Lauritzen news

Transcription

Lauritzen news

1
Lauritzen news · Issue #17 · september 2012
Lauritzen news
Issue No. 17 october 2012
oceans of know-how
A cool way to
conserve
energy
HALF-YEAR COAST-TO-COAST NEW FUEL,
RESULTS ACTIVITY
NEW MARKET
Stepping up
the fight
against piracy
2
Lauritzen news · Issue #17 · October 2012
Table of
Contents
Editorial .................................................. 3
2012 half-year result ............................... 4
A cool way to conserve energy .............. 6
LK marks first long-term time-charter
deal with Japanese owner ..................... 8
Keeping Lilla Dan shipshape.................... 9
Community support in Brazil .................. 10
It runs in the family .................................. 11
CONSERVING
ENERGY
6
Community support in Brazil 10
Grundfos and Lauritzen Bulkers collaborate
on pioneering seawater cooling system.
The Lauritzen Foundation supports the Princess
Benedikte Institute’s work with children.
Coast-to-coast
activity13
New fuel,
new market 16
JL’s US office expands operations and maintains presence throughout North America.
Lauritzen Kosan contributes to infrastructure
planning for use of Liquefied Natural Gas.
Corporate Responsibility strategy
moves ahead .......................................... 12
Coast-to-coast activity ............................ 13
New growth strategy for
Lauritzen’s offshore activities .................. 14
Rail wagons on board ............................ 15
New fuel, new market .............................. 16
Stepping up the fight against piracy ....... 18
Competitive under pressure..................... 20
Building a better product tanker.............. 22
Staff News................................................ 23
In memoriam: Henrik Thirup Daarbak........ 24
building a
BETTER TANKER22
Lauritzen Tankers’ China site manager shares
observations about optimal vessel design.
3
dear
reader
The shipping industry
saw a tough start
to 2012. Most importantly, the fragile
world economy
showed signs of
further weakness
and major shipping
markets continued
to struggle with
excess capacity.
During the first six months freight rates suffered and this negatively impacted results
across the industry.
JL was no exception to this tendency, and
additionally was hit by counter party defaults
amounting to USD (39) million which was
the major reason for the USD (67) million result for the period (see article on pages 4-5).
The shipping industry is typically cyclical, but
sooner or later markets will start to improve.
Therefore, we have to manage this difficult
situation carefully, but avoid creating an atmosphere of crisis. We have to be prudent
and professional as well as adjust and finetune our strategies and operations in order
to sharpen our competitive edge.
Despite the world economic malaise, international seaborne trade continues to post
strong growth. This year seaborne trade in
dry bulks and general cargo is projected to
increase at around five per cent, equal to the
trend growth rate since the beginning of the
new century. A similar rate of expansion is
projected for 2013.
Newbuildings are still pouring into the markets, but fortunately new ordering has slowed
down and a contraction in deliveries will be
seen from mid 2013. The combination of increased demolition, reduced access to financing, and fewer newbuildings could bring some
improvement to the markets.
vessel, which will satisfy the stringent North
Sea operating requirements, the implementation of the first step of the joint venture’s
strategy has also been accomplished (see
article, page 14).
JL’s Corporate Responsibility (CR) strategy
and initiatives are progressing (see article,
page 12) in a direction that fits with our values
and contributes to innovation and development within all areas.
During the first half of 2012, JL initiated an
energy efficiency initiative in cooperation
with Det Norske Veritas. Based on preliminary findings, the project will lead to considerable improvements in fuel consumption
and reduction of other consumables, thereby
resulting in less emissions.
Early in 2012, a senior management group
attended a seminar at IESE business school
in Barcelona, where top professors addressed the participants on scenario planning, value innovation, and management
across cultures. These are important topics
at a time with high uncertainty and risks, and
all participants received valuable insight.
I would like to thank staff and business relations for their never faltering support, and as
usual we all remain firmly committed to continue providing world-class shipping services
to clients and partners worldwide.
Fortunately there is also positive news.
Sincerely,
Torben Janholt
President & CEO
Photo by Carsten Lundager
With the creation of a joint venture with
the leading oil and gas private equity firm
HitecVision, JL’s long-term strategy to further develop our offshore activities with the
right partner has been fulfilled. And with the
recent order of a high-end accommodation
4
Difficult
first half-year
J. Lauritzen (JL) was exposed to a difficult start to 2012. Continued slowing
of world economic activity and surplus
capacity in key shipping markets dented
JL’s result. Additionally, JL was hit by
contract partner default with the effect
that a Capesize bulk carrier was sold.
