mons Bolin and his Greek business 

partner Gabriel Petridis have 

bought S. Ugelstads Rederi in Ålesund 

for NOK 730 million through their 

Greek-British holding company Aries 

Energy Corporation. The shipping company 

has a fleet of five platform supply 

vessels (PSV) and had been owned by 

Peter Lorange for the past 19 years. Aries 

Energy now plans to order more PSVs 

to be marketed by S. Ugelstads Rederi. 

GO-AHEAD FOR ADSTEAM PURCHASE 

SvitzerWijsmuller has been given the 

final approval for the takeover of 

Adsteam. The last hurdle was the 

British Competition Commission, 

which made its last request on February 

9 before giving approval. SvitzerWijsmuller 

will have to sell off its towing 

activities in Liverpool, where Svitzer- 

Wijsmuller is already competing with 

Adsteam. The demand from the Competition 

Commission does not change 

the Adsteam board’s recommendation 

to sell the company to SvitzerWijsmuller, 

which after the takeover will 

have a market of 12 per cent, with nearly 

500 tugs on most continents. 

ATTICA LEAVES THE BALTIC Attica 

Group has discontinued its Nystad– 

Rostock ro-ro service. The ro-ro carrier 

Nordia was withdrawn from the service 

at the end of last year and the other vessel, 

the Marin, sailed on her last voyage 

in the service at the end of January. This 

means that the Greek shipping group 

has no shipping operations left in the 

Baltic. The Marin is now sailing between 

Patras and Venice, complementing the 

four Superfast ferries and the Blue Star 

ferry, all deployed in the Adriatic. 

SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • FEBRUARY 23, 2007 5

NEWS REVIEW 

NEW PIPELINE TO PRIMORSK The 

Russian oil company Transneft has 

announced that the plans for a pipeline 

from Unecha on the Belorussian border 

to Primorsk have now been completed 

and that construction will begin 

on 12 February. The Baltic Pipeline 

System will have a capacity of 150 million 

tons of crude oil per year. The terminal 

in Primorsk will be enlarged so 

that it can handle an additional 50 million 

tons of crude oil per year. 

STRONG GROWTH IN GDYNIA The 

Port of Gdynia reported a sharp 

upswing in the volume of goods handled 

in 2006 – up 16 per cent to 14.2 

million tons. This means that Gdynia 

accounts for a quarter of all goods handled 

by Polish ports. This is the highest 

volume of goods since 1979, a record 

year in the history of the port when 

14.4 million tons of goods were handled. 

The Nordatlantic. 

SUPER PROFIT ON TANKER SALE D/S 

“Norden” has announced the sale of 

the crude oil tanker Nordatlantic to a 

German buyer for takeover in March, 

this year. “Norden” also reported a 

profit of USD 30.1 million on the sale. 

This means that the Nordatlantic has 

been a real golden egg for the Copenhagen-based 

company. 

The tanker was delivered from Sumitomo 

Group in Japan in 2001 for a 

sum of USD 35.0 million. Since then 

the tanker has been very profitable with 

a steady five-year time charter at a level 

of USD 23,500 with operating costs 

around USD 14,000. The tanker has 

been sold to a German K/G for USD 

59.5 million or close to double the 

price paid in 2001. 

BENT MIKKELSEN 

Cars at CMP. 

Profit and volumes up for CMP 

ssg-ringkøbing. Copenhagen Malmö Port 

(CMP) had a good year in 2006. The cargo 

volume handled grew 10 per cent. The profit 

went up 16 per cent and the turnover 

reach an all-time high of SEK 649 million. 

The profit was SEK 93 million compared 

with SEK 80 million in 2005. The growth 

in imports of new cars was particularly high 

with an increase of 30 per cent to 440,000 

units during 2006. Furthermore, there was 

15 per cent a growth in the ferry traffic 

from Malmö to Travemünde. Container 

traffic increased 13 per cent to 175,000 

TEUs over the quayside and, finally, the 

number of cruise passengers increased 7 per 

HKSOA and ICS disagree on sulphur fuel 

ssg-göteborg. Hong Kong Shipowners 

Association (HKSOA) makes it very clear 

that their organisation does not agree with 

the ICS statement that global shipping is not 

able to switch to low sulphur fuel. ICS suggested 

in their statement that they represented 

the view of the whole shipping industry. 

“We see the ICS opinions as being an 

ICS position, and that others in the industry 

have other opinions”, says managing 

director Arthur Bowring to SSG. 

HKSOA says shipping should be proactive 

in its work to reduce emissions and the 

only way forward is switching over to low 

cent to a total of 458,000. The total cargo 

volume amounted to 16.6 million tons or 

1.4 million tons more than 2005. 

Investments 

A number of investments in both ports are 

in the pipeline for the years ahead. An 

extra pier for tankers will be built at 

Prøvestenen in Copenhagen and the 

approach to the oil terminal in Malmö will 

be widened. CMP is planning new cruiseship 

quays in Copenhagen and a new ferry 

and container terminal in Malmö. A combi-terminal 

in Malmö is also being planned 

together with a logistics park. 

sulphur fuel. The organisation also wants a 

global limit, without borders or zones, of 

maximum one per cent sulphur content in 

fuel. 

“HKSOA does not support the use of 

scrubbers or any other technology that 

would permit continued use of residual 

fuel in ship’s engines. Ships have incinerated 

the waste products of refineries for long 

enough, and shipowners and their crews 

would now welcome a move towards the 

use of clean fuels that do not need extensive 

treatment before use”, HKSOA writes 

in a statement. 

6 SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • FEBRUARY 23, 2007 

BENT MIKKELSEN

Best ever result for Statoil 

ssg-tønsberg. Norwegian oil company 

Statoil, soon to merge with Hydro, has 

announced record net income of NOK 

40.6 billion for last year compared with 

NOK 30.7 billion in 2005. Total oil and 

gas production in 2006 was 1,135,000 barrels 

of oil equivalent (boe) per day, compared 

to 1,169,000 boe per day in 2005. In 

the fourth quarter of 2006, total oil and gas 

production amounted to 1,153,000 boe per 

day, compared to 1,232,000 boe per day in 

the fourth quarter of 2005. 

Statoil’s figure of 1,140,000 boe per day 

for production in 2006 was based on an oil 

price of USD 60 per bbl. A realised oil 

price of USD 60 per bbl would have resulted 

in an estimated production of 1,139,000 

boe per day. The difference from the 

reported production is due to production 

sharing agreements (PSA) effects. The Statoil 

chief executive, Helge Lund says: 

“The annual income for 2006 is the best 

ever for Statoil. We maintained strong earnings 

and competitive returns, despite temporarily 

lower production overall. Through 

the acquisition of two deepwater portfolios 

in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) from 

Anadarko and Plains and the subsequent 

divestment of the retail operation in Ireland 

we have further upgraded our portfolio.” 

Redress for Destination Gotland, 

Rikstrafiken loses arbitration 

ssg-göteborg. The Swedish National 

Public Transport Agency, Rikstrafiken, has 

lost a dispute with Destination Gotland 

and an arbitration tribunal has ordered it 

to pay out approx. SEK 300 million for 

2004 to 2006, which Rikstrafiken had 

retained. 

The dispute concerned how the traffic 

agreement should be interpreted, including 

whether money should be paid out even if 

fuel consumption was lower than calculat- 

ed. The arbitration tribunal has determined 

that the money must be paid out and that 

it was permissible for the money to be used 

for other investments. In addition to the 

money Rikstrafiken has refused to pay out, 

it will also have to pay all legal expenses. 

“We have to be self-critical and acknowledge 

that the State quite simple hasn’t handled 

this agreement in a correct manner”, 

says Staffan Widlert, director-general of 

Rikstrafiken, in a press release. 

EU COMMISSION APPROVES INVESTMENT IN PORT OF MUUGA The EU Commission 

has decided that the financing of the expansion of the eastern part of the Port of Muuga 

cannot be regarded as state aid because Port of Tallinn is a state-owned company. The Port 

of Muuga is the largest of five ports in the port company and the EUR 116 million investment 

in the expansion will have to be earned or borrowed by the port company itself. 

Norway to implement 

ballast water convention 

ssg-tønsberg. This year Norway will 

implement strict controls on ballast water 

management by applying the standards set 

down in the IMO convention on ballast 

water. Wikborg Rein, Norway’s leading 

maritime law firm, warns against introducing 

the convention before it comes into 

force internationally. The move has considerable 

commercial and operational implications 

for vessels calling at Norwegian 

ports, who will now be required to adhere 

to a ballast water plan, keep a strict log of 

ballast water management, and will only be 

allowed to discharge clean ballast, which 

has been exchanged at sea in accordance 

with the convention. The convention 

requires ships to conduct ballast water 

exchange at least 200 nautical miles from 

the nearest land, in at least 200 metres 

depth of water and in accordance with 

guidelines issued by IMO. If it is not possible 

to conduct water ballast exchange as 

described, it shall be carried out as far from 

the nearest land as possible, at least 50 nautical 

miles from the nearest land and in 

water at least 200 metres deep. 

NEWS REVIEW 

ST PETERBURG CHANNEL WIDENED 

SeaNews.ru reports that the 27 nautical 

mile long channel to St Petersburg will 

be widened to 140 metres and dredged 

to a depth of 13 metres. As a result of 

this, it is estimated that goods turnover 

in the port could increase 25 per cent. In 

the future, the channel will be widened 

to 150–160 metres. The investment is 

estimated to be in the region of RUB 25 

billion (about EUR 725 million). 

Wind working on the installation of 

wind turbines on the Horn Revpowerplant. 

DBB BUYS SALVAGE EQUIPMENT Dansk 

Bjergning & Bugsering (DBB) has 

acquired a self-elevation crane platform 

fitted with propulsion and classed as a 

ship. The jack-up platform will be used 

in future salvage operations along with 

the floating crane Samson. The new 

piece of equipment is currently named 

Wind, flies the Luxembourg flag and is 

owned by a Belgian group. The “ship” 

is docking in Belgium at the moment 

and will soon be taken to DBB’s base 

port, Aarhus, for preparations to install 

a 1,000 ton crane permanently. 

GREEN REEFERS DOWN LAST YEAR 

Bergen-based Green Reefers’ operating 

results for last year were down to USD 

16.2 million from USD 25.7 million a 

year earlier. The company has now sold 

the 99,000 cbm fish carrier the Green 

Frio, built in 1979, and when the vessel 

is delivered Green Reefers will control 

46 vessels, including four time-chartered 

and two bareboat-chartered ships. 

Last year was one of expansion for 

Green Reefers. In the last quarter, 

Green Reefers bought 20 reefers for 

around USD 176 million. 

More news on page 46 > 

SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • FEBRUARY 23, 2007 7 

BENT MIKKELSEN

Safety 

Environment 

Security 

Editor: Cecilia Österman | Phone +46 31 62 95 88 | E-mail: cecilia@shipgaz.com | www.sesonboard.com 

Less fire fighting 

with good safety culture 

An internal report has uncovered 

serious deficiencies in a Swedish 

nuclear power plant and a discussion 

about safety culture is in full swing. 

Safety culture as a concept was first 

introduced after the Chernobyl disaster, 

but is now used in all sorts of 

industries, shipping included. With 

all right, since a ship is a safety-critical 

environment and a healthy organisation 

is a prerequisite to gain result in 

the preventive safety work. 

Human error is often claimed to 

be the reason for accidents. In most 

cases it is implied that human error 

is restricted to the crew and does not 

extend beyond the ships personnel. 

This is unfortunate, since attitudes 

and behaviours are outcomes, not 

something that appears out of thin air. 

In the report from the Forsmark 

nuclear power plant, the authors state 

that the degradation of the safety 

culture in all probability is due to the 

focus on increased production. And 

that is not particularly unique. Time is 

money and sometimes, it seems, it is 

more accepted to do the wrong thing 

and redo it, if the perception is that 

the shortcut saves money. 

We devote our time to constant fire 

fighting instead of developing and 

maintaining the good work. Fire fighting 

is all right when you are with the 

brigade. The rest of us should use our 

time to make a change. 

c e c i l i a ö s t e r m a n 

cecilia@shipgaz.com 

Bad ergonomics behind 

rescue helicopter crash 

The Swedish National Investigation 

Board has now published their investigation 

of the fatal crash with a Swedish 

navy helicopter during a maritime rescue 

drill on the Swedish West Coast in November 

2003. Six people died in the crash. 

Thorough investigation has not been 

able to disclose any technical faults with 

the crashed helicopter. Instead the report 

points to several deficiencies when it comes 

to man–machine interaction and also a lack 

of risk analysis regarding the organisational 

changes that has taken place during the 

past years in the Swedish Armed Forces. 

Insecure and frustrated 

The report states that several important 

instruments, control handles and switches 

were designed or placed in a way that accidental 

misunderstanding or mishandling 

could not be excluded. On some helicopters 

of the same type, a plastic stripe had 

even been placed over the radar altitude 

switch to prevent errors. Interviews with 

helicopter pilots also reveal that the per- 

GÖSTA BOLANDER, FBB 

SES Onboard 

The SES Onboard section 

focuses on Safety, Environment 

and Security issues of interest 

for ship operating professionals 

at sea and in shore-based 

organizations. 

HKP10 Super Puma, a helicopter of the same 

type that crashed in 2003. 

sonnel felt insecure, frustrated and strained 

in connection with the repeated organisational 

changes. According to the report, 

during changes in an organisation, particularly 

at merges, it is extremely important to 

maintain a positive safety culture and the 

company’s crew resource management. 

In the summary, the report also recommends 

that the Swedish Civil Aviation 

Authority introduce a routine that guarantees 

that a rescue helicopter with a winch 

is available to send to any accident scene 

where it might de be required. 

AGREEMENT ON AIR AND SEA RESCUE Estonian minister of the interior Kalle 

Laanet and Swedish Minister for Communications Åsa Torstensson signed a cooperation 

agreement on air and sea rescue on February 5. The agreement defines the two 

countries’ areas for search and rescue as well as responsible authorities. It also covers the 

exchange of information between the two parties as well as assistance and joint exercises. 

Estonia has a similar agreement with Finland and is preparing an agreement with Latvia. 

A discussion forum has been launched on SES Onboard. 

Join the forum for Safety, Environment and Security issues at 

www.sesonboard.com 

THE SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • FEBRUARI 23, 2007

Captain Schröder released 

On February 8 the German captain 

Wolfgang Schröder was released after 

four months in an American high security 

prison. Schröder was master of the containership 

Zim Mexico III that was involved in 

a fatal accident in the port of Mobile, Alabama 

in March last year. The bow thruster 

failed during manoeuvring and the ship’s 

bow struck a gantry crane, which crashed 

to the ground hitting an electrician, who 

died from the injuries. Schröder was arrested 

and charged with misconduct and was 

found guilty. Schröder admitted in court 

that he knew the bow thruster had failed 

before. Neither he nor the port pilot insisted 

on a tug being in assistance. 

THE SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • FEBRUARI 23, 2007 

Schröder was facing a prison term of 

up to two years but was set free on time 

already served and had to leave the US 

within 72 hours. The vessels operator, Rickmers 

Reederei of Germany, has agreed to 

pay a USD 350,000 fine. 

There has been a number of noticed 

arrests and incarcerations of masters over 

the recent years. Captain Larsen, who is 

portrayed on page 12, and also Captain 

Mangouras of the Prestige, Captain Spiropoulos 

of the Erika, and Salvage Master Pappas 

held in Karachi over the Tasman Spirit 

grounding. The Erika trial is scheduled to 

start on February 12 and is expected to last 

until June. 

Research on Fast Rescue Boat system 

The final report of the research and 

development project REBUS was 

presented on January 26. The project has 

run since 2003 with the aim to develop a 

new Fast Rescue Boat system (FRB). The 

FRB concept was introduced in 2000 as a 

result of lessons learned during the sinking 

of the Estonia but unfortunately a lot of 

incidents and accidents have been reported 

from FRB operations. 

In the REBUS system the manual handling 

of painter line and lifting wire has been 

eliminated, and the FRB is driven into a 

dock with automatic locking devices. The 

pendulum problems with a FRB hanging 

at a high hull side have been reduced by 

the means of a guider along the ships side. 

The system was first tested at SSPA’s 

USCG has revealed a number of 

falsified oil record books and magic 

pipes, resulting in both heavy fines and 

imprisonment. Heavy lift operator Pacific- 

Gulf Marine was fined USD 1 million after 

admitting that the company’s entire fleet 

have discharged hundreds of thousands of 

litres of oily water bypassing the oily water 

separator (OWS) with a magic pipe. 

A USD 750,000 fine was imposed on the 

Greek owners of the bulk carrier Irika after 

a similar charge, but here the ships second 

engineer is rewarded USD 250,000 for blowing 

the whistle. The engineer slipped some 

photographs of a magic pipe in operation 

seakeeping and manoeuvring basin in 

Göteborg and later a prototype was tested 

onboard Stena Danica during the autumn 

of 2006. 

The REBUS project also recommends 

that FRB operators wear personal protective 

equipment, such as a dry rescue suit, 

lifejacket and helmet, and that they be 

equipped with a portable, watertight VHF 

unit with a headset. A new type of lifejacket, 

dedicated for the FRB operators, has 

been developed within REBUS. This lifejacket 

is certified and under production. 

Vinnova and the Swedish Maritime 

Administration financed the project with a 

total budget of EUR 1.9 million. 

For more information, please see 


Magic pipe led to fines and prison 

to the inspectors during an inspection. 

Owners of another Greek bulk carrier, 

the Irene E.M., were hit with a USD 1.25 

million fine for carrying a false oil record 

book and bypassing the inoperable OWS 

on a regular basis for several months. USD 

250,000 of the fine goes to a marine environment 

project in Delaware Bay. 

A similar charge resulted in the Korean 

chief engineer being sentenced to five 

months in prison and the second engineer 

to three years’ probation. The ship’s operator, 

Sun Ace Shipping Co, was handed a 

USD 500,000 fine in addition to a threeyear 

restriction on trading to the US. 

New MARPOL 

checklist 

Lloyd’s Register and UK P&I officials 

believe port state control (PSC) 

inspectors will increasingly crack down on 

offences involving air pollution, garbage 

disposal and ballast management. To help 

masters and owners to comply with MAR- 

POL and reduce the risk of PSC detentions, 

Lloyd’s Register and the UK P&I 

Club has jointly published a checklist. The 

checklist highlights seven areas where operational 

deficiencies are frequently found: 

oil from machinery spaces, retention of 

oil onboard, discharge violation, inconsistent 

oil record book entries, garbage management, 

cargo residues and shipboard 

oil pollution emergency plans (SOPEP). 

Although not directly linked to MARPOL, 

an appendix on ballast water management 

is also included. 

In 2005, Lloyd’s Register also published 

a pre-port arrival PSC checklist to support 

owners and masters. The checklist covers 

the most common items for detention, 

such as fire pumps, lifeboats, engine room 

cleanliness and certificates for masters and 

officers. 

For more information, please see 


Loss Prevention 

tooLBox 

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www.mpl.fi

Political expediency 

will override dithering shipping 

Political expediency has totally 

overtaken international shipping 

organisations’ efforts to 

reduce ship emissions. In fact, if 

the International Chamber of 

Shipping (ICS), representing national ship 

owners’ associations, and Baltic and International 

Maritime Council (BIMCO) do 

not stop dithering they could risk being left 

out of further proceedings. 

ICS has, typically, asked for more time 

to find a consensus among member organisations 

instead of taking a lead. And they 

are talking of sulphur limits to allow alternative 

compliance measures and looking 

for a net environmental benefit. It is much 

to late for this sort of approach and it may 

result in shipping getting a worse deal 

than if they had taken a more proactive 

and sensible approach. With the recent 

United Nation report on global warming 

and climate changes, politicians will want 

to see a different approach. 

Sometimes it is worth a reminder that the 

IMO agreed MARPOL Annex VI (a separate 

treaty), dealing with air emissions from 

ships, in 1997. On May 18, 2004, MAR- 

POL Annex VI was ratified by the 15th 

nation, bringing the total percentage of the 

world’s merchant shipping tonnage to 

54.57. Annex VI went into effect on May 

19, 2005. It sets limits on SOx and NOx 

emissions from ships, and prohibits the 

Denmark’s largest 

single taxpayer 

When you are the largest single taxpayer 

in a country, you might expect some interest 

when you open your mouth to say 

something about a new tax proposal. This 

is what happened when the Danish government 

opened a new proposal for taxation 

of companies. 

The A.P. Møller-Mærsk chief executive 

Jess Søderberg took a rare opportunity to 

speak up in public and said that the A.P. 

Møller-Mærsk Group might consider moving 

its headquarters and main functions to 

intentional emission of ozone depleting 

substances such as chlorofluorocarbons; 

sets a global limit on the maximum allowable 

sulphur content of fuel oil used in 

shipping to 4.5 per cent by mass, and calls 

for the IMO to monitor the worldwide 

average sulphur content of shipping fuel. It 

also establishes specific “SOx Emission 

Control Areas” with more stringent controls 

on SOx emissions (1.5 per cent by 

mass) and finally prohibits onboard incineration 

for ships carrying certain products. 

It is no good pretending otherwise, shipping 

is a major air polluter. In order to safeguard 

an already tarnished image, it needs 

to embrace bright ideas, i.e. for ships to 

switch to distillate fuel, in this case marine 

diesel. The suggestion was first floated by 

the international independent tanker organisation 

Intertanko and is supported by the 

Hong Kong Shipowners’ Association. But 

beyond that there is little apparent support 

despite the merits of using distillate fuel; 

cleaner air and less dangerous pollution in 

case of accidents at sea. 

But because most of the international 

shipping organisations are by nature reactive 

rather than proactive, they will never 

be ahead of time. By choosing distillate 

fuel, shipping would clean up their act 

decisively and be able to meet future more 

stringent limits. Defeatist talk by the ICS 

that refineries cannot deliver the necessary 

a foreign country if the proposal would 

stay as it appeared in the first draft. It 

would affect the Group considerably and 

would drain the company of a large sum 

of money, much more than the DKK 13.5 

billion the company paid in taxes in 2006 

as the largest single taxpayer in Denmark. 

The prime minister was quick to reply, 

saying that the government had no intention 

of driving large, healthy companies 

out of the country. The purpose of the 

new proposal is to come down on the 

equity foundations, which purchase Danish 

companies and fill them with debts so 

EDITORIAL 

Defeatist talk by the ICS 

that refineries cannot deliver 

the necessary quantities 

is less than helpful. 

quantities is less than helpful. We all know 

that there will be sufficient volumes when 

demand is present. Such is the market, 

and ICS knows it. All ICS will say about 

the use of distillate fuel is that they have 

no objection to some ship owners making 

the switch. Shipping is clearly split on support 

of distillate fuels. Many owners look 

for a lead from ICS and BIMCO, but are 

not getting it. Rather, these organisations 

are doing their best to confuse the issue 

and thereby fritting 

away an opportunity 

to show 

courage and 

take the lead. It 

is a pity. 

petter arentz 

Editor, Norway 

Phone: +47 33 40 12 00, E-mail: petter@shipgaz.com 

that they do not pay any tax at all. Naturally 

the usual crowd has been in view in 

the media saying that a multinational 

company should not have political influence 

and just pay their taxes, but it is 

rather natural to have a say when you pay 

for the music or part of the music. 

It will be interesting to see what the 

government and the Minister for Fiscal 

Affairs will do to avoid the anger of A.P. 

Møller-Mærsk and hit the equity funds, 

because they cannot make a proposal for 

equity funds with exemption for A.P. 

Møller-Mærsk, the largest privately owned 

shipping company in the world. 


Villy Larsen: 

I regret my 

behaviour 

The words come from captain 

Villy Larsen, who in September 

2006 experienced a nightmare 

off the American east coast, 

while captain on the Danish 

coaster Danica White, bound for the military 

harbour of Sunny Point close to 

Wilmington to take on military cargo for 

Greece and Saudi Arabia. 

“I would have done it otherwise, surely”, 

says Villy Larsen. “Being in prison with an 

almost unknown future was a real nightmare. 

I was not sure that I would come out 

at all, and sometimes got the impression 

“I deeply regret asserting my rights under the ISPS code. It 

was not worth spending 104 days in a US jail. That is not 

something I wish for anyone, not even my worst enemy!” 

that everyone wanted to forget about me 

while I was locked away in a dark prison.” 

It all started when a US Coast Guard 

boarding party with nine persons approached 

the Danica White some three 

nautical miles off the coast for an inspection. 


“They wanted the crew to stay in the 

mess room, while the officer in charge and 

his deputy came on to the bridge”, explains 

Villy Larsen. “The officer in charge showed 

his ID, while the deputy did not have one. 

This is against the rules, and it is also 

against the rules for our ship to have any 

unknown persons onboard.” 

The officer in charge insisted on vouching 

for the deputy. Then a long discussion 

started with the officer in charge, who also 

insisted on keeping the crew in the mess 

room during an inspection of the cabins. 

Again captain Villy Larsen stood up and 


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NO-5836 Bergen, Norway 

Phone: +47 55 30 19 00 

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www.epp.no 

insisted that the persons living in each cabin 

should be present during the inspection. 

This was agreed upon. The next hurdle was 

inspection of the cargo hold. The USCG 

officer in charge insisted on having the 

hatch opened instead of using the access at 

each end. Villy Larsen refused to open the 

hatch as it can only be done with the derricks 

lifted, which for safety reasons he did 

not want to do in swell, three nautical 

miles off the coast. 

“I think there was some bad chemistry 

between the officer in charge and me right 

from the beginning”, says Villy Larsen, and 

continues with explanation of the “attack” 

on the coastguard dingy: 

“When the party left I had to speed up 

the vessel a little in order to be able to steer 

it. The dingy touched the side of the ship, 

but with no damage at all.” 

When the “collision” occurred the Danica 

White was drifting at 1.2 knots. 

Not enough food in the prison 

A few days later an inspection of the cargo 

hold was conducted while lying at a safe 

anchorage without any problems, and 

there were no signs of authorities or trouble 

when the ship was taken to the quayside 

and lay there a whole weekend. 

“The office in Copenhagen, the charterers 

and USGC had worked out a scheme to 

send over a new captain to the ship and he 

was on board during the approach to Sunny 

Point”, says Villy Larsen. “After a quiet 

weekend I was told to come down to the 

quayside and was arrested. I was taken to 

the immigration authorities and then to a 

judge and put in jail with the words that it 

would all take about a couple of weeks, 

maximum a month.” 

“Coming into the prison was a very 

strange experience”, says Villy Larsen. “It 

TIMELINE 

Aug 27: Danica White approaches Cape Fear 

River. USCG Boarding party on board 

Aug 28: Anchored off Delaware River. New 

inspection 

Sept 4: Danica White alongside at the 

quayside at Sunny Point 

Sept 7: Villy Larsen arrested. Appeared for a 

judge in Wilmington. Given a public defence 

lawyer. Wife (cook) Lone Larsen flies back to 

Denmark. 

Sept 14: Transferred to Raleigh Prison 

Sept 28: Transferred to Smithfield Prison 

Nov 27: Appeared for a judge in Wilmington. 

Transferred to Wilmington Prison 

Dec 18: Released and put on airplane directly 

to London 

was a non-smoking area as the state of 

South Carolina buys prison cells from private 

prison operators and non-smokers are 

better paid than smokers, so they insist on 

non-smoking. That was tough for me, as I 

usually smoke 20–30 cigarettes per day. 

Also in prisons the amount of food is not 

enough for everyone, so there are fights. 

Lights are on 24 hours a day, so you learn 

to sleep with the lights on. The only cigarette 

I smoked during the 104 days was on 

my birthday, November 16, when I purchased 

one cigarette at a price equal to 

DKK 90 on the inside black market.” 

After 14 days in Wilmington he was 

transferred to the capital city of South Carolina, 

Raleigh, and jailed there for another 

14 days before going to the prison in 

Smithfield. There he was put in a one-person-cell 

with another inmate. 

“Two persons living in a cell measuring 

2 × 2 metres with one bed and one mattress 

on the floor and with a combined toilet 

and washing facility in the cell and lights 

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Villy Larsen’s passport shows an entry stamp 

for prosecution. 

on 24 hours a day. It was a real change of 

lifestyle for me. I was used to working from 

six am to late at night every day onboard 

the ship, reading, talking and taking care of 

the engine as well as the whole ship. Now I 

had nothing to do at all. Nothing whatso- 

ever. No reading stuff, and the only TV on 

was the TV shop in the dayroom in the 

prison. And no smoking!” 

Assault with deadly weapon 

On November 27, Villy Larsen was brought 

to a court in Wilmington, where the prosecutor 

and his own lawyer insisted on a 

release, but the judge wanted a declaration 

from the US Home Land Security saying 

that they did not have any claims on Villy 

Larsen. So it was back to jail. The paper 

from Home Land Security was provided 

on December 18 and the same day Villy 

Larsen was escorted to the airport and sent 

on a plane to London. Then the original 

charge – assault nine times with a deadly 

weapon (read: the ship) giving a fine of 

USD 240,000 and twenty years in prison – 

was boiled down to time served plus a fine 

of USD 100 for abusive language and inexpedient 

manoeuvring. 

No roses for the employer 

“I must praise my union Maritime Leaders 

to the absolute highest level”, says Villy 

Larsen. “From the very first days they did 

everything possible to help me. They pro- 

THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON 

COMPUTER APPLICATIONS IN SHIPBUILDING (ICCAS 2007) 

18-20 September 2007, Portsmouth, UK 

vided me with a lawyer and paid that for 

me and furthermore, they provided me 

with money to buy extra food in the 

prison. There you get a jail account to 

which they transferred money on a weekly 

basis. On the home front they also took 

mental care of my wife Lone, who was sent 

home from Wilmington without knowing 

anything about my fate.” 

“On the other hand, there is no reason 

for roses to my company H. Folmer & Co, 

who did nothing to free me from jail. I 

think they kept a low profile in order to 

keep the profitable charters out of South 

Carolina. Neither was there any help when 

Lone called the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

This is your own problem, was the answer 

she got from a telephone call.” 

Villy Larsen and his wife took off at the 

end of January for Namibia to sign on to 

the sister ship Danica Brown for trading 

between Namibia and the Congo River in 

Africa. 

“Africa is much easier to work in. With a 

couple of cartons of cigarettes most problems 

can be solved there and then”, 

explains Villy Larsen. 

bent mikkelsen 

ICCAS 2007 will be the 13th International Conference on Computer Applications in Shipbuilding. The 2007 conference will be held in Portsmouth, UK, on 18-20 September 2007. 

The conference will review operational experience from existing computer applications in the design and build of ships and offshore structures. It will also examine the advances in 

Information Technology which have contributed to increased productivity in both shipbuilding and maritime operations; including increasing co-operative working between shipyards, 

marine equipment and system manufacturers, engineering partners and shipping companies. 

The conference will cover the full range of topics related to computer applications and abstracts are invited on: 

• Concept design, tendering, initial design, general arrangement, cost and work estimation, hull form, hydrodynamic analysis and basic structural 

design, risk based design 

Detailed and production design 

Structure, machinery, hull and outfitting design 

Parts manufacturing and assembly 

Prefabrication, shop automation, robotics, assembly, simulations and accuracy control 

Material management 

Material control, supply chain management, Logistics and e-solutions 

Inspection and maintenance 

Life-cycle maintenance, parts and systems reliability, inspection standards and Risk management. 

Knowledge Management and Innovation Management 

Authors should focus their papers on advances made in information and communication technology with respect to methods, tools, standards and organisational adaptations in the 

different application sectors of the shipbuilding industry. A reflection on the potential impact of the innovation described to productivity improvements is appreciated. 

The conference will attract a large international audience and provide a forum and means of professional development for all parties interested in computer applications in 

shipbuilding. 

Key dates and up to date information will be displayed on the website at: www.rina.org.uk/events 


The Royal Institution of Naval Architects 

If you would like to submit an abstract or require further information, please contact: 

Conference Department, RINA, 10 Upper Belgrave Street, London SW1X 8BQ. 

Tel +44 (0)7201 2401, Fax +44 (0)20 7259 5912 or by Email: conference@rina.org.uk 


Master Mariner 

or Master Criminal? 

Mark Twain once wrote “sailing is like 

being in jail, but with the added 

opportunity of drowning”. Captain 

Larsen has tried the correctness of 

that statement the hard way, and 

unfortunately, his encounter with the 

American Department of Justice is not 

an isolated experience. 

❯ 

Over the past years, developments 

show a trend where a criminal charge 

against the individual seafarer has become 

the prosecutor’s tool of choice in order to 

attend to safety, security and environmental 

issues. Accidents, especially those 

involving oil spill, result in not only liability, 

but also in criminal investigation. It is 

widely accepted that any deliberate actions 

that result in pollution, injury to life, 

industry and the environment should be 

taken seriously, but in many cases, a criminal 

investigation is initiated even if an 

error in navigation or management of the 

vessel caused the incident. According to 

those who advocate this, the aim is to discourage 

others as well as punish the wrongdoer. 

In his interview, captain Larsen criticizes 

Birgitta Hed of the Swedish Club. 

the owners of the Danica White for the 

meagre assistance in his precarious situation, 

and instead praises his union, the 

Maritime Leaders, for all their efforts. 

Since the P&I does not cover costs and 

fines deriving from a criminal charge, an 

experience like captain Larsen’s can be a 

costly occurrence for all involved. 

Birgitta Hed, Deputy Area Manager at 

the Swedish Club, therefore stresses the 

importance of a contingency plan for the 

ship owner on how to handle criminal 

investigations, so that all functions 

involved – the owner, management and 

crew – are aware of their rights and obligations 

and how to avoid additional charges 

of obstruction of justice. 

Rewarding the whistle blower 

A policy well known to all employees will 

also serve another purpose. Birgitta Hed 

relates to the American authorities’ campaign, 

where a “whistle blower” is entitled 

to a percentage of the fine imposed if they 

tell their side of the story. A well informed 

crew that feel the support of their employer 

will less likely end up as a hostile witness 

in a crime investigation, but instead work 

with the company in improving routines 

and preventing accidents. 

A fully implemented Safety Management 

System (SMS) is the backbone in loss 

prevention at sea and can of course be 

helpful in any investigation. However, 

when prosecutors exploit the information 

from incident reports to nail the crew or, as 

in some cases, the shore based Designated 

Person (DP), there may be a risk that the 

already scarce reporting is curbed even 

more. The focus shifts from lessons to be 

learned to finding fault and a scapegoat; 

the opposite of what International Safety 

Management sought to achieve. There 

have also been cases where people, on the 

advice of their lawyers, entirely refuse to 

speak to investigators of an incident, thus 

comprising truth and transparency. 

Birgitta Hed believes this trend is clearly 

counterproductive and that it may result in 

suppressed incident reporting, among other 

things. 

Similarly, Peter Jodin, who is Safety 

Manager at Wallenius Marine, thinks that 

people onboard will think both once and 

twice before reporting accidents and near 

misses. Wallenius Marine has not had an 

We will not leave any 

of our boys or girls behind. 

incident like this yet but Captain Jodin 

feels confident they know how to react 

when and if it happens. 

“We will not leave any of our boys or 

girls behind”, says Peter Jodin. 

If ever in the situation, Wallenius 

Marine will set their P&I and local agent to 

work to arrange with legal assistance. Even 

if in the end the P&I will not cover the 

charges, the person accused is innocent 

until proven guilty and will get all necessary 

assistance. 

Written policy on the way 

At Transatlantic, they are equally prepared 

for the worst. A written policy is on its way 

out to the ships and the issue was recently 

discussed at a conference with the company’s 

senior officers and engineers. The concept 

is the same. 

“Transatlantic will immediately contact 

our insurance companies and use their 

expertise to arrange for legal assistance and 

to raise a possible bail”, says Lars Holmberg, 

Technical Manager at Transatlantic. 

Experience has shown that both guilty 

and innocent seafarers are caught in criminal 

investigations, often with great harm 

done, both personally and economically, 

before a decision is made. With today’s 

shortage of quality seafarers, the trend to 

criminalize the seafarer may possibly act as 

a deterrent to those interested in a seagoing 

career. Who wants to take up the 

challenge of becoming the company’s DP 

or accept the position as captain or chief 

engineer, if the risk at stake involves 

prison? 

cecilia österman 


Inherent 

problems 

in Baltic Rim 

economies 

Skyscrapers crowd the modern parts of Tallinn. 