This caused a net loss of USD (39)m,
which had a significant negative impact
on the result for the first half of the year.
Lauritzen Bulkers
The dry bulk market was hit by weakening
demand growth due to weather disturbances,
reluctance to replenish stores due to anticipated commodity price declines, and large
newbuilding deliveries.
Total number of ship days increased to
20,623, up 21% compared to 16,980 in the
first half of 2011.
EBITDA was USD 10.6m compared to USD
26.4m in 2011, and operating income was
USD (53.1)m compared to USD 17.1m in
Main events
During the first half of 2012 the following
main events occurred:
• A 50/50 joint venture – Axis Offshore – was
established with the Norwegian-based
leading oil and gas private equity firm
HitecVision to focus on the offshore accommodation (ASV) segment. The joint
venture represents the completion of the
long-term strategy to expand the offshore
activities, in particular in the accommodation segment. The proceeds from the
transaction will be re-injected in the joint
company with the aim of growing the offshore accommodation activities (see article, page 14).
• JL took delivery of seven newbuildings,
including three Handysize bulk carriers,
two product tankers, one gas carrier, and
one shuttle tanker. Furthermore, five bulk
carriers, one gas carrier, and three product tankers were taken on long-term timecharter, in addition to renewals and declaration of optional periods.
• A charterer defaulted and redelivered two
Capesize bulk carriers, one of which was
sold at a loss of USD (39)m, but with positive cash effect.
2011. The decline was primarily due to difficult
market conditions and loss on sale of assets.
Lauritzen Kosan
The contract and petrochemical spot trades
for smaller gas carriers remained healthy
during the first half despite challenges in
relation to the Iran sanctions, and the fiscal
situation in Europe and the US, as well as
slowing of demand growth towards the end
of the period.
Total number of ship days was 7,608 up 10%
compared to 6,887 in the first half of 2011.
First half yearFull year
Key figures USDm
201220112011
Income
Revenue
365,817 277,014604,265
Other operating income
6,263
8,214
16,834
Costs
(307,059) (219,825)(475,092)
Profit before depreciation (EBITA)
65,021
65,404
146,006
Profit/(loss) on sale of assets
(46,343)
6,572
(36,248)
Depreciations and write-downs
(53,442)
(42,387)
(91,241)
Operating income
(34,764)
29,589
18,518
Share of profit in joint ventures
(992) 4,8504,708
Net financial items
(31,209)
(31,556)
(69,167)
Profit/(loss) before tax
(66,965)
2,883
(45,941)
Income tax
(240)
1,765
1,926
Profit/(loss) for the period
(67,205)
4,648
(44,015)
Profit margin
Solvency ratio
Solvency ratio (JL’s share of equity)
Return on equity
Return on invested capital
-9.5%
44%
44%
-11.7%
-3.1%
10,7%
49%
49%
0,6%
3.1%
3,1%
45%
45%
(3.8%)
1,1%
EBITA and operating income by business segment
EBITAOPERATING INCOME
1st halfFull year
1st halfFull year
USDm
201220112011201220112011
Lauritzen Bulkers
10.6 26.4 75.8(53.1)17.1 (0.7)
Lauritzen Kosan
20.8
17.9
33.27.25.39,1
Lauritzen Offshore Services
28.818.737.610.8 7.216.9
Lauritzen Tankers
7.56.8
12.23.04.45.9
Other/not allocated
(2.7)
(4.3)
(12.8)
(2.7)
(4.3)
(12.8)
65.0 65.4146.0(34.8)29.6 18.5
2500
2000
1600
1500
1000
500
0
LB
LK
2011
LO
LT
JL
2012
USD 7.2m compared to USD 5.3m in 2011.
The improvement was due to market improvements, increased long-haul shipments
of, e.g., butadiene and a slightly larger fleet
of fully pressurised gas carriers.
Lauritzen Tankers
The normal seasonal weakening of the market for medium range product tankers in the
second quarter was more pronounced than
anticipated.
Total number of ship days was 2,273 up 12%
compared to 2,034 in the first half of 2011.
The decline was mainly related to slightly
lower markets and increased depreciations
due to increase of own fleet.
Lauritzen Offshore
The market for offshore service vessels continued its positive trend as deepwater oil exploration and production as well as maintenance of offshore installations gained further
momentum.