Given the expected global 

downturn this year, the Baltic 

Rim countries – Estonia, 

Latvia, Lithuania and Poland 

– will be hard put to retain 

their astonishing growth rate at or around 10 

per cent, which is not far off that of China. 

When we wrote about the economic 

developments in these countries a year ago 

we commented that there are inherent risks 

with strong economic growth, the most 

important being inflation, which is not 

under control in any of these countries. 

Estonia and Lithuania wanted to join the 

European Monetary Union (EMU) last 

year but were rejected because of too high 

inflation. New applications will be forthcoming 

with the view to join in 2009. That 

would be realistic for all except Poland, 

which could only realistically hope to join 

in 2013, according to Nordea’s latest Baltic 

Rim Outlook. It is ironic that the reason 

why Estonia and Lithuania wanted to join 

the EMU was to retain inflation. 

EU deemed too rigid 

Maybe the European Union was too rigid 

when it rejected Estonia’s and Lithuania’s 

EMU application. Niels Mygind, writing 

in Baltic Rim Economies, said that “after 

the fall of the command economies they 

(the countries) needed deep restructuring 

from a system based on bureaucratic directives 

to a new market system where customers’ 

demand and market based costs 

completely changed what and how companies 

should produce. Quite fast companies 

cut away unprofitable production, but it 

took several years to build up the new production 

structure with new technology, 

products and markets. Therefore the gross 

domestic product (GDP) fell in the first 

MADLI VITISMANN 

years and bottomed out around 1994”. 

By all accounts, these countries have 

gone a very long way in a relatively short 

time, from early 1990s, trying to catch up. 

There are bound to be problems when you 

cut the odd economic corner. 

Highest GDP in Estonia 

Estonia had its highest GDP growth ever 

last year with just above 12 per cent, 1.0 

per cent higher than China, and higher 

than any of the other Baltic Rim countries. 

Baltic Rim Outlook claims the Estonian 

GDP growth has peaked and that growth 

will revert to single digit this year. However, 

there are other potential shocks latent 

in the economy, the most potent being 

real estate prices, which now seem to have 

peaked. 

More important is that lending in general 

is down on 2005 and this weakening trend 


Consumer prices year-on-year 

Per cent 

8 

7 

6 

5 

4 

3 

2 

1 

‘04 

Source: Nordea 

‘05 

‘06* 

■ Poland 

■ Lithuania 

■ Latvia 

■ Estonia 

‘07* 

‘08* 

in credit growth should stop the economy 

from over-heating. 

However, there is still a question mark 

concerning corporate lending. As it is, the 

Estonian economy remains stretched to its 

limit. With unemployment historically low 

at around 5.5 per cent this year, there is 

very little slack left except that the government 

could try to reduce structural unemployment, 

i. e. the mismatch between 

workers looking for job and the vacancies 

available. It is surely a case of available 

skills not matching demand. 

Over-heating abating 

Not surprising Lithuania’s economy is at or 

near a boiling point. On current evidence 

and with real estate prices stabilising, the 

danger should be over for now. Nordea 

Unemployment rate 

Per cent 

20 

18 

16 

14 

12 

10 

8 

6 

4 

‘04 

‘05 

‘06* 

■ Poland 

■ Lithuania 

■ Latvia 

■ Estonia 

notes that there has not been any largescale 

loss of competitiveness, mainly 

thanks to lower inflation, than in the other 

Baltic Rim countries. 

Since the membership in the European 

Union in 2004, emigration from Lithuania 

has been quite big and the labour force has 

shrunk by 30,000 people in two years to 

the end of 2006. Shortage of labour has 

forced wage claims up into double figures, 

especially since late 2005. 

A loose fiscal policy has also added 

demand pressure. Tax cuts from 33 to 27 

per cent and plans for a further cut to 24 

per cent has fed into a stronger than expected 

GDP growth. And now there is even talk 

of cutting income tax to 20 per cent. 

If they can balance this potential increase 

in private demand finely against available 

supply in the economy, Lithuania could be 

in a position to sustain those tax cuts. 

Too strong growth 

Latvia experienced very strong growth in the 

past two years, but it may already have 

peaked simply because growth rates in 

excess of 10 per cent was not sustainable. 

There is an added problem with the black 

economy, which the authorities say they are 

fighting with all available means. Meanwhile 

all lot of attention is attached to real 

estate prices, which any believe are too high. 

Nordea indicates that the real estate market 

could outpace the whole Latvian economy, 

like it has done in the past two years. 

Many economists are looking for signs 

of an economic correction, but are unsure 

of what could trigger it. Higher cost of 


‘07* 

‘08* 

Gross domestic product 

Per cent 

How many dollars per ton are you losing today? 

15 

13 

11 

9 

7 

5 

3 

‘04 

‘05 

‘06* 

■ Poland 

■ Lithuania 

■ Latvia 

■ Estonia 

Keep wondering where your company is leaking money? We believe that in many cases the leak can 

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‘07* 

‘08* 

* Estimates

Old City Harbour in Tallinn, Estonia. Cranes for newbuildings are all over. 

money is always a way out, but Latvia does 

not want to increase interests because that 

would delay a possible entry into the European 

Monetary Union (EMU). A tight 

labour market adds to the problem of stabilising 

the economy. 

Domestic demand strengthens Poland 

Continued high unemployment and rising 

wage pressure is a contradiction in terms if 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

there ever was one, but they are both vital 

elements in Poland’s economic development. 

After low growth in the economy in 

2005 the rate is now picking up to close to 

5.5 per cent last year. A general comment 

about the Polish economy is that both the 

private and the corporate sector seem to be 

in good shape. A key could be that the 

economy is increasingly reliant on domestic 

demand. This will make the economy 

 

 

 

 

 

more resilient, especially if the global economy 

should slow down. 

It is also important to note that there is a 

big element of structural unemployment. 

Perhaps the most important development 

in the Polish economy is that investment is 

picking up quite considerably. Admittedly 

most of the increase has been in the financial 

sector and in the public sector. 

Polish companies experience high profitability 

and access to relatively cheap 

funding. Poland has also been quite successful 

in containing inflation, which is 

expected to remain the lowest of the Baltic 

Rim area for some time. The problem now 

is how to handle the potentially nasty 

problem of accelerating unit labour costs. 

So far productivity in manufacturing has 

outpaced wage increases, while the service 

sector has not. 

petter arentz 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MADLI VITISMANN 

Polish companies experience 

high profitability.

IT & 

COMMUNICATIONS Editor: 

Marstal computer training secures skill on ice-tankers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 

Latest IT makes Dover Strait passage safer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 

A high-tech trip across the English Channel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 

3D – the next generation of nautical charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 

Internet provides valuable aid for winter navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 

AIS makes life easier for service providers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 

Towards the virtual ship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 

Quantum leaps in forecasting extreme weather . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 

Petter Arentz 

PÄR-HENRIK SJÖSTRÖM 



Safe ice sailings on Primorsk 

Marstal computer training 

secures skill on ice-tankers 

A tanker approaching the Primorsk terminal in icy conditions – in Marstal. 

How does a shipping company with 

a large portfolio of ice-strengthened 

tankers on order provide the 

necessary experienced crew even 

before sailing on the tankers? The 

answer is: put all the data into a 

computer and send the navigators on 

a training course at Marstal 

Navigationsskole. 

That was how it was done by Dampsskibselskabet 

Torm, as the commercial 

co-ordinator for three individual 

owners sailing in Torm’s ice-pool. When 

the contracts for several ice-strengthened 

tankers were signed with Guangzhou Shipyard 

International, a step towards Marstal 

Navigationsskole was taken as well. The 

course department was contacted and 

asked to set up a training session for crew 

sailing on an ice-strengthened tanker 

approaching the Russian oil export harbour 

of Primorsk, situated at the east end of the 

Gulf of Finland. For five to six months per 

year the area is covered with ice of varying 

thickness ranging from the mid-winter all 

covered condition to the spring season 

with ice floes in between open water. 

“That was an interesting challenge for 

the course management team at Marstal”, 

says Bjørn Kay, one of the three instructors. 

“We have all been sailing in icy conditions 

as mariners, so we used our own 

experience to set up the conditions. We 


Sailing on the patrol ships 

was much more educating 

than sailing on a cargo ship. 

don’t do everything alone, we bought 

some general background conditions from 

the computer software supplier Kongsberg, 

which came with the landscape and waterways 

software”. 

Skills from Greenland sailings 

Before joining the team of instructors at 

Marstal Navigationsskole, he served as 

Master Mariner sailing in Greenlandic 


waters on the cargo ships from Royal Arctic 

Line, which serve the ports in Greenland 

all year round. His co-instructor on 

the Primorsk programme, Ken Vøge, 

learned his skills on the Danish Navy 

patrol ship sailing in Greenlandic waters 

for fishery inspection and sovereignty 

keeping. 

You have to use the ice 

as part of the ship. 

“Sailing on the patrol ships was much 

more educating than sailing on a cargo 

ship”, says Ken Vøge. “Patrol ships go into 

much more complicated waters than normal 

ships”. 

Despite this vast knowledge of ice sailing, 

the instructors have called in two other colleagues 

from Royal Arctic Line to act as coinstructors 

and lecturers during the courses. 

The actual training goes on in one of 

three simulators situated at Marstal Navigationsskole. 

50 computers, enabling the 

instructors to put in all sorts of parameters 

on a specific sailing to the port of Primorsk, 

support the simulator. 

“Looking at Primorsk, it is really a simple 

place to approach”, explains Bjørn Kay. 

“There is nothing apart from a jetty built 

out in the deep water, several hundred 

metres from the shore. But it is the weather 

conditions with full ice for long periods 

that raise the requirements for training 

beforehand”. 

The computer programme is built to be 

changed on a day-to-day basis, which 

means that the instructor can go online to 

today’s ice map on the Internet and use 

this as a parameter for today’s sailing in the 

simulator. 

Fatal manoeuvre 

It is rather complicated to explain all the 

factors that make sailing in ice something 

that needs more attention than sailing in 

soft water. 

“You have to use the ice as part of the 

ship”, says Bjørn Kay. “Instead of using the 

engine to stop the ship you must learn to 

use the ice. Making a reverse manoeuvre 

with the propeller can be fatal as the propeller 

could pump ice into the propeller 

causing damage and offhire. So one has to 

be careful with this kind of engine 

manoeuvring”. 

The course is set up to support safe sailing 

for a portfolio of 16 new tankers under 

construction in China for commercial 

management at Dampskibsselskabet Torm 

in København. The first of the tankers was 

the Gotland Carolina, owned by Gotlandsbolaget 

AB in Slite, but flying the Danish 

flag and managed by Torm. 

The tanker fleet will be owned by four 

owners, Gotlandsbolaget, D/S Torm, Italian 

LGR-Group and the Russian Prisco. All 

units will be sister ships with a capacity of 

53,483 cubic metres at 53,160 DWT. The 

length will be 183 metres, width 32.2 

metres and draft 13.5 metres. They will all 

be built to Ice Class 1A under Det Norske 

Veritas. 

Other ships 

Ice sailing to Primorsk is only one of several 

courses done by the team at Marstal. In 

the years before, the simulators were used 

for several other ship types. Amongst them 

is the DFDS Flowerclass ro-ro (the Tor 

Magnolia and sisters). Before they were 

inaugurated most of the mariners trained at 

Marstal, approaching Göteborg as well as 

locks at Immingham. 

There were some parameters in the 

weather conditions that were tested in the 


Today’s ice conditions being put into the 

computer by instructor Bjørn Kay, Marstal 

Navigationsskole. 

simulator. Before trials in the simulator 

there was a limit of 13 metres per second in 

wind speed, but after testing in the simulator 

with no cost of repair to the vessel, the 

wind speed limit was changed to 15 metres 

per second. 

“It is much cheaper to make a mistake 

on our ships than in the real world”, says 

Bjørn Kay. “And we can set up any ship 

and any port if needed by our costumers”, 

he adds. 





The simulator consists of 50 PC’s, each with a different task in the whole picture in the 

wheelhouse.


Latest IT makes 

Dover Strait 

passage safer 

The three screen workstations at Dover CNIS are highly configurable. Here a watch officer takes a mandatory 

report from a vessel approaching the South West channel. 

The Dover Strait is the world’s busiest 

waterway with almost 60,000 

movements in 2006 down the South 

West (British-monitored) channel and 

approximately the same number up 

the North East (French-monitored) 

side. 

The total tonnage moving through 

this relatively narrow channel is 

close on three billion. The figure 

does not take account of the daily crisscrossing 

of ferries, which add many thousand 

more movements. But is the latest IT 

making the Dover Straits passage safer and 

easier or are there still serious challenges 

that need to be sorted out? Scandinavian 

Shipping Gazette (SSG) investigates. 

Mike Toogood is the manager of Dover 

Channel Navigation Information Service 

(CNIS) of the British Maritime and Coastguard 

Agency (CMA). The only thing 

wrong with his office at the Langdon Battery, 

atop the White Cliffs to the east of 

Dover, is that his window faces inland. Toogood 

is therefore not so much master of all 

he surveys, but of everything on the other 

side of the corridor outside his door. The 

spectacular southern views over the town’s 

bustling harbour and out across the Channel 

are reserved for the MCA’s meeting 

room and the Coast Guard control room 

below it. Toogood confesses that it is 

indeed hard to get attendees at meetings in 

the boardroom to pay full attention, so 

they normally close the blinds. Down in 

the control room, by and large staff are too 

busy focused on their screens observing 

shipping movements. Glances out the 

panoramic windows are generally for breaks 

or when the powerful mounted binoculars 

are needed to physically verify a detail. 

Dover CNIS monitors a 65 mile stretch 

of the British side of the Channel, from 

Foxtrot 3 buoy in the north down as far as 

the Greenwich buoy at the southern end of 

the Dover Strait and out to the South West 

separation lane on the English side of the 

Channel, which at its narrowest between 

Dover and the French Coast Guard centre 

at Cap Gris Nez, is some 20 miles. Its primary 

objective is traffic information, but 

all its operators are also trained Search and 

Rescue controllers, who run emergencies 

whether major collisions at sea or falls 

from cliffs or missing person searches along 

the littoral. 

Norcontrol IT VTMIS 

The core of Dover CNIS’s technology is 

Norcontrol IT’s Vehicle Traffic Management 

System, VTMIS 5060, which came 

live in 2003. A cousin of the port control 

systems, in which Norcontrol more regularly 

competes with some dozen other principal 

suppliers, the critical talent of the 

VTMIS 5060 is that it takes data from disparate 

sources and combines them on 

screen in a way that can be manipulated to 

suit an operator’s primary concerns at any 

given moment. 

“Unlike port control systems, where 

advance notification of up to 72 hours is 

required”, says Steve Guest of Norcontrol 

IT’s UK office, “Dover has no prior notification. 

The first thing they know is when 

the ship calls them up outside the reporting 

area. We needed to develop with them 

a bespoke solution to enable them to capture 

all the data that they required in real 

time. To get their Calais-Dover Report 


(CALDOVREP) onto their screen, we had 

to come up with a sophisticated management 

system.” 

Highly manipulatable 

Brought together within CNIS are data 

from radar, Automatic Identification Systems 

(AIS) and VHF radio direction finders. 

These are displayed with S-57 standard 

electronic chart features in a single highly 

manipulatable system, which includes predictive 

plotting. The information is presented 

on an array of three large LCD 

screens, which are visible even when the 

low winter sun is streaming in through the 

control-room windows. 

The only data still independent of the 

Norcontrol IT system are tidal information 

and weather conditions. There is in theory 

no reason why these data could not also be 

fed in. There is however a sense, similar to 

that to be found on high technology 

bridges, that the experienced Coast Guard 

or mariner (the former are often though 

not exclusively the latter) wants to maintain 

a physical hold over some element of 

judgement. 

In Dover CNIS, tidal data sits on a 

stand-alone system and Watch Officers use 

their experience to calculate the impact of 

wind and tide on shipping movements that 

may be causing concern. 

Cannot act to control movements 

Concern however is just about all that can 

be caused at Dover CNIS and the French 

Coast Guard station at Cap Gris Nez. This 

is because despite being responsible for the 

safety of traffic separation in the world’s 

most crowded shipping lane, neither one 

organisation has the power to take active 

control of movements. CNIS puts out 

hourly VHF information broadcasts, which 

go to half hourly in bad visibility. One London 

consultant, who has worked worldwide 

with Coast Guard organisations, comments: 

“There is an apparent absurdity here. On 

a day-to-day basis all that they can provide 

is information to vessels passing through. 

They can at best suggest course changes, 

but they have no universal power to regulate 

traffic. In the event of a major catastrophe 

blocking one of the through channels, 

the French and British would obviously 

have to organise a temporary traffic system, 

even if they were not strictly entitled to do 

it. However even then, there would be no 

obligation on any master to take any 

notice of the new arrangements.” 

Mike Toogood asserts that the authorities 

on both sides of the channel are content 

with the status quo. To regulate traffic separation 

through the Channel as it is done 

into ports, would demand a far larger supervisory 

effort and the resources to enforce 

instructions that were being ignored. 

As it is, Dover CNIS has a fixed wing 

Britten-Norman Islander aircraft, able to 

identify vessel names in the dark, which it 

can call up from Manston in Kent and a 

tug on charter to the Coast guard. There 

are generally two reasons for Dover CNIS 

to mobilise such resources; when a vessel 

fails to make the mandatory report when 

passing into the Channel, and when it 

behaves in a dangerous manner. 

Shortly before SSG’s visit to Langdon 

Battery, the MCA tug had been sent out to 

a ship that was straying in and out of the 

inshore navigation area, apparently unsure 

of the location of the SW channel. When 

watch officers at Dover CNIS were unable 

to raise the vessel on either Channel 16 or 

11, the tug was sent to intercept it. Toogood 

says that on that occasion no action 

was taken against the vessel’s master. For 

serious breaches of regulations, such as vessels 

with faulty AIS transponders or navigated 

in a dangerous manner in breach of 

COLREGS, a report is sent to MCA headquarters 

at Southampton. This will include 

a copy of the digital record of the vessel’s 

movements in relation to other traffic. 

Hazardous navigation 

One matter of continuing concern to the 

authorities is the speed of vessels in fog. 

Commercial pressures sometimes appear to 


Dover CNIS’s Langdon Battery site once defended against invasion. Today it’s high technology 

that defends against danger and disaster in the Dover Strait. 

be militating against safe navigation. An 

experienced cross-Channel ferry master has 

expressed particular concern about movements 

of ULCC’s within the narrow deepwater 

channel, which falls mostly within 

the British-monitored southwest lane. 

“These behemoths, even at speed, are 

not hugely manoeuvrable. The nightmare 

on a Channel crossing is that you have 

three or four of them passing each other 

and you have to work out where to find a 

safe way. It is down to you. In any sort of 

emergency, they could not do much about 

their course and heading, even if they tried. 

But then I take the view, sometimes forgotten 

by younger deck officers, that if it is 

absolutely necessary, I can always stop.” 

The last serious collision, between the 

Dutch Aquamarine and MV Ash in October 

2001, was actually caused by an officer 

more interested in looking at his radar 

screen than out the bridge window, which 

caused his vessel to ram the stern of the 

other. 

Few procecutions 

“By its nature most of the traffic passing 

down the SW channel is not bound for a 

UK port”, says Toogood. “If a rule-breaker 

is actually UK bound, then of course 

action will be taken against the master as 

soon as he docks. If the next port of call is 

another EU port, then we will also pass on 

details of the offence for action to be taken 

at that location. A non-working transponder, 

for instance, would in the EU normally 

result in that vessel being detained in 

port until it was fixed. Normally however 

we will forward details of the infringement 



The lofty Dover CNIS operations room on the cliffs above the harbour has spectacular views, 

but most of the time watch officers are focused on their screens. 

to the flag country and rely upon the 

authorities there to take action.” 

It is, admits Toogood, rare for prosecutions 

to be initiated by the British authorities: 

“This is in part because once a vessel 

receives a warning, there tends to be an 

improvement in behaviour the next time 

through. We certainly watch such vessels 

and they know we are watching them.” 

This is made easier by the automatic 

recording of every minute activity in both 

the British and French lanes of the Channel. 

Normally the records are archived on 

high-density digital video media and 

retained for six years. However, data on all 

incidents are kept longer. Thus the records 

of a craft that has behaved aberrantly on a 

previous passage can be brought up on the 

watch officers’ screen when she reappears 

and is identified. Unfortunately identification 

is still not necessarily straightforward. 

“Zombies” 

Despite the requirement for AIS transponders 

on all vessels over 300 tonnes, the 

French and British Coast Guards monitoring 

the Channel continue to come across 

rule breakers. Toogood reckons that on 

average two vessels a week go through the 

SW channel with faulty or non-working 

transponders. They will probably make the 

mandatory call when passing the Hinde 

Buoy or Shoreham, but not be transmitting 

the right data. An analyst comments: 

“Classically, while the static and dynamic 

data given out by the AIS is correct, the 

voyage related information has not been 

updated. Then again there can be malfunctions 

in the collection of the dynamic data 

or the unit may not be working at all. The 

Coast Guards on both sides of the Channel 

call such rogue vessels ‘zombies’ and 

absolutely hate them, especially when they 

don’t respond to any calls on any channel. 

At that point other shipping may have to 

be warned and indeed asked if they can 

provide an identification for the nonreporting 

vessel ‘zombie’.” 

Toogood points out that under SOLAS 

rules a master may turn off his transponder if 

he believes that it is endangering his vessel or 

its cargo. There are clear security implications 

for certain vessels with sensitive shipments 

such as nuclear waste. However AIS 

transponders are increasingly being disabled 

for commercial purposes. This seems to be 

particularly true of oil product tankers. Owners 

are concerned that data on their cargo 

can be picked up by competitors or speculators 

who had made the simple investment in 

a GBP 300 AIS receiver and a VHF aerial or 

subscribed to www.AISlive.com. Part of the 

mandatory reporting requirement includes 

the existence of any dangerous cargo, but 

this brief one-off radio message does not 

need to give CNIS watch officers precise 

details. The Hazmat reports thus generated 

from the MCA merely record the presence 

of a hazard. 

“In the event of an incident”, says Toogood, 

“further particulars of the shipment 

would be requested immediately from the 

owners.” 

Norcontrol IT won the job 

Norcontrol IT won the mandate to equip 

Dover CNIS from some 20 suppliers, who 

pitched for the business. Though the com- 

pany’s main installations are at some 170 

ports worldwide, in what Steve Guest 

describes as a highly competitive market, 

equipping the British Coast Guard station 

at Langdon Battery with a VTMIS was a 

much sought after job. 

“It was a high profile contract that was 

good to win”, says Guest. 

The fact that Norcontrol IT had already 

installed traffic monitoring systems in the 

Straits of Gibraltar, Singapore and the Oslo 

Fjord may have helped. 

“Technical competence was very high on 

their list of requirements. The system had 

to be resilient, proven and had to have all 

the necessary functionality.” 

All the companies tendering produced 

designs based on off-the-shelf hardware 

and software. 

“The days of proprietary solutions are 

long gone”, says Guest. 

The Norcontrol IT’s CNIS installation 

has a design life of 15 years with the 

replacement of all hardware after some seven 

years. This will, he explains, merely be to 

mitigate the risk of units wearing out and 

breaking down. Though his company has 

an open-ended support and maintenance 

for the system, Guest does not foresee 

much in the way of upgrades in processor 

power, even though according to Moore’s 

Law, within the 15-year life of the product 

processor speeds will have been boosted by 

the power of 10 with a relative reduction in 

their cost. 

As Mike Toogood shows off the air-conditioned 

and high-security protected room 

that houses the processors, he confesses that 

there is not much that he thinks that the 

VTMIS system needs to do very much 

faster. The integration of tidal and weather 

data within the system at some future date 

might require more processing muscle, but 

this was not an upgrade that was presently 

planned. 

Norcontrol IT’s initial success with the 

VTMIS contract almost certainly strengthened 

their chances of winning the turnkey 

AIS contract, let by the MCA, to establish 

53 workstations around the UK coast to 

monitor ship movements over 300 tonnes 

up to 30 miles offshore. Though coverage 

extends along the entire 10,500 miles of 

British coast, the focus is on critical shipping 

areas. Besides the Dover Straits these 

include the Isles of Scilly and South Western 

Approaches, the Smalls, the North 

Channel, the Pentland Firth, Fair Isle Gap, 

the Minches and the north east coast. The 


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original engineering trials of the Norcontrol 

IT AIS equipment was run on the 

Dover Straits. 

The next technology 

The next big technology, believes Guest, 

will focus on Long Range Identification 

and Tracking (LRIT). 

“The way we see it going, we are pretty 

much bound at the moment by coastal 

VHF ranges. The next technology that is 

going to impact us will be LRIT, which is 

being driven by the EU’s Maritime Navigation 

Information Services (MarNIS) project. 

A far wider range of data will be 

acquired by an expanded range of censors”, 

says Guest. 

Vessel Management Systems will be taking 

feeds from satellites, underwater censor 

suites, over the horizon HF radar, electrooptic 

sensors, cameras, thermal imagery 

and laser designators. 

People will need to look at what the 

threat is and what they are out to achieve. 

For some waters clearly they will need a 

different censor suite. The game however 

will always be to pull all that information 

together and making it available on this 

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highway. 

Langdon Battery operates with 30 people 

in the operations room, divided into 

four watches. Each works a 12 hours shift 

with an hour and a half for meal breaks. 

The operations room has 11 different 

screens and processors, each of which is 

multifunctional. 

In the event that more than one or two 

of the workstations ceased to function, the 

training machines above the operations 

room could be brought into use and 

switched into the main system. These 

machines can take the same real time datafeeds 

as the operational stations below, but 

normally instructors working from an adjacent 

soundproof room can put in test scenarios 

from their own workstations to challenge 

the students. 

At the moment on any standard day, the 

screens, even on close ranges, can seem 

cluttered with radar plot and data from 

Class A transponders. When regulations 

requiring yachts and other pleasure craft to 

fit Class B transponders are finally introduced, 

the screens are set to become even 

busier. Nevertheless watch officers will be 

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able to filter out all the data that they do 

not currently need. 

Last year 59,919 vessels with a total 

deadweight of 1.48 billion tonnes moved 

down the British monitored Channel lane. 

When yachts and other pleasure boats are 

finally added to the mix, the clutter is likely 

to be extraordinary and test the Norcontrol 

IT systems. 

“I think MCA regard the arrival of the 

class B transponders with something 

approaching dread”, said the London consultant. 

“That’s not because they will have 

so much more information to handle – I 

cannot see that itself being a problem with 

their VTMIS set up at CNIS, but because 

they may end up with the job of actually 

regulating sub-300 tonnes craft movements, 

which is not what they see themselves 

as being about.” 

The crackpots 

Dover CNIS already has one regular 

headache to cope with every year – people 

who choose to swim, pedalo, canoe, water 

ski or paddle themselves across the Channel 

in bath tubs. There are 150 swimmers 

each year and between 20 and 30 people 

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who choose to make unorthodox crossings. 

Mike Toogood confesses frankly: 

“The presence of these people in one of 

the busiest shipping lanes in the world is a 

nightmare. We have frequently had vessels 

go around swimmers, even though the 

onus is on the swimmer to stop and wait 

with his or her support boat.” 

Toogood notes that the French do not 

experience the problem to the same extent, 

since it is illegal for anyone to set off to 

swim the Channel from France. Even the 

two-width swimmers (double-headers) who 

immediately turn around to swim back to 

England are not allowed to let their feet 

touch a French beach, on pain of arrest. 

“It would not be so bad if they wore AIS 

transponders on the swimming caps”, comments 

a ferry captain, “preferably very 

heavy ones that made it difficult for them 

to stay afloat.” 

When the MCA decided to update the 

automatic data processing system that has 

been running since 1983, the French Coast 

Guard were invited to take part in the formulation 

of the specifications and the 

actual building and purchase of the installation. 

Unfortunately, explains Toogood, in 

Star Project 

Management software for 

docking, repair & conversion 

Generate 

Docking specification 

Compare 

Quotes from yards 

Manage 

Agreements and contracts 

Organize 

Change orders 

Control 

Progress and cost 

Settlement 

The yard bill 

Update 

Maintenance history 

2002, at the time that the UK decided to 

press ahead with its VTMIS upgrade at 

Dover, the French were unable to join in 

because they did not have the budget. 

They have since got finance, both for 

new traffic management equipment and 

also for the expansion of their still limited 

AIS monitoring. The contract was however 

let to Sofrelog, now part of EADS, senior 

partner in the currently troubled Airbus 

consortium. The new VTMIS systems have 

not yet come live. There is currently no 

specified link between the British and 

French VTMIS. 

No agreed protocol 

At the moment there is a Norcontrol IT 

workstation installed at Cap Gris Nez, so 

that French watch officers can see what 

their British colleagues are looking at. But 

there is no exchange of data, which runs 

automatically into either system. (The two 

Coast Guards once exchanged ship reports 

by fax but now do so by email.) A 

microwave communications link now 

points from Langdon Battery to Griz Nez, 

but it is used at present mostly for phone 

calls and updating the MCA workstation 


in France. Norcontrol IT’s Steve Guest 

does not however see that once the French 

VTMIS system is up and running, there 

will be any problem setting up an automated 

exchange of data that can then be displayed 

as desired on French and British 

Coast Guard screens. 

“It is merely a case of agreeing protocols, 

which is no big deal”, says Guest. 

If exchanging data has yet to be established, 

the exchange of experience has 

long been under way. British and French 

Coast Guards spend up to a week at a time 

working with their colleagues on the other 

side of the Channel. It is, said Toogood, 

an important and beneficial exercise in 

maintaining professional relations and 

operational understanding. There was 

however, he confessed, one problem about 

which the Langdon Battery staff always felt 

guilty: 

“At Cap Griz Nez, the French have their 

own chef and mess and the food is excellent. 

We have no such facilities here. 

Unfortunately the best we can do to feed 

our French guests is to send down into 

Dover for some sandwiches.” 

nigel ash 

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Highways 4 and 6 meet here. 

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Hilanders

Maersk Dunkerque. 

It perhaps ought not to be surprising 

that mariners prefer to stick to what 

they know. Even when it comes to the 

digital bridge and advanced radar chart 

plotters, experienced sailors do not always 

enjoy working with an unfamiliar system. 

It is not unheard of, for instance, for complaints 

to be made that a newer system 

such as Furuno has more data on screen 

and is therefore more confusing to work 

with than a more familiar competitor like 

Sperry’s Bridgemaster. In truth however 

the difference in the amount of information 

on each display is generally marginal. 

According to a senior trainer: 

“These reactions are not to be ignored, 

because in the end the mariner has to have 

confidence in the equipment. The Mark 1 

Eyeball will always be the best technology 

on any bridge. However there are likely to 

be crucial decisions to be made on virtually 

every voyage where the radar and 

ECDIS stations are going to play key roles. 

Such equipment therefore needs to enjoy 

an officer’s confidence.” 

False plots occur 

Problems of false plots – or worse, unseen 

targets – are anomalies that can still crop 

up as the operator goes through different 

screen modes. Thus that a plot might be 

showing up on one screen on the bridge 

whereas it is not visible on a differently 

operator-configured screen close by. Engineers 

explain that the challenge here often 

lies in the size of the gates for the capturing 

information. Set too wide, they will produce 

too much; too low and too little. The 


A high-tech trip 

across the English Channel 

NORFOLKLINE 

disappearing plot can occur when the operator 

selects viewing options where the 

information gate will hover between the 

two conditions. The physical configuration 

of navigation aids is relatively straightforward, 

but the controls on an advanced 

bridge can be a different matter. 

Norfolklines Maersk Dunkerque has – 

with her sister ships the Maersk Dover and 

the Maersk Delft – a state-of-the-art bridge 

with port and starboard control consoles 

on each bridge wing. Designed for swift 

and efficient docking to meet a demanding 

turnaround schedule, the wing positions 

have excellent deck views and CCTV pictures 

showing the opposite side of the ship. 

The bridge wing control consoles boast 

arrays of the thrusters, engine/propeller 

and rudder controls, which are best worked 


CEDRIC HACKE IT & COMMUNICATIONS 

The Dunkerque had an encounter with a 

“zombie” when SSG went onboard. 

from the end of the console. The 

Dunkerque class bridges are however also 

wired for joystick control as and when Norfolklines 

wishes to change over. 

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Norfolklines Dover-Dunkirk service is a 

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with each vessel manned by two crews who 

do 12 hours shifts for 14 days before having 

a fortnight run ashore. 

When SSG joined the Dunkerque for an 

evening round trip, the business-like 

atmosphere on the bridge was underpinned 

by the formidable array of technology. 

After the master had taken the ship 

out of Dover Harbour the first officer 

(fresh from overseeing vehicle loading) 

took control of the watch, playing regularly 

with ECDIS and S-Band radar monitors, 

using the predictive facility to work out the 

best course to cross the traffic passing 

down and the up the Channel. 

Meeting a “zombie” 

The passage was indeed entirely hi-tech 

until the ferry was passing the anchorage 

outside Dunkirk and preparing to turn into 

the approach channel. 

A coaster was moving to the south of the 

anchorage on a course that would interfere 

with the Dunkerque’s next manoeuvre. It 

did not respond to a radio call. The Aldis 

lamp was broken out and flashed urgently 

at the other vessel, which still changed neither 

course nor speed nor sent an acknowl- 

The Mark 1 Eyeball will 

always be the best 

technology on any bridge. 

edgement. The Dunkerque had already put 

on more way and adjusted course to give 

sufficient sea room to pass safely ahead of 

the coaster and then make her turn. Faces 

on the darkened bridge briefly followed 

the rogue vessel as it passed astern, ploughing 

on through the night. Somebody muttered 

“Zombie”. 

Once the master had nosed the 

Dunkerque into her French berth, guided 

by calls on a hand-held RT by the first 

mate in the bow, the crew prepared to 

change, leaving the quartermaster on the 

alone bridge. His main task was to watch 

the heeling system as ballast was pumped 

automatically at high speed from one side 

of the ship to the other to maintain its stability, 

while vehicles – particularly top deck 

heavy lorries – were being disembarked. 

nigel ash 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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3D – the next 

generation 

of nautical charts 

A photo from the archipelago of Gothenburg. Below that is the same view in the 3D chart. 

In May last year Thomas Porathe from 

the Information Design Department of 

Innovation, Design and Product Development 

at Mälardalen University, defended 

his doctoral thesis about what he calls 

“The next generation of nautical charts”. 

He describes his work as “intuitive map 

reading” where a less cognitive workload is 

needed as the navigator is provided with a 

bridge view of the nautical chart during 

navigation. The 3D chart provides the navigator 

only with the most necessary information 

and this information is also presented 

in a more realistic way. In coastal 

navigation, landmarks like natural features 

or man-made constructions are important 

as they help the navigator to get the right 

bearings. This is independent of whether 

the landmark is real or presented in a virtual 

space. In daylight conditions landmarks 

also give the user an easy way to check and 

to gain confidence in the system. Thomas 

Porathe has therefore tried to achieve high 

realism, which enables the nautical officer 

to recognize the surrounding views when 

looking at his 3D chart. 

Traditional nautical charts provide the 

navigator with a bird’s eye perspective. 

This perspective has been proved best suited, 

when the task involves a need to understand 

the structure of space. When a task 

involves travel through a space, such as 

navigation, this perspective is less suitable. 

Instead a so-called egocentric view, 

which can be described as a very realistic 

virtual copy of the ship’s surroundings, is 

more suitable. The egocentric view provides 

the navigator with a virtual “bridge 

view” very similar to what he sees looking 

out of the windows. 

Mentally challenging 

Normally, traditional charts have a northup 

orientation and navigators are forced to 

perform mental rotations to align the nautical 

chart with their own course. This ability 

to perform mental rotations differs 

from person to person and is said to degenerate 

with increasing age. This operation is 

also mentally challenging, takes time and 

leads to an increase in an often already 

heavy cognitive workload, which in turn 

supports the risk of erroneous behaviour. 

This time-consuming and mentally demanding 

activity is perhaps most explicit in the 

operation of a high-speed craft. 

Accidents due to heavy mental load 

Two accidents that were due to high speed, 

heavy cognitive load and too short a decision 

time, were the high-speed ferries Sleipner 

and Baronen. The Sleipner sank in 

1999 on the Norwegian west coast and 16 

people drowned. In bad weather and darkness 

the Sleipner crashed into a rock, while 

the two officers were busy adjusting the 

radar sets and lost their bearings for 20 seconds 

while doing 35 knots. 