Total number of ship days was 719 compared to 342 in the first half of 2011.
Results were in line with expectations and
reflect that two shuttletanker newbuildings
have been added to the operational fleet.
Operating income includes USD (6.9)m impairment related to the establishment of the
aforementioned 50/50 joint venture, mainly
due to expense of amortized loan costs and
unused tax assets.
Outlook
Continuous downward adjustments of the
world economic forecasts and surplus capacity have reduced the expected earnings
on open ship days for the balance of 2012.
The consolidated EBITDA for the full year
is thus expected at a level of around USD
100m. EBITDA in the second half is expected
to be lower than in the first six months of the
year and thus lower than earlier expectations
of approximately USD 60m. Additionally, the
sale of 50% of the offshore accommodation
activities will reduce EBITDA.
In general, vessel values have dropped during
the first half of 2012. Based on JL’s contract
cover and estimated freight rates, JL’s value
in use of the fleet is higher than market values and higher than book values. However,
due to the world economic uncertainty and
increased geopolitical uncertainty, especially
in the Middle East, our rate scenarios may
change into a prolonged period with further
low dry bulk markets, in which case a need
for write-downs at year-end 2012 of own
vessels and vessels on long-term time-charter
would materialise.
Invested capital period-end, USDm
5
“Despite a tough start to the
year with many challenges, JL’s
solvency ratio remains satisfactory at 44%. The balance of the
year appears to be equally difficult and the full-year result will
be significantly down compared
to 2011, mainly due to losses
on sale of assets included in the
first half-year result, the negative
development in the bulk market,
and the initial effect of the establishment of the Axis Offshore
joint venture in the offshore
accommodation segment.”
Birgit Aagaard-Svendsen, Executive
Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
For further details on JL’s 2012
interim result, please visit our
website: www.j-l.com
6
A cool way to
conserve
energy
Collaboration with
Grundfos produces a
pioneering seawater
cooling system for
Lauritzen Bulkers.
Within the past year, the LB technical department began to develop a fleet performance
catalogue, called Vessel Energy Renovation
Plans (VERP), to provide fuel consumption
optimisation technology for newbuildings
and for the existing fleet. One of the areas
covered by the catalogue – optimisation of
auxiliary consumption, things like pumps,
fans, and air conditioning – has already
scored a major success in the form of a
system for regulating seawater cooling. The
general concept was something Søren Roschmann, responsible for LB technological
development and performance monitoring,
had considered at a previous job but never
had a chance to pursue. “So when we started the VERP programme, I called a contact of
mine at Grundfos, which is a leader in regulation and circulation systems,” he says. ”He
was confident that they had the technology
we needed. We started the project last October, and in March of this year began working
to implement a system on a test vessel, the
Durban Bulker, at a shipyard in China.”
Shipboard seawater cooling systems normally pump a given amount of water that is
calculated to cool the engine and other systems in a hot, tropical climate. This means
that vessels sailing in cooler climates waste
a lot of energy by pumping through the same
7
From the left: Christopher C. Cahatol, Able Bodied
Seaman; Eugenio B. Atuel Jr., Captain; Christopher
P. Mondia, Chief Cook; Kim Kirkegaard, Grundfos;
Michael Rasmussen, Grundfos; Joselito G. Esteva,
Oiler; Jay B. Brigoli, 4th Engineer; Fuentebella G.
Fernandez, 3rd Engineer; Roy T. Barimbad, Chief
Engineer; Victor B. Yana, 3rd Officer; Arnold C. Perez,
Chief Officer; Niels Mogensen, Grundfos
amount of water as they would in the tropics.
The basic function of the system developed
for the Durban Bulker is to ensure that all
operating temperature parameters of the engine and other systems are kept within certain limits. The system is designed to wind
down requirements on pumps in accordance
with the actual temperature of outside seawater – to pump enough water to provide
sufficient cooling, but no more.
An excellent team
This is a pioneering effort, and one for which
JL and Grundfos were well matched. “The
technology for this kind of seawater cooling
system is something we had thought about
for quite a while,” says Kim Kirkegaard, business development manager for Grundfos.
“We had talked with other companies about
it, but JL was the only one that said, ‘OK,
let’s do it.’ JL and Grundfos made an excellent team for the project. We both wanted to
make it work – and thanks to great cooperation from the crew on the Durban Bulker, we
did.” The result was the formation of a team
comprised of JL and Grundfos technicians to
work on the project.
When the Durban Bulker left the Shanghai
shipyard in early spring this year, the installation was not yet complete. In May, the team
joined the vessel again in Malaysia and finished the physical part of the installation.
Then, during a ten-day voyage to Australia,
the team set up system parameters and automation and performed functionality tests.
When it came apparent after leaving Australia that further adjustments were necessary,
the team came on board again in Tacoma,
on the west coast of the USA, and spent
ten days on board doing fine-tuning. “Since
then,” says Søren Roschmann, “the system
has been working very well. The results have
been impressive: we’ve been able to cut
energy consumption on pumps by 35 to 50
per cent, depending on the climate where
we’re sailing. This can potentially translate
into one to two per cent overall fuel savings.
We will continue to gather experience from
operations and see if there are any final adjustments that need to be made. But so far
it appears to be a great success. We have
built a lot of confidence in Grundfos and the
system – which I believe is the first of its kind
– and are planning to install it on other vessels in the LB fleet.”
Crew participation
Søren Roschmann strongly seconds Kim Kierkegaard’s remark about crew involvement.
“Starting at the yard in Shanghai,” he says,
“we asked for the crew’s participation and
for their input on system parameters. They
were involved in changes that required a lot
of yard work, such as switching to automatic
valves, extensive rewiring, and installation
of an extra pump. Grundfos was very good
at building relations with the crew on board,
both during the time at sea and the following days during its port stay in Tacoma. The
chief engineer on board and the captain
have been deeply involved all the way and
fully understand the system and how it operates.” This positive view of the teamwork
involved is reciprocated by the crew: “I’m so
glad that the new system has worked satisfactorily since leaving Tacoma,” says Chief
Engineer Roy Barimbad. It was a pleasure for
everyone in the crew to work on the project.”
The new automated system also benefits the
crew, who no longer have to adjust valves
manually. It also incorporates an automatic
back flush routine which cleans the coolers
on board.
More to come
The new seawater cooling system has a
promising future. It has the potential to be
applied not only to other LB vessels, but also
to other ships in the JL fleet. Moreover, as
the VERP catalogue that produced the system is itself just one component of a larger
energy efficiency initiative by LB (see the
May 2012 issue of Lauritzen News, page 14),
this system may soon be joined by other pioneering energy developments.
“The results have
been impressive:
we’ve been able to
cut energy consumption on pumps by
35 to 50 per cent,
depending on the
climate where we’re
sailing.”
Søren Roschmann
Technical Superintendent, Lauritzen Bulkers
8
LK marks first long-term
time-charter deal with
Japanese owner
On 28 June 2012 the Crimson Gas 3, a modern
and efficient 3,500 cbm pressurised gas carrier,
was delivered from Shitanoe Shipbuilding,
Japan, to her owners, MMSL of Singapore.
MMSL is a newly established shipowning
subsidiary of Marubeni Corporation, Tokyo.
At the same time, Lauritzen Kosan Singapore
took delivery of the new vessel on a two-year
time-charter contract, marking LK’s first
long-term time-charter arrangement with a
Japanese owner.
To commemorate the event, MMSL and
Marubeni asked Jakob Bode, vice president
of LK Singapore, to sponsor the vessel at the
name-giving ceremony. After a blessing of
the vessel and crew by a traditional Shinto
priest, Jakob Bode named her Crimson Gas 3
by cutting the rope with a traditional Japanese ceremonial axe. “We are very happy
to take delivery of this great vessel and look
forward to building on our long-term relations with Marubeni with this deal,” says the
proud sponsor.
After the ceremony the vessel embarked on
her maiden voyage, carrying propylene from
South Korea to China.
The ceremony was attended by, from left to right:
Mr. Akio Tanaka, Chairman and Owner, Shitanoe Shipbuilding Company, Ltd; Mr. Ole Daus-Petersen, General
Manager, J. Lauritzen (Japan); Mr. Kosuke Takechi, President, MMSL Pte Ltd; Mr. Koki Kitagawa, Senior Operating
Officer, Marubeni Corporation, Transportation Machinery Division; Mr. Jakob Bode, Vice President, Lauritzen Kosan
Singapore; Mr. Hiroshi Saijo, President, Star Management Tokyo; Mr. Masashi Kobayashi, Ship Business Sec-II;
Mr. Yasuyoshi Yamamoto, President, Shitanoe Shipbuilding Company, Ltd; Mr. Toshiharu Joko, Managing Director,
Shitanoe Shipbuilding Company, Ltd.