The other accident happened in 2000 

when another Norwegian high-speed ferry, 

the Baronen, ran aground at full speed 

while the captain was informing the passengers 

over the PA system and the mate 

was loading the VCR with a safety video. 

“Mental rotations take time”, Thomas 

Porathe says and continues “As the speed 

of vessels increases, decision time may be 

in short supply”. 

The “bridge view” of the 3D charts 

means that the charts display information 

about land elevation, the appearance of 

buildings and air photographs covering 3D 

terrain. This new perspective provides the 

navigator with a better view of obstacles 

that lie in the forward path and also presents 

this information so that the navigator 

need not mentally rotate the chart when 

No-go area warning polygons added to the chart. The polygons show navigational waters 

for a vessel with a draft of four metres and the water level being one meter below mean. 


and the new egocentric, dynamic coastal view to the right. 

travelling on a course other than north. In 

addition to this the 3D nautical chart also 

contains all the information an electronic 

chart provides and can be used in the same 

way. 

The traditional way of displaying depth 

is by using numbers or soundings classified 

into depth intervals, which are then connected 

into isobars or so-called depth 

curves. Information presented in this way 

entails every number having to be read and 

compared to the ship’s draught, tidal level 

and wave amplitude before a decision can 

Thomas Porathe. 

be made. To further support the navigator 

and to reduce the cognitive workload the 

3D charts show only two types of areas: 

No-Go and deep-water. 

Today’s use of waypoints has entailed a 

lot of traffic in narrow tracks. In areas with 

dense traffic, traffic separation schemes 

have been imposed. Thomas Porathe compares 

this to driving a car. 

“On the road we can drive without a lot 

of complicated navigation equipment and 

often we might even go on long trips without 

a map at all, by just following the road 

signs”, Thomas Porathe says, and compares 

the way points on the GPS navigator function 

to roads. 

Exocentric view 

To further explain what he means Thomas 

Porathe shows a screen dump from his prototype 

over the entrance to Mariehamn in 

the Åland archipelago in the Baltic Sea. 

The navigator’s own ship is travelling NE 

on the inbound lane to Mariehamn. The 

old pilot station at Kobbaklintar is on the 

starboard side. 

PETER LINEJUNG An example of the dual views of a 3D chart. The traditional exocentric north-up view to the left 

Partner at sea on navigation, communication and IT 

Zeatec Group, +46 304 670 680, sales@zeatec.com, www.zeatec.com 


“This is an example of how a 3D chart 

display might look with the chart in a traditional 

exocentric north-up view to the left 

and the dynamic coastal view to the right” 

Thomas Porathe says. 

An approaching ferry is positioned 

dynamically from AIS transponder information 

and is visualised in the 3D chart 

view by a 3D model automatically picked 

from a library of ships. The dynamic safety 

contours (coloured blue-green) are set at 

10 m for comparison with the standard 10 

m depth curve in the exocentric view to 

the left. The grey box represents an 

unidentified radar echo not accounted for 

by land features, navigational aids or 

transponder equipped vessels. Thomas 

Porathe concludes his demonstration by 

saying: 

“The 3D nautical charts are intended as 

an initiative aid, not yet another technical 

mode that has to be mastered or a new 

manual that needs to be read”. 

monica andersson 

For more information, please visit 

www.idp.mdh.se/personal/tpe01/research


Internet provides valuable 

aid for winter navigation 

Although the performance of ice 

strengthened vessels tends to improve 

all the time, the winter navigation 

skills of deck officers on vessels visiting 

the Baltic Sea in general seem to go the 

opposite way. Now a new web service 

has been opened at the address 

www.baltice.org to assist navigators. 

The initiative to create an ice data portal 

originates from Baltic Icebreaking 

Management (BIM), consisting of 

the icebreaker managements in Finland, 

Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Germany, 

Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Russia. 

The Baltic project is included in the 

Baltic Sea Winter Motorways and has been 

managed by the Finnish Maritime Administration, 

which is also going to co-ordinate 

future development. 

“Together with the ‘big icebreaker countries’ 

Sweden, Russia, Denmark and Estonia 

we will ensure that this will be a permanent 

service for winter navigation on the 

Baltic Sea”, says Director Ilmari Aro, who 

is in charge of the Winter Navigation section 

at the Finnish Maritime Administration 

and Chairman of the BIM for the next 

two years. 

The Baltice portal has been financed 

mainly by the EU, but also by Finland, 

Sweden, Denmark, Estonia and Russia. 

Demand for information 

The joint web service for winter navigation 

in the Baltic Sea area was launched on January 

10, when there was still no trace of 

winter in the Baltic Sea, with the exception 

of the northernmost coastal waters in the 

Gulf of Bothnia. After that followed a 

change in the weather and the ice started 

growing fast in the north. By the time of 

writing there was not yet any actual user 

feedback available, but Mr Aro thinks that 

this will be a success. 

“Last year we offered the ice chart as a 

free service on the web for the first time 

and during the winter we had more than 

210,000 visitors. It is obvious that there is a 

demand for information about winter navigation”. 

Mr Aro adds that the aim of the free 

website is to provide seafarers and the 

whole shipping industry with the best conceivable 

information on winter conditions 

in the Baltic Sea, in order to prevent accidents 

and damage to vessels. 

“The capability of vessels to navigate in 

ice has constantly improved but, due to 

lack of experience, the know-how of ship’s 


crews has declined. As the traffic volumes 

increase there are more and more vessels in 

the Baltic Sea in wintertime, with crews 

that have no knowledge whatsoever about 

how to navigate in ice”, Mr Aro explains. 

The crews have to learn 

how to navigate in ice 

themselves. 

He finds it unlikely that there will be 

more Finnish icebreaker capacity added in 

the foreseeable future and with the traffic 

of today it is impossible for the icebreakers 

to assist vessels from the ice edge to port 

and vice-versa. 

As the vessels are strongly built with 

powerful engines it should not be a problem 

to operate as far as possible without icebreaker 

assistance, but it demands elementary 

knowledge about how to act in ice. 

“The crews have to learn how to navigate 

in ice themselves”, he stresses. 

Mr Aro hopes that course organizers 

arranging training in ice navigation will 

contact BIM for evaluation according to 

certificate and references. 


Baltice shows updated satellite pictures 

of the ice situation. 

“We want to approve such courses to 

maintain high standards in ice navigation”, 

he says. 

Another aid soon to be included on the 

website is a training video, including for 

example animations about how to take a 

ship through an ice field. 

A single access point 

The website is unique, as it makes it easier 

than ever before to utilise the accumulated 

know-how of several countries about winter 

navigation. 

“It used to be difficult to access all this 

information, as it was scattered among different 

organisations in several countries. 

Now relevant and up-to-date information 

on winter navigation is collected to a single 

access point”, Mr Aro says. 

The web service contains information 

such as ice reports, an up-to-date ice chart, 

an ice thickness chart, reporting instructions 

for vessels, information on traffic 

restrictions, icebreaker operating areas and 

ice navigation courses for seafarers. Data is 

collected from the authorities responsible 

The Finnish icebreaker Urho. 

for winter navigation in the Baltic Sea area. 

From 26 tenders received, the Finnish company 

AffectoGenimap was chosen for the 

technical implementation of the website. 

Updated information is crucial 

To maintain interest in a website among 

the users, continuous updating of information 

is always important. On a site like this, 

where the main target group of users are 

professionals within shipping, providing 

correct and updated information is crucial. 

“We have bought the updating service 

concerning the ice chart and the ice information 

from the Finnish Institute of 

Marine Research during the website’s first 



year of existence. Information about our 

traffic restrictions is forwarded to the system 

automatically”, explains Mr Aro. 

As most of the vessels are not equipped 

with broadband for Internet access, a slow 

version for access through Edge/GPRS 

connection has been developed. 

“When you are in the coverage area, the 

information is available with a mobile 

phone”, says Mr Aro. 

In other cases the website is designed for 

easy printing of the web pages and a print 

may be obtained for example from the 

shipping company or the agent’s office 

when the vessel is in port. 

pär-henrik sjöström 



The ship surveillance system AIS, 

short for Automatic Identification 

System, has turned out to be a useful 

support tool for a number of service 

providers in the Maritime sector. From the 

start on July 1, 2002, when the equipment 

had to be installed on all new ships above 

300 GT, it had a bad reputation as just 

another government imposed gimmick 

brought down on the heads of mariners. It 

has certainly changed into a quite useful 

and highly valued tool that can ease up the 

daily work. 

AIS surveillance has turned out to be useful, 

especially for the pilots and the crew at 

the pilot station. Instead of constantly 

shouting on the air over the VHF for a ship 

that perhaps was too far away, it is now 

much easier. If looking for a ship, a pilot can 

find it on the AIS server accurately, without 

any doubt or uncertainty. In former days it 

was often so that a ship gave ETA to a pilot 

pick-up position, but got delayed by current 

or wind without giving notice to the pilots. 

Then the pilots were alert and had to wait 

several hours, sometimes even days, for a 

certain ship’s arrival long after the original 

ETA. Every pilot in service will recognise 

this situation. Nowadays the duty officer at 



AIS makes 

life easier 

for service 

providers 

It has been much easier 

to plan and control 

the operation at this 

pilot station. 

the pilot station can check a certain ship’s 

position with accuracy and give the correct 

ETA to the pilot, the boat service and the 

agent in the port. 

“It has been much easier to plan and 

control the operation at this pilot station”, 

explains Ole Grue, co-ordinator at Lillebælt 

Pilot station at Fredericia. “In former 

days we tried and tried every 30 minutes to 

get in touch with ships that were often too 

far away for VHF contact. This is over now. 

Now we know when the ship is close 

enough to be reached on the VHF.” 

The AIS spotted the reefer 

The service of provision delivery, bunkering 

and crew changing at Skagen also benefits 

from the AIS service. In former days they 

also had problems with waiting and trying to

A normal day on the AIS-server. 

call a ship that was expected to pass Skagen, 

but did not respond on the VHF radio. 

One of the crew members on the 

Skawlink service boats says: 

“I remember that we were trying to call a 

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certain reefer vessel for three days after the 

original ETA at Skagen without any luck. 

Instead I tried the AIS service, which was 

new at the time, and found the reefer vessel 

safely moored at St Petersburg! Far away 


from Skagen and more than 48 hours away 

from VHF coverage”. 

The service at Skagen, provided by the 

Wrist Group, has also lost a bit of side 

business with the AIS system. In the days 

before AIS, the service boat was often 

hired to check if a certain ship passed Skagen 

at the right time in connection with a 

time charter. So if a bulk carrier gave 

notice of passing Skagen at 12 am and did 

not pass until the following day at 9 am, it 

had to be checked manually by the service 

boat and its crew. This was done often, if 

the time charter suspected a fiddle with 

the time. 

Several providers 

The AIS service is provided by Farvandsvæsenet 

in Denmark, but there are 

also private providers of the service. Lloyds 

Fairplay, the huge media group in the UK, 

also offer an AIS service on subscription 

for anyone that pays the fee. The National 

authorities’ service like Farvandsvæsenet is 

a closed circle with only invited users. The 

same goes for similar services in most other 

countries. 





Towards the virtual ship 

Simulators are more and more often used for the training of critical situations. 

In the foreseeable future the bridge simulator 

will be the central part of 

a complete virtual ship. Originally, 

bridge simulators were used mainly as a 

means of learning ship handling in maritime 

colleges or the shipping companies’ 

own training centres. With the IT revolution, 

boosting the development of integrated 

bridge systems, the computer based 

technology entered shipboard applications 

and this way also the bridge simulators. 

Nowadays the development of simulators 

goes hand in hand with the equipment on 

real bridges. 

Airlines showed the way 

The true forerunners in simulated handling 

of various situations are the airlines. Today 

the realism in handling an aeroplane in the 

professional flight simulators, of which 

each type of aeroplane has its own, is 

unbeaten. On the other hand, it has been 

said that a cockpit simulator costs more 

than the plane itself. 

A milestone in ship handling simulation 

was reached in the 1980s when the SAS 

Flight Academy, together with Silja Line 

and maritime organisations, developed a 

maritime version of SAS Crew Resource 

Management. 

Called Bridge Resource Management 

(BRM), the process is today known among 

deck officers all over the world. The essential 

new thing with BRM was that the 

process behind the decisions taken on the 

bridge was put in focus, as well as the utilisation 

of all the resources of the bridge 

team. 

“In a critical situation the most important 

thing for leadership is to be aware of 

the situation in all aspects and this 

demands good communication within the 

bridge team. If anyone has an idea it 

should be brought into the light of day”, 

explains operational manager and senior 

lecturer Ossi Westilä at Sydväst Maritime, 

who is in charge of the simulator activities. 

Sydväst Maritime in Turku provides 

training of master mariners, watchkeeping 

officers and watchkeeping engineers, as 

well as offering a wide range of short courses. 

Safe dangerous situations 

The basic idea of BRM is to utilise the 

common knowledge of the whole team 

when decisions are made. The optimal 

environment for training deck officers in 

BRM is the bridge simulator and since they 

came, the use of simulators has exploded 

and now includes a large spectrum of extraordinary 

and critical situations. 

Today bridge simulators are of course 

still used for basic training of manoeuvring 

and ship handling at the maritime institutes. 

However, the utilisation of simulator 

training has developed dramatically along 

with the addition of a whole lot of new elements. 

Perhaps the most important is the 

training of handling critical and dangerous 

situations, which has created a new dimension 

in simulator training. 

Realistic training of critical situations 

used to be more or less impossible due to 


the safety aspect. But in a simulator it is 

possible to create virtually any scenario, 

including for example a blackout, a fire or 

a collision. Additional pressure on the officers 

may be added by locating the exercise 

to some of the busiest sea lanes in the 

world or to a narrow strait somewhere in 

the archipelago. In such cases the decisions 

must be made without hesitation and all 

activities are to be performed under constant 

pressure, still in a totally safe environment. 

Another limiting factor when using real 

vessels for such exercises is the commercial 

one. It is expensive to keep a vessel out of 

traffic for hours or perhaps even longer. It 

is also impossible to “order” a certain type 

of weather for the exercise. 

Real equipment 

A state-of-the-art bridge simulator of today 

is built of the same components that are 

used on real vessels. Instead of receiving 

information from real sensors, the computer 

network with advanced simulation soft- 


Ossi Westilä is in 

charge of the 

simulator 

activities at 

Sydväst 

Maritime and 

he is confident 

that the ship 

models used in 

simulators will 

be be even more 

realistic in the 

future. 

ware provides the bridge equipment with 

data. 

“If there are errors in the data, the equipment 

responds exactly in the same way as on 

a real vessel’s bridge”, explains Mr Westilä. 

“It is even possible to simulate sensors 

feeding malfunction errors to the bridge 

equipment”, he continues. 

Even if the ship models have improved 

enormously during the last ten years, Mr 

Westilä still finds that much could be further 

improved, especially when it comes to 

hydrodynamics. 

“A part of the problem might be that the 

manufacturers of software cannot for commercial 

reasons get access to the research 

results from the ship design bureaus, which 

possess the latest knowledge in this field”, 

he says. 

Neither are there any realistic models so 

far for simulating ship behaviour in rough 

weather. Realistic models for how the ship 

responds to wind is included, but the 

impact of large waves on the ship’s speed 

and course are still far in the future. Also 

models for simulating navigation in ice are 

in an early project stage. 

Updating software 

The development of the bridge simulators 

goes hand in hand with the development 

of shipboard equipment. A common trend 

is that the life span of the hardware of the 

bridge equipment is much longer than the 

software. Today it is possible to increase 

the performance of the bridge system just 

by updating the software. The same goes 

for the bridge simulators. 

“It is for example no longer always necessary 

to install a totally new radar when it 

is time to renew the equipment. A modern 

radar uses the same computer and the 


same flat screens as any equipment on the 

bridge, but of course you need a radar 

overlay card and radar scanner information. 

Upgrading the software is an essential 

part of the continuous process to keep the 

bridge equipment up-to-date”, explains Mr 

Westilä. 

New challenges 

Mr Westilä thinks that the next step within 

simulator based training will be the assembling 

of the virtual ship, by linking together 

simulators for different fields of activities 

onboard a ship. Very soon it will be 

possible to include both the engine room 

and the bridge in the same exercises. In the 

future it will even be possible to man and 

operate a whole ship with a simulator, a 

true virtual ship, including for example fire 

fighting and evacuation of passengers. The 

first steps towards this have already been 

taken. 

“Indeed the technology exists today, but 

it would be expensive to realise in practice”, 

Mr Westilä says. 

Another dimension to be added is 

increased realism by more realistic input to 

the human senses. Smells, temperatures, 

movements as well as improved graphical 

display of the sceneries are likely to be 

included. 

“The graphic display of the view from 

the bridge is most important, as an officer 

on watch must not totally rely on electronic 

instruments. Many accidents would have 

been prevented if only the bridge crew had 

looked out the windows”, Mr Westilä 

states. 

It is, after all, about minimizing the reality 

gap between the real ship and the simulator 

as much as possible. 



PÄR-HENRIK SJÖSTRÖM


Quantum leaps in forecasting 

extreme weather 

The Petuja in harsh weather. 

Extreme weather at sea is nothing 

new, but in the past few years the 

extreme has gone from bad to worse. 

Therefore the demand on weather forecasting 

is increasing all the time, not least from 

shipping. Weather routing has gone from 

being convenient to become a necessity. In 

the future it might be necessary to track 

shipping more accurately on a global basis 

to be able to divert ships from dangerous 

2006 CLAIMS ON MEMBERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL GROUP OF P&I CLUBS 

JOACHIM SJÖSTRÖM 

weather systems. The technology is there to 

give better protection. 

In the past 20 years or so there have been 

several quantum leaps in weather forecasting, 

not least in accuracy. And the need is 

Type of vessel Name of vessel Size Estimated claim 

(USD mill) 

P&I Club Comment 

Tankers Metin Akar 30,000 DWT 6.0 Skuld Hitting a jetty 

Cape Bird 35,000 DWT 10.0 Steamship Damage to dock 

Anna PC 147,000 DWT 16.0 London Oil spill 

Grigoroussa I 97,000 DWT 18.0 West of England Grounded 

Solar 1 2,130 DWT 30.0 Shipowners’ Oil spill 

Bulk Carriers Alexandros T 172,000 DWT 10.0 London Loss of life after failure 

Giant Step 197,000 DWT 37.0 Japan Grounded/broke up 

Container vessels Easline Tianjin 886 TEU 11.0 North of England Cargo loss 

Hyundai Independence 5,551 TEU 11.5 North of England Damage to dock 

Safmarine Agulhas 1,706 TEU 28.0 West of England Broke up on rocks 

Hyundai Fortune 5,550 TEU 36.0 Britannia Heavy cargo fire 

CMA CGM Aegean 2,825 TEU 34.0 Swedish Club Bunker oil spill 

Cruise/ferry Crown Princess 113,600 grt 10.0 UK Club Weather damage 

Star Princess 109,000 grt 10.0 UK Club Fire 

Queen of the North 8,900 grt 8.0 Standard Gounded/sank 

Multipurpose Pacific Adventurer 23,700 DWT 8.0 Standard Collision 

Car carrier Cougar Ace 55,300 grt 12.5 Japan Listing 

Table 1. The weather almost always plays a part in marine accidents. 

Source: The International Group of P&I Clubs 


for accuracy rather than long-range forecasts 

to allow shipping to take precautions. 

Organizations such as the UK’s MET 

Office, the European Center for Medium- 

Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF), the US 

National Center for Environmental Prediction 

(NCEP), the US Navy’s Fleet Numerical 

Oceanographic Center (FNMOC) and 

even Japan’s JMA produce global weather 

forecasts for up to five days and beyond. 

Not all services are free of charge, but some 

are available on the Internet or on marine 

weather fax to shipping. 

Lose accuracy beyond 6–7 days 

Generally forecasts tend to lose accuracy 

beyond 6–7 days. But with today’s satellite 

communication every ship equipped with 

GMDSS (Global Maritime Distress & Safety 

System) can be reached instantly. Ships 

at sea can now download 10 days of wind 

and wave forecasts in a few minutes. In 

other words, the information is available, 

and much of it is free of charge. 

In 1988, the IMO amended the Safety 

of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention, 

requiring ships subject to it fit GMDSS 

equipment. Such ships were required to 

carry NAVTEX and satellite EPIRBs by 

August 1, 1993, and had to fit all other 

GMDSS equipment by February 1, 1999. 

US ships were allowed to fit GMDSS in 

lieu of Morse telegraphy equipment by the 

Telecommunications Act of 1996, according 

to the US Coast Guard. 

The GMDSS consists of several systems, 

some of which are new, but many of which 

have been in operation for many years. 

The system will be able to reliably perform 

the following functions: alerting (including 

position determination of the unit in distress), 

search and rescue coordination, 

locating (homing), maritime safety information 

broadcasts, general communications 

like weather forecasts, and bridge-to- 

bridge communications. Specific radio carriage 

requirements depend upon the ship’s 

area of operation, rather than its tonnage. 

The system also provides redundant means 

of distress alerting, and emergency sources 

of power. 

Therefore, there is no excuse for not taking 

the necessary precautions to avoid 

damage to ship and cargo. Believe it or not, 

seafarers ignore severe weather warnings all 

the time. As severe weather gets ever more 

violent, the attitude of many captains can 

have serious consequences, sometimes 

even with loss of life as a result. In this 

issue we talk of the “Zombies” of the 

Dover Strait, and elsewhere, we are pretty 

sure. They trundle up the lanes with their 

AIS turned off and, by the looks of it, are 

running on autopilot, apparently oblivious 

to the fact that they are in the busiest shipping 

lane in the world. 

Cats and dogs, sprats and turtles 

We all know the expression “raining cats 

and dogs”. But what if it rained fresh 

sprats? In a freak incident in August 2000 a 

shower of dead, but still fresh sprats rained 

down of the British fishing port of Great 

Yarmouth. It was caused by a small tornado, 

which trawled up water and anything 

in it and showered it on the small town. 

When the tornado reached land it lost its 


This map is from 

the European 

Center for 

Medium Range 

Forecasting 

(ECMWF) and 

shows a three-day 

forecast. Surface 

data are mean sea 

level pressure and 

wind speed 

measured in 

metres per second. 

energy and the sprats fell out of the sky. 

The magazine Nature told of a severe 

hailstorm in the US, where a gopher turtle, 

6 inches by 8 inches and entirely encased 

in ice, fell with the hail. 

Forecasting 

Real-time observations are often used to 

generate weather charts, which are generally 

available to shipping. The forecasts 

embedded in these charts attempt to predict 

the future weather patterns and conditions 

ranging from two to seven days. As 

we noted earlier, any forecast beyond 6–7 

days is getting progressively more unreliable. 

In order to remedy this, very sophisticated 

computers are used for analysis of a 

huge quantity of real-time data. 

The essence of the forecasting useful to 

shipping for routing purposes is up to 6–7 

days. Shipping is basically looking for wind 

and wave forecasts, and these are difficult 

to produce with the sort of accuracy 

required for optimal routing of a vessel. 

The European Center for Medium-Range 

Weather Forecast (ECMWF) produce useful 

surface forecast charts. ECMWF, which 

is a European Community weather analysis 

bureau, is based at Reading in the UK. The 

bureau analyses data and provide regular 

forecasts for up to one week. 

petter arentz 

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technical news 

Editor: Robert Hermansson ~ Phone: +46 40 15 61 44 ~ E-mail: robert@shipgaz.com 

Stand-alone PID valve controller 

Amot in the UK has introduced a new 

stand-alone electric PID valve controller 

either as a simple panel mounting or as a 

complete control panel format, designed 

for fully configurable high-performance 

operation. 

Shaftalign is a new development from 

Prüftechnik Alignment Systems in Germany. 

It is an in situ measurement system 

used to check the alignment of the mounted 

shaft from the stern tube to the engine. 

When using Shaftalign there is no need 

to dismount or remove the shafts while 

checking the alignment of the mountings 

and bearings. It is a single laser/receiver 

system with the laser mounted close to the 

stern tube, and when it’s been centred it 

remains in the same position during the 

measurement. 

The sensor unit is mounted on a bracket 

and can be moved to different positions 

along the shaft. The large detector surface, 

with an area of 4 × 45mm and incorporated 

The 8071D model is a universal panelmount 

controller and the 8072D is a compact 

wall mounting control panel incorporating 

the controller and two solid state 

relays in a splash-proof enclosure approved 

to IP67. The panel unit can also be used 

New shaft alignment system 

electronic inclinometers make the alignment 

check straightforward and fast up to 

40 metres. 

An additional feature is a unit to measure 

the different diameters along the shaft. 

There is also an option for wireless data 

transmission between the sensor and the 

computer. 

A Bluetooth module sends the data 

from the sensor to the computer where 

the data is displayed, analyzed and stored. 

The computer is a Rotalign Ultra, which is 

currently in wide use within industry for 

laser shaft alignment and geometrical 

applications including bore alignment, 

flatness, levelness and straightness measurement. 

with the SSRs to provide a direct highpower 

interface to a valve actuator. 

The controllers have two large displays 

that indicate process and set point values 

and two logic level control outputs and 

digital filtering user-configurable to meet 

the needs of a wide range of systems. 

Two set points and two complete parameter 

sets can be programmed and selected 

internally or externally and two alarm outputs 

are standard. 

Panel unit mounting is to DIN 43700 

and electrical connections are via cage 

clamp terminals for wires up to 1.5 mm. 

The wall mounted control panel is prewired 

with all external connections made 

using standard DIN rail mounted terminal 

connections. 

The opto-isolated SSRs provide high 

current switching to actuator motors with a 

switching current capacity of up to 25A. 

They give excellent transient protection 

and switching life with zero voltage switching 

eliminating the arcing that accrues with 

traditional relays. 

For more information, please contact: 

Paula Halpin, tel: +44 (0)1284 76 22 22 

E-mail: info@amot.com 

www.amot.com 

The system will be available on the market 

during the second half of 2007. 

For more information, please contact: 

Sabine Kosma, Tel: +49 (0)89 – 996 16-0 

Email: sabine.kosma@pruftechnik.com 

www.pruftechnik.com 


fleet news 

Editor: Pär-Henrik Sjöström ~ Phone: +358 2 242 62 50 ~ E-mail: par-henrik@shipgaz.com 

New ship for Nielsen & Bresling A/S 

Rederiet Nielsen & Bresling A/S has made 

another fleet change. One new ship has 

been taken over from the shipyard in 

Gdansk and an old ship has been sold and 

delivered to another Danish owner. The 

new ship is the Birthe Bres, hull no. 682 

from Dutch group Bodewes Scheepswerf, 

but physically built by Marine Project in 

Gdansk, Poland, as subcontractor to 

Bodewes. 

Renewal programme 

The ship is the second in a fleet renewal 

programme. The programme is worth some 

DKK 153 million and will secure new and 

modern ships for the liner trade from the 

Lake Vänern to Southern Europe with 

paper reels, sawn timber and wood pulp on 

a weekly basis. Every week Nielsen & Bresling, 

working under the name of Bresline, 

has a ship leaving Karlstad with a cargo for 

Spain, The Canaries or Morocco. The 

Birthe Bres has a capacity of 205,500 cubic 

feet under a hatch measuring 64.5 × 10.3 

metres. 

The ship’s hull measures 87.5 × 12.5 × 4.5 

metres and is built to Ice Class 1A. The 

tonnage is 2,658 bt and 3,750 DWT. The 

main engine is a MaK/Caterpillar type 

6M25 developing 1,880 kW, giving a speed 

of 12.5 knots. 

The sale from the fleet concerns the 

Nina Bres, the last of four Sietas-built sis- 



The Birthe Bres entering her homeport of Fåborg. 

terships. The Nina Bres was delivered in 

February 1975 and has ever since been a 

regular trader on Karlstad. Now the ship is 

sold to Rederiet Barbara in Marstal and will 

continue sailing under Danish flag as the 

Vega with Marstal as homeport. 

Rederiet Barbara, which already owns 

Langh Ship has taken delivery of the first 

of two 11,500 DWT container vessels from 

the J.J. Sietas shipyard in Hamburg. The 

newbuilding was named Linda by Linda 

Langh, who is the daughter of the ship 

owner Hans Langh. 

With a container capacity of 907 TEU, 

the 141 m long vessel is the largest in the 

Langh Ship-fleet. 

Although designed for container shipments, 

the newbuilding is a multipurpose 

vessel and the tank top is strengthened to 

enable for example transports of bulk 

cargo. 

the ten years older Sietas-built ship called 

the Barbara, was set up in 2000 by Captain 

Heine Hestøy and shipowner Boye Kromann 

of the Erik B. Kromann, a well-established 

Marstal shipping company founded 

in the 1890’s. 


Langh Ship newbuilding delivered 

Linda is built to the highest Finnish/ 

Swedish ice class 1A Super. 

Like the other four vessels in the Langh 

Ship-fleet, the Linda is sailing under 

Finnish flag. 

On time charter 

The vessel is on time charter for Saimaa 

Lines and is employed in a service Rotterdam–St 

Petersburg–Hamburg–Rotterdam. 

The sister vessel is scheduled for delivery 

at the end of March and will also be taken 

on time charter by Saimaa Lines. 



finANCE & INSURANCE 

Editor: Petter Arentz ~ Phone +47 33 40 12 00 ~ E-mail: petter@shipgaz.com 

CEFOR voice concern 

Leading actors in the marine insurance 

market have voiced strong concerns over 

proposed amendments in EU’s Third Maritime 

Safety Package, regulating Classification 

Societies. In the EU proposal, classification 

societies when classing ships will 

mutually have to recognize and accept 

each other’s respective certification of components 

and materials. The Central Union 

of Marine Underwriters (CEFOR) contributes 

to insuring 40 per cent of the 

world ocean going tonnage and fears that 

the proposal could have serious safety and 

quality implications. 

“The classification of vessels is a systematic 

and holistic exercise where integration 

and interfacing of components, structural 

elements and systems are vital to ensuring 

the right quality and inherent vessel 

integrity and safety” says CEFOR managing 

director Tore Forsmo. He continues: 

“I fear that a fragmentation of responsibilities 

will invariably be detrimental to the 

work and reputation of classification societies 

and the shipping community at large. 

In the end there will be no winners if this 

motion is carried, and marine insurance 

will be paying for it all!” 

Stena replaces 

USD 200 mill bonds 

Stena AB seeks to replace 200 million 

worth of USD-denominated bonds with a 

less pricy EUR 300 million issue. While 

the old bond issue, maturing in 2012, carried 

a hefty 9.625 per cent coupon, the 

new offering, maturing in 2017, has only 

6.125 per cent. For the new issue to replace 

the old, the old bonds have to be 

redeemed and investors are now offered 

USD 4.81 over face value. Theoretically 

investors may refuse to sell their bonds and 

Stena would be left to service two issues. 

When SSG went to press there were no certain 

indication of investors’ attitude. In 

any case Stena has a call option in December 

and could force investors to sell then. 

Most investors may chose to sell now as 

they would not be sure to get the same 

offer in December. The new EUR 300 million 

bond issue offers investors around 209 

basis points over T-bonds 2017. 

Gard edge ahead 

on financial strength 

Assuranceforeningen Gard – the Norwegian 

P&I club – is having a very good run, 

which culminated with Standard & Poor 

improving the rating from A to A+, moving 

Gard slightly ahead of the members of 

the International Group of P&I Clubs. 

The higher rating reflects improved capitalisation 

and reserves, a more than satisfactory 

operating performance and a highly 

effective management and system, according 

to Standard & Poor’s evaluation. Commented 

the Gard CEO Claes Isacson: 

“This is very good news for both Gard 

and for its members and customers, who 

are now beneficiaries of the best security in 

the market. This positive rating decision 

from S&P confirms their opinion of the 

strength of our financial position and our 

leading status in the international P&I and 

marine insurance markets. Financial 

INTERNATIONAL GROUP OF P & I CLUBS – INTO 2007 

strength is only one of many ingredients in 

the service that we offer. The fact that we 

offer the broadest range of products is also 

core to our business. Our members and 

clients benefit from the skills and resources 

of our entire organisation even in the most 

difficult situations anywhere in the world.” 

Changes this year 

The financial strength of Gard is particularly 

pertinent at a time when the 2007 

renewals take place. 

According to the industry, the clubs will 

face changes this year. The changes will 

include higher rate of retention of ships, 

cover for people claim will be restricted, 

reinsurance protection will rise by USD 

1,9 billion and, very important, the clubs 

will begin to exchange data on ship-inspection. 

Club S&P Per cent premium Free reserves 

rating increase for 2007 in USD per gross ton 

Assuranceforeningen Gard A+ 5,0 5,85 

The Britannia Steam Ship A 5,0 3,85 

United Kingdom Mutual A 7,5 2,10 

The Standard Steamship A 5,0 4,20 

The Shipowners’ Mutual A 5,0 13,35 

The North of England A 7,5 3,78 

Assuranceforeningen Skuld BBB+ 2,5 4,94 

The Japan Ship Owners’ Mutual BBB 10,0 1,63 

The London Steam-Ship Owners BBB 7,5 3,39 

The Steamship Mutual BBB 9,0 4,22 

The West of England Ship Owners BBB 5,0 2,24 

The Swedish Club BBB- 7,5 2,87 

American Steamship Owners Mutual B+ 10,0 0,97 

DnB Nor and Nordea retain lead 

Norwegian banking house DnB Nor and 

Nordic banking group Nordea retain their 

position as leading syndicated lenders to 

shipping last year, with a combined market 

share of 40.7 per cent and a total of a little 

more than USD 27.0 billion worth of 

loans. In 2005 Nordea held the top spot, 

but it has long been the ambition of DnB 

Nor to become the world’s leading ship- 

ping banker. This they achieved last year 

with a total of 68 syndication deals worth 

USD 13.69 billion against Nordea’s 54 

deals worth USD 13.33 billion. Financing 

of LNG carriers, with USD 2.6 billion for 

Qatar, was the deciding deal to move DnB 

Nor ahead of Nordea. Other leading shipping 

banks were BNP Paribas, Citigroup, 

ING and Fortis. 


In order for the logistics to work out, someone has to be at the controls. 

The ERP system MultiPlus manages this task at Ulstein Verft, Kleven 

Maritime, Fjellstrand, Bergen Yards, Aker Yards Florø, Fosen mek. Verksteder, 

Flekkefjord Slipp & Maskinfabrikk, Umoe Mandal, Color Line and several others. 

www.multiplus.as Tlf: +47 33 03 00 00 multiplus@multiplus.as 

At the 

controls 

Committed to your business

NEWS REVIEW 

GROUNDINGS ON THE INCREASE The 

number of groundings along the Norwegian 

coast increased to 88 incidents 

last year, according to statistics from 

the Norwegian Maritime Directorate. 

In 10–12 incidents, the cause of the 

accident was that the personnel fell 

asleep on the bridge. Otherwise, poor 

navigation was the main cause of the 

accidents. Typically, the accidents 

occurred in areas most frequented by 

the vessels. Most of the captains of 

these vessels were certified to sail without 

a pilot onboard. 

NEW BLACKLIST The Russian Association 

of Marine and River Bunker Suppliers, 

formed in the summer of 2005, 

has drawn up a blacklist. On its website, 

the association lists the shipping 

companies that do not fulfill their 

obligations. The association wants to 

warn its members in this way about 

shipping companies that purposely and 

systematically do not pay in time. So 

far, the list contains two shipping companies. 

CHINESE YARDS DOUBLE PROFIT The 

Chinese shipbuilding industry built 

ships totalling 14.52 million DWT last 

year, corresponding to a 20 per cent 

increase over 2005, according to official 

Chinese statistics. The total output 

had an order value of 172.2 billion 

yuan (EUR 17.3 billion), up 37 per 

cent. Total profits rose by 102 per cent 

to 9.6 billion yuan (EUR 950 million). 

NAPOLI CLAIMS UP TO USD 100 MILL 

Insurance claims for cargo lost in the 

MSC Napoli accident may reach USD 

100 million, British newspapers speculate. 

Insurance companies continue to 

receive claims as the last of the oil is 

pumped from the stricken vessel and 

the first of the 988 oil-covered birds are 

released after cleaning. The first containers 

recovered from the vessel have 

been lifted over to a barge and taken 

ashore. 

SHARP INCREASE FOR NOVOSHIP 

Novoship has announced that it transported 

66.7 million tons last year, 30 

per cent more than in 2005. Russian 

cargoes accounted for 9.5 million tons, 

which is an increase of 5 per cent compared 

with 2005. 