Major repair work
in the spring on JL’s
schooner, Lilla Dan
was made possible
by a crucial piece of
wood from the shipyard of Fregatten
Jylland, an old
Danish warship.
9
Keeping Lilla Dan
shipshape
Late last year during repairs to the Lilla Dan,
dry rot was discovered in the wood of the
bowstem. The bowstem is the most forward
part of a ship’s bow – an extension of the
keel itself – and gives the ship strength at a
critical section that brings together the port
and starboard side planks of the hull. “It was
very important to take care of this as quickly
as possible to make sure the dry rot didn’t
spread to the rest of the ship,” says Jesper
Hjorth Johansen, captain of the Lilla Dan.
“So we decided to make repairs during the
ship’s yearly maintenance at the Ring Andersen shipyard in Svendborg, Denmark –
the same shipyard that built the Lilla Dan as
a training schooner in 1951.”
The main challenge to the job, which was
scheduled to begin in March, was to find a
piece of oak for the new bowstem that was
big and dry enough. “On such short notice,”
says Jesper Hjorth Johansen, “this turned
out to be harder than we originally thought
it would be due to the fact that we had to
change the complete bowstem and not only
the upper half part. We contacted shipyards
in Denmark and Germany and found nothing.
What finally saved us was a nearly perfect
piece of wood at the Fregatten Jylland shipyard.” Fregatten Jylland, built in the mid-
19th century, is world’s last screw-propelled
steam frigate. It was restored in the 1990s
and is now a museum ship in Ebeltoft, Denmark, with it’s own dedicated shipyard. The
crucial piece of oak, which weighed 1.5
tonnes, had been seasoned for over two
years and had the correct shape to follow the
curve of the bowstem.
The main concern now was the schedule.
The Lilla Dan earns its keep by taking groups
on cruises from May to October. “Our original goal was to be done by the first of May,”
says Jesper Hjorth Johansen, “but after finding the piece of wood we needed, it took
about seven weeks to complete the job.
Nearly three weeks of this time was due to
delays caused by Danish spring holidays.
The wood for the bowstem had to be shaped
and fitted by hand. Other repairs included
refurbishing the winch for the anchor, replacing some sections of side planking and
repositioning the mast – as well as routine
maintenance. The result was that we didn’t
get Lilla Dan back in the water until 5 June.
But then we made up for lost time. Thirty-six
hours later we were in Copenhagen, ready to
start our work season – thanks to the wood
from Fregatten Jylland and to expert work by
the craftsmen at Ring Andersen.”
10
Community
support
in Brazil
will set a new standard for Danish companies
in Brazil.”
The Institute is in the process of building a
neonatal center, where infants born with a
drug addiction related to maternal drug abuse
during pregnancy will be treated and cared
for. The building of the center has begun and
is expected to be completed in August 2013,
when it will open with the capacity to treat
40-50 infants. Preventing and fighting child
mortality is number four on the list of UN’s
Millennium Development Goals for 2015. By
supporting the Princess Benedikte Institute,
JL and the Lauritzen Foundation are combining
community investment with a long-term commitment to help reach one of the 2015 goals.
“We are always eager to show our support
for the local community,” says Erik Donner,
president of LO and LT. “This is why we
joined JL in applying for the donation to the
Princess Benedikte Institute. While our offshore business goals have been largely realised with the creation of a new joint venture,
Brazil continues to be a very important market for JL. As one of the world’s strongest
emerging economies, Brazil presents many
possibilities for JL business units. Involvement in and support of local communities is
essential in this part of the world in order to
show our interest in the future development
of the country. Grants from the Lauritzen
Foundation are an important way of helping
people and raising awareness of the Lauritzen name – and they make us proud to be
part of the company.”
A Lauritzen Foundation grant to the
Princess Benedikte
Institute supports
J. Lauritzen’s activities in Brazil.
JL has a long history of business activity in
Brazil that dates back to the days of the reefer
trade. Additionally, just a few years ago Lauritzen
Offshore (LO) established its business foundation in Brazil with the accommodation and
support vessel Dan Swift (now part of a new
joint venture – see article, page 14), as well as
three shuttle tankers. As a way to give some-
thing back to the society that surrounds JL’s
activities in Brazil, JL and LO jointly applied
to the Lauritzen Foundation for a donation of
DKK 300,000 to support the work of the Princess Benedikte Institute. The donation was
granted in June. The institute helps children
who are born with a drug addiction and/or
have been sexually molested. It acts as an
independent entity coordinated by the DanishBrazilian Chamber of Commerce in Brazil,
which demonstrates the close link between
the two countries. “The donation from the
Lauritzen Foundation is very important, since it
supports the first Danish social project in Brazil,
the Princess Benedikte Institute in Curitiba,”
says Jens Olesen, president of the DanishBrazilian Chamber of Commerce. “This support
Jens Olesen,
President of the
Danish-Brazilian
Chamber of
Commerce
In addition to serving as president of the DanishBrazilian Chamber of Commerce, Jens Olesen has
been chairman of the Princess Benedikte Institute
Brazil (2006) and has been awarded the Danish
decoration Commander’s Cross Knight of Dannebrog.
The author of a dozen books, he has coordinated
more than 250 major cultural events and exhibitions
in Brazil, Latin America, Europe and the USA
11
It runs in the
family
After having spent one and a half years with
Lauritzen Bulkers’ (LB) operations department,
Jacob Lund has since January been employed in the chartering department, but
you could say that he already has a long
history with the company. His father, Mikael
Lund, entered the industry at the early age
of 18 and spent his entire career in shipping, including 25 years with JL in the
Reefer and Kosan divisions. His grandfather Christian Lund (1920-2001) spent nine
years with the company, from 1940-1949.
Both men got a typical shipping career’s
taste of international living, especially his
grandfather who lived in Finland, Spain,
and the UK while he worked with JL, and
also spent time in Thailand and Japan with
A young Christian Lund in 1940 at his desk in JL
Maersk after leaving JL. Although he had all
this in his blood, Jacob Lund says he was
not necessarily set on a shipping career at
an early age.
“It was always in the back of my mind as a
career possibility,” he says, “but there was
no pressure from my family. In fact, my
father always said I should check out all possibilities and that there was no reason I had
to go into shipping. I guess I first seriously
thought about a shipping career when I was
17 and in business college, and not just because of my father and grandfather. What
inspired me most was that shipping was a
fast-paced, competitive industry. It seemed
exciting to be part of a global business.”
Education and experience
Deliberately or not, Jacob Lund appears to
have prepared himself to be the ideal JL
trainee candidate, as he continued his studies after business school, receiving a bachelor’s degree in economics and business
administration from Copenhagen Business
School (CBS). Then it seems that some of
his grandfather’s wanderlust kicked in. “I decided to see the world a bit,” he says, “and
with my dad’s help I got a job with McKay
Shipping in Auckland, New Zealand. McKay
was partly owned by JL until 2007, and it facilitated JL’s New Zealand business for many
years. I worked there for two years as an
agent for cruise ships, tankers, and bulk carriers – did a little of everything, really, which
was a good experience and helped me when
I started as trainee here at JL.”
What does the previous generation think of
his decision, now that he has settled on a
shipping career? “It’s true that I advised Jacob to consider all possibilities when he was
a student,” says Mikael Lund, “but I am very
proud that he decided on shipping. I think
it’s a career choice that fits him well and one
where he can make a positive contribution.
My father – Jacob’s grandfather – always
looked back fondly at his time with JL, and in
his memoires when I started my career with
the company in 1971, he wrote optimistically
that ‘There’s still a relation to Lauritzen.’ He
would also be proud to know that there’s a
third-generation of our family working in the
shipping business for J. Lauritzen.”
Jacob Lund, who
recently completed
his two-year traineeship with JL, has a
shipping pedigree:
his father and grandfather also worked
in the industry –
and for JL.
“What inspired me
most was that shipping is a fast-paced,
competitive industry.
It seemed exciting to
be part of a global
business.”
Jacob Lund
Assistant Chartering Manager
Lauritzen Bulkers
Mikael Lund (right) at the JL Valencia office
60th anniversary in 1984
12
Corporate
Responsibility
strategy
moves ahead
JL’s board of directors approves a plan
to help meet external
guidelines and internal goals
Just a year ago, Lauritzen News reported the
formation of a committee to help JL coordinate and align Corporate Responsibility (CR)
policies and activities on a Group level (see
page 16 in the September 2011 issue). Since
then, both a CR strategy and a CR communication plan have been approved by JL’s
board of directors during their yearly strategy seminar in June 2012. “Our approach to
CR is based on the company’s core values,
vision, heritage, and internationally recognised principles,” says Kathrine Geisler, JL’s
CR manager. She stresses this last point, as
CR has increasingly become a compliance
issue. “We have worked to ensure that our
CR strategy is aligned with the UN Global
Compact’s principles on human and labour
rights, protection of the environment, and
anti-corruption, which we have committed
to. But we have also tried to include evolving
new external guidelines, such as the UN’s
Guiding Principles for Business and Human
Rights and relevant parts of the OECD guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.”