FREDRIK DAVIDSSON 

The model of the MV Estonia, made on a scale of 1:40. 

SSPA tests show more dramatic 

sinking sequence of the Estonia 

On January 29, the SSPA displayed model 

tests of the Estonia sinking sequence in 

their seakeeping and manoeuvring basin in 

Göteborg. Using a 4-metre long carbon 

fibre model of the Estonia, SSPA is studying 

partly how quickly water enters the car 

deck with both the bow port and the ramp 

missing, and partly how a damaged Estonia 

behaves in waves. 

Listed more quickly 

The first preliminary results have already 

shown that water enters car decks much 

faster than claimed by the official report, 

up to 1,200 tonnes per minute instead of 

the 300 tonnes per minute as stated earlier, 

according to Dr Claes Källström, head of 

research at SSPA. This fact, together with 

analysis of witness statements, indicates 

that the Estonia began to list more quickly 

than has been believed earlier. 

”My personal opinion is that the course 

of events was more rapid and more dramatic 

than has been described in earlier 

reports”, said Jan Bergholtz during the 

model tests. Jan Bergholtz is a researcher at 

the Department of Shipping and Marine 

Technology, Chalmers University of Technology, 

and has developed a database containing 

interviews with survivors and eyewitnesses. 

Later this year tests will examine how the 

water moves from the car deck into the ship. 

Researchers will also look at the possibility 

of the water having entered through other 

hull openings than the bow, such as a hole 

deriving from a collision or similar. 

The course of events was 

more rapid and more 

dramatic than has been 

described in earlier reports. 

Dr Källström has also requested that the 

research team are rendered the possibility 

to speak to the divers for their testimony. 

The project will run until March 2008, 

with further trials in Göteborg, Scotland 

and the Netherlands. The overall goal of 

the study is to understand the sinking 

sequence and the underlying causes of the 

loss of MV Estonia in order to prevent 

such a tragedy from happening again. 

SSPA heads the consortium that comprises 

Chalmers University of Technology, Safety 

at Sea Ltd and MARIN, the Maritime 

Research Institute of Netherlands. The projected 

was assigned Vinnova by the 

Swedish government. 

cecilia österman 


Lithuania and Belorussia looking 

for alternative routes for oil transport 

ssg-tallinn. According to the news 

agency BNS, Russia and Belorussia have 

agreed on new oil transit tariffs, which will 

rise 30 per cent. For example, the transit 

tariff for oil transported to Poland and Germany 

via Belorussia will be USD 3.50 per 

ton. 

According to Transneft, Russian minister 

of energy Viktor Khristenko has said that 

Russia will try to handle transportation via 

its own ports and avoid transit through 

other countries in the future. 

Russian oil deliveries by pipeline to 

Mazheikiu Nafta were halted last summer, 

which reduced the oil refinery’s profit since 

oil transported by sea is much more expensive. 

According to Transneft, it could take 

up to two years before oil deliveries by 

pipeline to Lithuania can be resumed since 

the pipeline is in need of repairs. The 

Lithuanian president, Valdas Adamkus, has 

proposed that the oil import to Belorussia 

could go via Klaipeda’s oil terminal and 

then by rail. 

Action plan for Norway’s martime industry 

ssg-tønsberg. The Norwegian Government 

has announced a plan of action for 

the maritime industry to be introduced this 

spring. The plan only goes some of the way 

to improve business operating conditions 

for Norwegian ship owners. A big bone of 

contention is the Norwegian wealth tax, 

which more than anything has forced Nor- 

wegian owners abroad. According to minister 

of state Frode Berge, the Government 

will not abolish the wealth tax, but will 

instead propose other measures, which will 

“prove equally effective”. Conservative Jan 

Tore Sanner says his party wants a tonnage 

tax in line with the EU and a removal of 

the wealth tax. 

NEWS REVIEW 

BRIDGE ACROSS NARVA A bottleneck 

for the Port of Sillamäe is the bridge 

across the River Narva, which marks 

the border between Russia and Estonia. 

The negotiations on building a new 

bridge have been halted. Margus Vähi, 

a member of the port’s management 

board, told SSG that the new bridge 

will be financed with the help of EU 

funds, but that this will not happen 

unless the two countries can reach an 

agreement. The board does not want to 

risk having the port’s future development 

in the hands of politicians and is 

thus considering building the bridge 

together with the Russian businessmen. 

ORDER RECORD FOR WÄRTSILÄ Last 

year, Wärtsilä’s sales increased 27 per 

cent to EUR 3.19 billion and its profit 

before tax was EUR 447 million. The 

inflow of orders was the highest ever 

and at the end of last year, the business 

area Ship power had engines on order 

worth EUR 3.02 billion. Offshore and 

LNG tankers accounted for about half 

the orders. 

www. .com 


MARKET REPORTS 

Newbuilding contracts in the Nordic market 

Month Owner Nat Size Type Shipyard Delivery Value Remarks 

Jan Norwegian No 67.8 m supply Labroy 09 USD 37.8 m ahts 

Norwegian No 67.8 m supply Labroy 09 en bloc ahts 

SRAB Sw 7,000 tanker Eregli 10.07 USD 23 m 

PetroMena No semi-sub Jurong SY 1q10 USD 524 m 

Geo Subsea No diving Fitjar MV 10.08 NOK 430 m DSV-06 

Dannebrog Rederi Den 12,000 mpp Taizhou Sanfu 09 665 TEU 

Dannebrog Rederi Den 12,000 mpp Taizhou Sanfu 09 665 TEU 

Pf Supply-Service Fae 4,500 supply Solstrand 9.08 NOK 200 m Havy-832 

Fleischer & Co No 22,500* pctc Daewoo Weihai 09 USD 75 m 6,500 cars 

Fleischer & Co No 22,500* pctc Daewoo Weihai 09 USD 75 m 6,500 cars 

Africa Offshore Services No 8,700 offshore Ulstein 7.09 NOK 875 m SX121 

Viking Line Fin 15,600* ferry Astilleros Sevilla 3.09 EUR 60 m 1,500 pax 

Sølvtrans No 2,000 live fish c Aas MV 12.08 NOK 130 m 1,800 cub 

Off-Rig/Awilco No semi-sub Yantai Raffles 4q09 USD 310 m 

A P Møller Maersk Den 39,000 tanker Guangzhou 10 USD 42 m 






Feb AS Prestfjord No 65.4 m trawler Solstrand 10.09 NOK 200 m 

Aries Offshore Gr 3,500 supply Myklebust Verft 10.08 NOK 187.5 m VS 470-2 

A P Møller Maersk Den 20,000* pctc Xiamen SB 10 4,900 cars 




ProdJack No jack-up Keppel-Fels 10 USD 381 m 

Remøy Management No 93 m coastguard Myklebust Verft 3.09 NOK 285 m VS794CGV, 

Østensjø No 37 m tug Sanmar Denizcilik 7.08 

Cecon No 130 m offshore Davie Quebec 09 USD 132.5 m 

Cecon No 130 m offshore Davie Quebec 09 USD 132.5 m 

JCE Group Sw crane semi-sub Yantai Raffles end 08 USD 150 m 

JCE Group Sw crane semi-sub Yantai Raffles beg 09 USD 150 m 

Secondhand transactions in the Nordic market 

Month Name DWT Built Type From Price Buyer Remarks/New name 

Jan Cape Palmas 6,830 1991 reefer Columbia, Limassol Silver Seas, Bergen 

Cape Finisterre 6,807 1990 reefer Columbia, Limassol Silver Seas, Bergen 

Songa Anina 73,018 1998 bulk Arne Blystad, Oslo USD 40 m Greeks 

Arkadia 47,440 1983 bulk ESL Sh. Helsingfors USD 14 m ABG Sh, India 

Nordeuropa 35,750 2000 tanker DS Norden, Copenhagen USD 39.8 m König KG, Hamburg 

Front Transporter 152,270 1989 tanker Frontline, Oslo USD 38 m Arne Blystad, Oslo conv 

Archon 95,000 1985 tanker Capital Ship Mng, Greece USD 16.75 m PetroPod, Oslo conv 

Archimides 95,000 1985 tanker Capital Ship Mng, Greece USD 16.75 m PetroPod, Oslo conv 

Trust Spirit 105,700 1986 tanker Trustoil Tankers, Greece USD 17 m PetroPod, Oslo conv 

Knock Stocks 145,242 1993 tanker Fred Olsen & Co, Oslo USD 32.75 m undisclosed 

Lisbeth C 3,300 1993 container PEP Sh, Copenhagen USD 6.75 m Arrow Seismic, Bergen 

Karla 484 1960 dry cargo L Eikenes, Haugesund NOK 1.3 m undisclosed 

Karina 7,200 1979 container Klingenberg, Eilenbek Storesletten, Kopervik 

Auriga 3,700 1997 dry cargo Elbe Trans, Hamburg Hagland Shipping, Hgsd 

Thor Alice 1,210 1987 dry cargo Thor Rederi, Svendborg Jørgensen Sjø, Bergen 

Irene V 2,650 1979 bulk Soltin Shipment, Kopervik Caribbean 

Windsor 162,000 2007 tanker Sovcomflot, Moscow USD 95.5 m Knutsen OAS Sh, Hgsd 

Nordic Trym 80,745 1987 sh tanker Teekay Norway, Stavanger USD 35.0 m Rubicon, Russia 

Elbrus 7,242 1990 reefer Eastwind, New York USD 19 m Platou KS, Oslo bb 6 yrs 

Eiger 7,242 1991 reefer Eastwind, New York en bloc Platou KS, Oslo bb 6 yrs 

Global Africa 10,500 1994 roro Global Transporte, Brazil USD 11.5 m Nordana, Copenhagen 

Louise 7,100 1985 container Fabricius Marine, Marstal USD 6.1 m BNavi, Italy 

Duzgit Progress 4,700 2007 tanker Duzgit, Istanbul USD 15 m Fabricius Marine, Marstal 

Westralia 34,000 1979 tanker Australian Navy USD 2.35 m AGR Group, Oslo 

Kronprins Harald 31,914* 1987 ferry Color Line, Oslo EUR 43.6 m Irish Continental, Dublin 

Sea Flower 2,150 1982 dry cargo Fabricius Marine, Marstal Greeks 

* gross tons c = capacity in cubic meters 



Secondhand transactions in the Nordic market 

Month Name DWT Built Type From Price Buyer Remarks/New name 

Sinar Merak 11,000 1986 container Cosmoship, Greece Container Leasing, Cph 

Anders Bas 1,000 1970 bulk Br Nilsen, Kopervik Eidnes, Bergen 

Oktavius 23,000 1986 tanker Tarbit Shipping, Skärhamn USD 15.5 m undisclosed Sir Artos 

Norgas Traveller 7,187c 1980 LPG I M Skaugen, Oslo USD 1.9 m breaking 

New Foundland Otter 2,269* 1993 trawler Fiskery Prod Intl, Canada Ordinat Rederi, Bergen conv 

Boa King 2,271 2001 supply Boa Offshore, Trondheim USD 55 m Varun Shipping, India 

Boa Queen 2,270 2001 supply Boa Offshore, Trondheim en bloc Varun Shipping, India 

Nina Bres 1,585 1975 dry cargo Nielsen & Bresling, Fåborg Rederiet Barbara, Marstal 

Clipper Ranger 20,200 2002 bulk Clipper, Copenhagen USD 21.7 m Massoel, Switzerland 

Clipper Reunion 20,200 2002 bulk Clipper, Copenhagen USD 21.7 m Massoel, Switzerland 

Sun Master 50,000 2002 bulk Japanese USD 41 m Eastern Bulk, Oslo 

Nord Spirit 47,000 1997 bulk DS Norden, Copenhagen USD 35 m Greeks 

Mustafa Kemal 2 3,500 2007 tanker Turkish USD 14.6 m Svithoid Tankers, Sthlm Vedrey Ydrehall 

Dan Server 1,204 1979 dry cargo Rederiet Venus,Ålborg Netherlands 

Pamela 1,056 1978 bulk VG-Shipping, Åbo Vidar Shipping Co, Nådendal 

Feb Lion 48,000 1985 tanker AMA Capital Prtn, US USD 11 m Champion Tankers, Bergen 

Scotsman Sea 2,901 1982 supply Secunda Marine, Canada Sartor Shipping, Bergen 

Active Girl 3,230 1985 supply Ugelstad Rederi, Oslo NOK 730 m Aries Maritime, London 

Active Lord 2,253 1984 supply Ugelstad Rederi, Oslo en bloc Aries Maritime, London 

De Vries Tide 3,350 2002 supply Ugelstad Rederi, Oslo en bloc Aries Maritime, London 

Skandi Waveney 3,350 2001 supply Ugelstad Rederi, Oslo en bloc Aries Maritime, London 

Viking Swan 5,000 2005 supply Ugelstad Rederi, Oslo en bloc Aries Maritime, London 

Maya Princess 37,420 1983 dry cargo TBS International, USA USD 13 m Dannebrog, Copenhagen 

Clipper Sussex 76,000 2005 bulk Clipper, Copenhagen USD 41 m undisclosed 

Nordatlantic 105.000 2001 tanker DS Norden, Copenhagen USD 59.5 m König KG, Hamburg 

Chengxi resale 53,000 2007 bulk DS Norden, Copenhagen USD 44 m German KG TC 

Chengxi resale 53,000 2007 bulk DS Norden, Copenhagen USD 44 m German KG TC 

Maersk Rimini 15,174 1990 container O T Tønnevold, Grimstad USD 10.85 m Dania Marine, Mariager 

Dynasty 133,082 1982 bulk Arne Blystad, Oslo USD 15 m Korean 

Sibonina 83,158 1993 obo Camillo Eitzen, Oslo USD 101 m B+H, US 

Siboelf 83,000 1993 obo Camillo Eitzen, Oslo en bloc B+H, US 

Sibotura 83,000 1992 obo Camillo Eitzen, Oslo en bloc B+H, US 

Sea Cat 89,000 1985 tanker Seatankers, Limassol USD 18 m Sea Production, Oslo 

Sea Jaguar 89,000 1985 tanker Seatankers, Limassol USD 18 m Sea Production, Oslo 

Front Puffin 113,000 1990 fpso Frontline, Oslo USD 150 m Sea Production, Oslo 

Crystal Ocean 10,000 1999 fpso Crystal Ocean, Oslo USD 90 m Sea production, Oslo 

Champion Trader 30,990 1978 tanker Champion Tankers, Bergen breaking 

Champion Vincita 45,574 1982 tanker Champion Tankers, Bergen breaking 

Seminole Princess 29,500 1996 bulk Filscan Shipping, US USD 45 m Norwegian KS bb 

Laguna Belle 29,500 1997 bulk Filscan Shipping, US en bloc Norwegian KS bb 

Green Frio 2,400 1979 reefer Green Reefers, Bergen USD 2.4 m undisclosed 

Ievoli Gold 7,100 1993 tanker Mosvold Chemical, Krs S Eitzen Chemical, Oslo bb until 6.09 

Ievoli Silver 5,400 1992 tanker Mosvold Chemical, Krs S Eitzen Chemical, Oslo bb until 6.09 

Torquato 5,400 1992 tanker Mosvold Chemical, Krs S Eitzen Chemical, Oslo bb until 6.09 

Attilio Ievoli 6,200 1995 tanker Mosvold Chemical, Krs S Eitzen Chemical, Oslo bb until 6.09 

* gross tons c = capacity in cubic meters 

The sale of Tarbit Shipping’s 

Oktavius was completed on 

February 12. The product 

tanker’s new name is Sir Artos. 

LENNART RYDBERG 



Rates and fixtures week 07 

Shortsea dry bulk market report 

Baltic. The Baltic market remains patchy 

and unpredictable. Owners have been able 

to conclude decent fixtures of steels from 

Baltic States to Norway and Sweden in the 

1,000–2,000 mt size, while larger tonnage 

have found it more difficult to find suitable 

employment. 5,000 tonners have been 

willing to ballast from ARAG to the Baltic, 

but most owners have accepted rate levels 

equal to January fixtures. The ice situation 

is less dramatic than last week do to milder 

weather, but ice restrictions now apply to 

larger parts of Bothnia and eastern parts of 

Gulf of Finland. Still good activity in the 

Forestwood industry as frozen ground 

finally has made transport from forest possible 

in Russia and Baltic States. 

Activity level: Mixed 

Scandinavia. Tonnage availability along 

the coast of Norway remains limited in 

the smaller sizes, while 3,000–4,000 tonners 

have been seen ballasting all along 

the coast towards Baltic seeking employment. 

The situation remains unpredictable 

as a result of very bad weather and mixed 

re-let activity. Most of Norway’s export 

volume is under COA’s, and spot market 

activity very much depend on re-lets of 

minerals, fertilizers and aluminium in the 

2,000– 4,000 mt size. Small coasters are 

still in demand for general cargo movements 

throughout whole Scandinavia and 

more business has emerged as a result 

Scandinavian heavy industry outsourcing 

steel- and module work to Poland and 

Baltic states. 


UK/Continent. Brokers have been struggling 

harder to cover their scrap and grain 

orders this week in the 2,000–3,000 mt size 

especially. Scrap from the UK to Spain has 

remained unfixed the whole week much to 

brokers’ frustration. Rates are slowly climb- 

5,000 

4,000 

3,000 

2,000 

1,000 

0 

EARNINGS ESTIMATES ON T/C 

BASIS PER DAY (MODERN, BOX) 

Size This week Last week 

1,250 DWT EUR 1,800 EUR 1,800 

1,750 DWT EUR 2,000 EUR 2,000 

2,500 DWT EUR 2,300 EUR 2,300 

3,500 DWT EUR 3,100 EUR 3,100 

6,500 DWT EUR 3,900 EUR 3,900 

ing upwards, but very bad weather in the 

Biscay has punished owners hard with up to 

7 days delays on north and southbound 

sailings. More than 15 ships have sought 

shelter off Vigo since last weekend awaiting 

weather improvement, but there is little 

relief in sight as strong westerly winds continues 

to torment owners. More activity in 

the grain and agri- prod sector has absorbed 

tonnage in the 1,000–3,000 dwt size and it 

is expected that the market will be pushed 

higher; much as a result of the weather. 