Supporting the business units
“Complying with external guidelines and humanitarian goals such as those spelled out
in the UN’s Global Compact and Millennium
Development Goals is a natural extension of
JL’s values,” says Jens Søndergaard, senior vice president of JL and head of the CR
initiatives. “Accountability and respect are
basic components of our corporate DNA –
as is the long heritage of humanitarian work
done by the Lauritzen Foundation.” The past
year’s development of JL’s CR strategy has
been based on the outcome of a gap analysis
report and dialogue with and feedback from
a range of internal stakeholders. The aim of
this process has been to ensure that all CR
activities support JL’s overall business goals,
such as moving closer to customers, and
to determine how CR can help increase the
company’s competitive advantages in areas
such as safety, environmental awareness,
and know-how. The ambition is to provide
a shared language throughout the business
units which can facilitate their dialogue with
their stakeholders. “The challenge,” says
Kathrine Geisler, “is to be agile enough to
react and also to communicate about how
we are responding in order to meet external
regulations as well as employee and customer expectations. It is our ambition that our CR
strategy and communication plan provide an
on-going way to prioritise, be proactive, and
create awareness about our initiatives.”
(see article, page 10).” All of these points as
well as meeting external requirements in areas such as anti-corruption and responsible
procurement, environmental protection and
human rights will be addressed in an action
plan to be developed within the coming year
in close cooperation between JL’s business
units, the CR committee the technical committee, and relevant corporate functions.
A flexible plan
To function well at Group level, the strategy
has to be flexible enough for JL’s different
business units to prioritise CR activities according to their core businesses. For LB this
may mean retrofitting the fleet for environmental purposes and lowering vessel emissions (see article, page 6); within LK and LO
there may be more emphasis upon meeting
health and safety KPIs and working closely
with crews onboard vessels. The CR strategy
also spells out a community engagement
programme, both to work with the Lauritzen
Foundation and to link corporate efforts with
overseas offices. “We are very much aware
that we need to have a global CR strategy,
but with local content and adapted to local
needs,” says Jens Søndegaard, ”whether it
is providing scholarships in Singapore (see
article on page 16 of the May 2012 issue) or
donations to help abused children in Brazil
JL’s CR action plan is to be developed within the coming year in
close cooperation between JL’s
business units, the CR committee,
the technical committee, and
relevant corporate functions. Key
areas include:
CR Action Plan
• Health and safety
• Climate and environment
• Human rights policy and
actions
• Community engagement
projects
• Anti-corruption and
compliance programme
• Responsible procurement
programme
13
Coast-to-coast
activity
JL’s US office expands
to handle increasing
LB business and makes
presence known from
Montreal to Miami.
Expansion is the key word for the US operation.
“Activity has increased significantly during the
last two to three years,” says Jesper Mehlsen
Bab, general manager of JL’s US office in
Stamford, Connecticut. “We’ve employed two
people during the past year to help keep up
with the general expansion of LB business –
one in chartering, specifically to help with
Supramax expansion, and one in operations
simply to help handle the general increase in
bulk activity.” This brings the office total to nine
employees, seven in chartering and operations
and two in administration.
Growth in Pacific Northwest
Most of this activity comes from increased
business in the Pacific Northwest, both in the
US and Canada – business that is handled
commercially as well as operationally from
the Stamford office. “The Pacific Northwest
activity is a combination of bulk commodi-
ties,” he says, “but mainly forestry products
and scrap for the steel industry. The forestry
segment is increasing because of lumber
exports to China which has a huge market
for these products. Growth is also stimulated
by the fact that the US housing market is
down and domestic lumber sales are being
converted to exports. LB has a fleet of modern loggers to serve this market, and in that
respect our delivery of new ships has been
especially timely.”