Mediterranean. Both eastern and western 

Mediterranean seems to be fairly well balanced 

at the moment. Most ships are able 

to find suitable employment with little 

chance in rates on any trading route. Going 

REPAIR SHIPYARD IN HELSINGBORG SWEDEN 

Landskrona Stål AB 

“The Shipyard in the heart of Oresund Strait” 

Dry dock: 112 x 16 meters Phone: +46 42 12 02 95 

Crane cap: 40 and 5 tons Fax: +46 42 18 09 16 

~24 hrs service ~ E-Mail: landskronastal@landskronastal.se www.landskronastal.se 

Earning estimates past 12 months 

EUR/day ■ 1,000–1,500 DWT ■ 1,500–2,000 DWT ■ 2,000–3,000 DWT 

■ 3,000–4,000 DWT ■ 6,000–7,000 DWT 

10 

15 

MARKET SNAPSHOT 

This week Last week 

Brent USD 57.34 USD 57.45 

MGO Rotterdam USD 513.50 USD 512.50 

IFO180 Rotterdam USD 272.00 USD 279.50 

rate for 3,000 mt steels and minerals from 

Greece/Marmara to ARAG is EUR 35–38 

p/mt while 5,000 mt minerals S.Spain to 

North Sea is paying in region of USD 15 

p/mt on quick terms. Also fresh orders of 

wheat from SC Spain eastbound to Italy/ 

Greece this week in the 3,000–5,000 mt 

size, but these orders cause little excitement 

among North European operators as 

they are usually picked up by Turkish ships 

looking for backhauls to East Mediterranean. 

Going rate remains in region of 

USD 15–17 p/mt. 


Fixtures 

– 1,500 tonner selfdischarger R/V W.Norway 

– Iceland fixed USD 85,000 lump sum 

– 5,000 mt frag scrap Lower Baltic/SC 

Spain fixed EUR 25 p/mt 

– 1,500mt generals SC Norway/Hamburg 

fixed EUR 30,000 lump sum 

norbroker shipping & trading as, 

flekkefjord, norway 


20 

25 

30 

35 

40 

45 

50 

Market report by e-mail 

1 

Week 

! 

This market report is part of our 

weekly Newsletter issued on Fridays. 

Available for subscribers, free of charge. 

More info on www.shipgaz.com. 

5

Tank – a topsy-turvy sort of market 

❯ 

All markets have their ups and downs, 

but the North European dirty spot 

tanker market has been downright chaotic 

in the past month. Aframax freight has 

changed up to 30 per cent in a matter of 

weeks and these changes have now become 

the rule rather than the exception. Mea- 

Wet bulk freight development 

Worldscale ■ Suezmax North Sea–TA ■ Aframax NS– UKCont 

600 

500 

400 

300 

200 

100 

0 

Apr ’05 

sured by weekly averages the North Sea 

aframax rate drifted from a high of WS 200 

to a low of WS 160, while the Baltic rate 

ranged from WS 155 to WS 205. It is an 

old saying that nobody makes any money 

unless prices move. Aframax owners would 

wish for more moderation. As we go to 

■ Aframax Primorsk–UKCont ■ Clean MR UKCont–TA ■ Clean Baltic–UKCont 

Jul ’05 

Oct ’05 

Jan ’06 

❯ 

When a 170,000 tonner booked Continent 

for Far East discharge obtain close 

to USD 97,000 per day and capesize iron 

ore cargos Brazil for China are booked at 

close to USD 40.00 per tonne, it is safe to 

say that we have a good dry bulk market. 

The panamax market is not as exuberant, 

but nevertheless Atlantic rates were up on 

average USD 2,000 per day in one short 

week. Capesize owners saw the best rates in 

the Atlantic and not only on the Brazil to 

China run. Iron ore from Tubarao to Rotterdam 

now cost nearly USD 22.50 to shift 

in a capesize. Measured by the time charter 

equivalent rate the Trans-Atlantic round 

voyage clocked in at USD 81,000 per day 

as we went to press. The last time we had 

similar strong rates was in November/ 

December 2004. 

Panamax freight was primarily lifted by 

strong interest in period tonnage. Fairly 

modern tonnage can obtain between USD 

25,000 and USD 30,000 per day for up to 

two years. At one stage there was a lack of 

spot tonnage in the Atlantic as charterers 

split up capesize cargoes in smaller lots as 

Apr ’06 

Jul ’06 


print, the aframax spot market is again 

firm, while the trend for suezmax rates is 

definitely weaker. The North European 

dirty tanker market is part of a bigger 

Atlantic market, including the Black Sea, 

the Mediterranean and for suezmax tonnage 

also West Africa. The inter-relationship 

between the different loading areas 

and the time lag from one area to the next 

is difficult to determine. Since tonnage 

mostly outstrips supply, we will continue 

this topsy-turvy market for a while yet. 

The present position is North Sea aframax 

tonnage at WS 195 for the short haul 

and suezmax loaders for Trans-Atlantic discharge 

at WS 100 or even lower. VLCCs 

are generally booked at well below WS 

100, but most are taken on lump sum basis 

with Far East discharge. After closing on 

WS 200 a few weeks back clean Medium 

Range (MR) tonnage in Trans-Atlantic 

business westbound was again closing on 

WS 290 after having been down to WS 195 

during the past four weeks. LR tonnage 

also appeared to firm a little by mid February. 


Oct ’06 

Jan ’07 

Source: SSG, February 16, 2007 

Dry – capesize firm – handy steady 

it was cheaper than booking a capesize in 

the present market. 70,000 tonnes was thus 

taken from Nouadhibou (Mauretania) for 

China at USD 34.85 per tonne. The future 

path of panamax freight is, however, a bit 

uncertain to say the least. But freight could 

very well fall again. 

90,000 

80,000 

70,000 

60,000 

50,000 

40,000 

30,000 

20,000 

10,000 

0 

Not much to say about the handy market. 

Despite a reasonably good balance 

between supply and demand freight has 

hardly moved for weeks. The Trans- 

Atlantic round voyage rate at USD 30,750 

per day is the lowest for the year. 

petter arentz 

Dry bulk freight development 

Atlantic round voyage,USD/day ■ Capesize ■ Panamax ■ Handymax 

Apr ’05 

Jul ’05 

Oct ’05 

Jan ’06 

Apr ’06 

Jul ’06 

Oct ’06 

Jan ’07 

Source: Fearnleys/SSG,February 16, 2007


Offshore market report February 

❯ 

The global offshore industry must be 

labouring close to the boiling point, 

with a steep increase in the fleet of diverse 

operations and services. This is all fuelled 

by the notion of higher demand for energy 

in the world and the expectations for generous 

oil prices in years to come. 

During a recent visit to Singapore, this 

author could only reflect on the high share 

of offshore-related work at the shipyards, 

building rigs, modules and carrying out 

conversions and upgrading, largely for 

European owners. 

Strong increase 

Figures from shipbrokers Hagland Offshore 

point to a strong increase in the 

number of supply vessels over the last ten 

years. Since 1997 the number of 

anchorhandlers of 10,000 BHP and more 

has risen from 107 to 266, with another 

109 on order. The number of platform vessels 

above 2,500 dwt has taken off at an 

even brisker pace, from 75 to 334 units, 

with 125 more to come within 2009. 

This substantial addition has been 

absorbed without difficulties, and for the 

vessels due for delivery this year, roughly 

50 per cent have been fixed ahead at satisfactory 

terms, according to the brokers. 

Vessels are still being ordered, now for 

delivery in 2009. Much of the focus for 

Norwegian owners is for specialized units, 

such as a well stimulation vessel for Africa 

Offshore Services from Ulstein and two 

construction vessels for Cecon of Arendal 

from Davie Quebec. 

Significant transactions 

The long-rumoured sale of Ugelstads Rederi 

of Oslo has now been concluded. Of 

several contenders for the company and its 

fleet of five PSVs, the London-based Aries 

Maritime paid NOK 730 million (about 

USD 118 million). The company will continue 

from its operation base in Aalesund, 

now as Aries Offshore Service Norway AS. 

This is the fifth Norwegian supply ship 

company to be taken over by foreign owners, 

following Sævik Supply, Brøvig Offshore, 

Sea Truck and Havila. All of them 

have so far remained firmly Norwegian in 

location, management and crewing. 

The second major deal was the sale by 

Harms Bergung of Hamburg of three 

VS470-type platform vessels to compatriot 

Offshore rate development 

GBP 1,000 PSV: ■ 600/700 AHTS: ■ 15,000–16,000 ■ 20,000+ 

140 

120 

100 

80 

60 

40 

20 

0 

10 

15 

Nordcapital Holding. The vessels Aeolus, 

Cerberus and Centaurus were delivered by 

Kleven Verft last year and will now be 

renamed and transferred to OSM Ship 

Management in Arendal. Presumably, the 

eight UT755L PSVs on order by Nordkapital 

from Aker Yards will go into similar 

management. 

Trico Marine has entered into a jointventure 

with Chinese interests that will see 

four vessels leave the North Sea, including 

the ageing PSV Northern Genesis which 

will be converted into a seismic research 

vessel. 

Bourbon Chieftain, an anchorhandler 

built in 1983 of the ME-303 design, is in 

the process of joining the Norwegian 

Coastguard under an 18-month contract. 

On the other hand, the purpose-built 

coastguard vessel Tromsø (70 meters, built 

1997) has been redelivered to Troms Offshore 

and has been sold to Fugro for conversion 

into a survey vessel. 

dag bakka jr 


20 

25 

30 

SOME NORTH SEA TERM FIXTURES: 

Charterer Vessel Type Operation 

ASCo Talisman Siem Carrier psv 7-10 months from mid-January 

Team Highland Pride psv ext 1 year 

Team Highland Star psv ext 1 year 

Shell UK Malaviya 20 psv ext until July 07 

Total UK Troms Falken psv ext 1 year until Feb 08 

CNR Northern Gambler psv ext 1 year 

Nexen Portosalvo psv ext until July 07 

Allseas Highland Fortress psv ext 2 years until beg 09 

Hydro Bourbon Orca psv 3 years + 3x1 opt 

SOME CHARTERS OUTSIDE THE NORTH SEA: 

Charterer Vessel Type Operation 

Gazprom Boa Princess ahts 3 months, India 

BP Far Spirit psv 2 years+ 1 opt, March 07, Angola 

Woodside Lady Melinda psv 6 months from April 07, Australia 

Esso Lady Gerda ahts 6 months + opt, Bass Strait 

Reliance Lady Grete psv 3 years + 1 opt, June 07, India 

Petrobras Norskan Fluminense ahts up to 4 years from del March, Brazil 

Petrobras Far Sailor ahts extended until May 09, Brazil 

Petrobras Far Senior ahts extended until May 09, Brazil 

Petrobras 5 Maersk vsls ahts extended one year 

35 

40 

45 

50 

1 

Week 

Based on information from R G Hagland Offshore, www.hagland.com 

5

BUNKERS AND CRUDE OIL TRENDS 

Week Rotterdam Bunkers Crude Oil 

380 cSt, USD/t MDO, USD/t Brent, spot IPE, USD/brl 

01 232 445 54.06 

02 233 447 51.36 

03 212 431 52.08 

04 231 441 54.64 

05 247 464 57.06 

06 263 468 58.60 

07 250 463 56.18 

Quotations Friday each week. Source: Stockholm Chartering, www.stochart.com 

CRUDE TANKER MARKETS 

Size Route Week Worldscale Earnings 

(USD/day) 

VLCC Persian Gulf–UKC C/S 01 47.5 32,500 

280,000 02 55.0 42,300 

03 57.5 46,400 

04 55.0 41,500 

05 55.0 38,600 

06 50.0 31,000 

07 50.0 32,800 

Suezmax Cross Med 01 180.0 86,200 

130,000 02 125.0 52,100 

03 145.0 65,600 

04 135.0 58,400 

05 135.0 57,500 

06 130.0 53,500 

07 125.0 51,200 

Aframax North Sea–UKC 01 145.0 43,600 

80,000 02 160.0 51,100 

03 185.0 65,200 

04 195.0 69,000 

05 160.0 50,500 

06 160.0 50,000 

07 195.0 68,200 

Quotations Friday each week. Source: Stockholm Chartering, www.stochart.com 

Cruise sector contribution 

to European economy 

ssg-göteborg. In 2005, the cruise sector 

contributed EUR 8.3 billion to the European 

economy. This is expected to grow to 

EUR 12.7 billion in 2010, according to a 

report prepared by analyst firms G.P. Wilde 

International and BREA on behalf of the 

European Cruise Council. The figures 

comprise direct expenditures by cruise 

companies, shipyards and passengers, and 

the report also claims that each euro generates 

a further 2.3 euros. The sector employs 

directly 180,000 people in Europe, a number 

that is expected to grow to 250,000 by 

2010. In 2005, 2.6 million passengers spent 

EUR 1.6 billion in European ports. On 

average, each passenger spent EUR 100 in 

the port of embarkation and EUR 50 in 

the other ports of call. By the end of last 

year, European shipyards had 33 cruise vessels 

on order, worth a total of EUR 18.6 

billion. 

European yards booked to 2010 

ssg-göteborg. Before the final figures for 

2006 have been summed up, it is already 

clear that the total order book will be at 

least 10 per cent larger than for the record 

SHARE PRICE INDEX 


Index 16/2 9/2 

Broström Logistics* 102.52 101.85 

OSE2030GI** 369.49 377.41 

*Broström Logistics is a share price index that includes seven 

Swedish as well as non-Swedish transportation and logistics 

companies, publicly listed on European Stock Exchanges. For 

further information, visit www.brostrom.se. 

**OSE2030GI includes the shipping companies listed on the 

Oslo Stock Exchange. 

DRY CARGO MARKETS, LARGE CARRIERS 

Size Route Week USD/t 

Single voyages 

Capesize Tubarao–Rotterdam 01 19.30 

165,000 Iron Ore 02 21.00 

03 20.50 

04 20.30 

05 21.00 

06 21.30 

07 22.20 

Tripcharter Av. Earnings 

(USD/day) 

Panamax Cont–Far East 01 34,500 

70,000 02 38,000 

03 36,900 

04 35,500 

05 34,000 

06 35,500 

07 38,000 

Handymax Transatlantic, round voyage 01 35,000 

02 35,250 

03 34,850 

04 33,500 

05 31,500 

06 30,750 

07 30,750 

Source: Fearnleys, www.fearnleys.no 

year 2005, according to the shipyards’ European 

association Cesa. Many shipyards are 

fully booked to 2010 and some beyond. 

Ventspils Nafta Terminals 

handled less oil 

ssg-tallinn. Ventspils Nafta Terminals 

handled 5.7 million tons of crude oil and 

petroleum products last year, 29.6 per cent 

less than in 2005. 1.24 million tons of 

crude oil and petroleum products were discharged 

from ships in 2006, an increase of 

almost one million tons compared with 

2005. 


The Oden: 

Powerful and efficient 

The Oden passes at full speed close to the passenger steamer the Birger Jarl, which is stuck in the ice. 

I 

n the 1950’s a new breed of icebreakers 

was introduced in the 

Baltic Sea. The Finnish Voima was 

the first of them. She was delivered 

by Wärtsilä’s Helsinki shipyard and saw 

action for the first time in the winter of 1954. 

She immediately proved to be of a successful 

design. The design was followed up with 

three sister vessels for the Soviet Union. 

Also Sweden had plans for ordering a 

new and powerful icebreaker. Wärtsilä 

offered a slightly modified version of the 

Voima, which fulfilled all the Swedish specifications. 

The fifth vessel of the Voima 

class was thereafter ordered by Sweden. 

Named Oden, the Swedish icebreaker 

became the last of the quintet and was 

handed over in November, 1957. She had a 

displacement of 5,000 tons and a beam of 

19.4 m, which was adequate for breaking a 

wide enough channel for most of the merchant 

vessels of those days. The draft was 

large, between 6.5 and 7 m, thus making her 

less suitable for operations in archipelago. 

The state-of-the-art diesel electric machin- 

ery consisted of six 1,700 hp diesel 

engines, of which each one was coupled to 

a DC-generator. Two electrical propeller 

motors were situated aft and two in the 

bow. The Oden was the first Swedish icebreaker 

with two propellers also in the 

bow and these improved the water streaming 

along the hull, decreasing the friction 

by ice. The propeller configuration also 

made it possible to turn the icebreaker on 

the spot and perform advanced manoeuvering 

when assisting merchant vessels. 

When a merchant vessel has got stuck in 

the ice, the icebreaker usually cuts it lose 

by passing at full speed very close, thus 

forcing the ice to losen its grip. If the circumstances 

are even more difficult the 

vessel is taken on tow by the icebreaker. 

The Oden was a naval vessel and 

manned by the navy. The complement was 

62 persons. The first icebreaking expedition 

commenced in January, 1958. In 1963 the 

situation was extremely difficult and the 

Swedish ports in the northern part of Gulf 

of Bothnia were closed in early January. 

During the second half of January the situa- 

HÅKAN SJÖSTRÖM 

tion deterioriated also in the southern part 

of the Gulf of Bothnia and the last vessels 

were evacuated from Gävle, after which the 

port was closed on 22 January. Now the 

Oden headed for the Swedish West Coast 

and Öresund. This winter the icebreaking 

campaign ended for the Oden on 22 May. 

The Oden was decommissioned after 30 

years of service in April, 1988. Later this 

year the icebreaker was sold to foreign 

owners for scrap. According to their original 

plan, the Oden would tow the decommissioned 

destroyer the Hälsingland to 

the same site in India. However the plans 

were changed and Sweden’s once most 

powerful icebreaker made her last voyage 

alone. She sailed under her own power to 

the scrapping site in India as the St Vincent-flagged 

Odena and arrived at Port 

Alang on Christmas eve 1988. 


Sources: 

Fischerström: Isbrytare 

Blenner, Ohrelius: Isbrytare 

Laurell, Riimala: Through Ice and Snow 


Leading technology 

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Safety regulations 

Passengers 

Professional 

competence 

Fuel consumption 

Reputation matters 

Noise and vibration 

Environment 

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Life is a wonderful journey. Our range of services helps guide owners and 

operators of cruise vessels through the peaks and troughs of energy efficiency, 

maintenance, environmental, noise and vibration issues so passengers can 

concentrate on enjoying their voyage, because your reputation matters. 

LIFE MATTERS 

www.lr.org 

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Första Långgatan 28B 

SE-413 27 Göteborg 

Sweden 

Phone +46 (0) 31 775 48 00 

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Contacs: 

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POSTTIDNING B

SSG No 4 - Shipgaz

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