According to Ron Brinkhurst, president of
Tidal Transport, a Vancouver, Canada-based
marine services company used by JL, “JL
have quickly become a major provider of
tonnage to the WCNA (West Coast North
America) export log market. Aside from the
US activity in British Columbia, Canada, JL has
carried 11% of total volume shipped in the
first six months of 2012 which comes to
eight full vessels and over 250,000 mt. This
ranks third amongst all carriers – very impressive growth indeed.”
Showing the flag
Flexibility and time to nurse customer relations is a positive consequence of the expansion of employees. “Earlier this year, two of
JL’s US office, from left:
René Jensen, Chartering
Manager; Peter ScarpullaBro,Operations Manager;
Carmen Cruz, Secretary; Jens
Pedersen, Assistant Operations
Manager; Jesper Bab, General
Manager; Jesper Mogensen,
Senior Operations Manager;
Nancy Trigo, Executive Secretary; Martin Meyendorff,
Chartering Manager; Michael
Madsen, Senior Chartering
Manager
our colleagues travelled with one of our chartered vessels through the Panama Canal to
observe and understand operations as well
as strengthen our relationship with the client
which was only possible due to the extra
workforce that we now have,” says Jesper
Mehlsen Bab.
He points out that the office also does a
significant amount of bulk business on the
East Coast and maintains a strong presence wherever possible. “We had a dinner
cruise in May in New York to get together
with some of our LB customers in a relaxed
atmosphere, and also to generally show the
flag and demonstrate that LB is a carrier to
be reckoned with,” he says. The US office
also participates in and helps sponsor the
American Ship Brokers Association (ASBA)
conference in Miami, one of the industry’s
leading conferences for dry cargo and the
tanker industry.
In the past JL had an office in Montreal,
Canada, to handle trade through the St. Lawrence Seaway and into the Great Lakes. The
office no longer exists, but LB still does business in Montreal and on the Seaway. The US
office has therefore maintained a tradition of
holding a reception in Montreal during the
first week of December – for a celebration
called “Grunt Week” which marks the closing of the St. Lawrence Seaway for winter.
For more than 30 years, the event was held
in the Mt. Stephens Club where LB was a
member. “The club closed last year,” says
Jesper Mehlsen Bab, “but we still have many
business contacts in Montreal, and Grunt
Week attracts guests from all over North
America. We decided to maintain a presence
by changing the event to the more modern
setting of the Museé des Beaux-Artes de
Montreal (Montreal Museum of Fine Arts) for
our December 6th reception this year. We’ll
be sending out invitations soon.”
14
New growth strategy for
Lauritzen’s
offshore activities
The initial platform for the joint venture is a
vessel familiar to every reader of this magazine: the Dan Swift, a dynamically positioned
ASV delivered in 2009 and the first monohull
accommodation and support vessel to service the high-end of the offshore market.
Since delivery, the Dan Swift has performed
exceptionally well, chiefly in deep water employment offshore Brazil. First, under contract to Statoil, one of the industry’s most
demanding customers, for just over a year.
Then, after a short contract working for Shell
on the coast of West Africa, Dan Swift entered a five-year contract with Petrobras, the
Brazilian energy major, for maintenance and
refurbishment work on oil platforms in the
Campos basin.
With the Petrobras contract, JL fulfilled the
first part of its strategy to become a player
in the offshore services market in Brazil. In
addition to Dan Swift, JL owns three dynamically positioned shuttle tankers on long-term
contracts with Petrobras. “It has been a long-
term strategy for JL to further develop our
offshore activities, in particular in the ASV
segment,” says Torben Janholt, president
& CEO of JL. “We realised from the outset
that we would need a partner to grow further
in this market. We spent nearly two years
looking for a company with offshore experience that shared our view of the market’s
potential – one who could join us in building
on our considerable experience with ASVs.
HitecVision is a leading oil- and gas-focused
private equity firm with industry knowledge
and high performance standards. We could
not have found a better partner. For me, it’s
a great pleasure to see that we succeeded
with our hard work to develop the offshore
business, and now we’re in a position to take
our strategy to the next level.”
Future development
With the combined operational and technical
expertise shared between Lauritzen Offshore
and HitecVision, the joint venture will focus on ordering high-end semi-submersible
ASVs capable of also serving customers in
the North Sea. Key managerial and technical staff from Lauritzen Offshore’s offices in
Singapore, Copenhagen, and Rio de Janeiro
have been transferred to the new joint venture, named Axis Offshore. Axis Offshore is
headed by Jesper Kragh Andresen, previous
president of Lauritzen Offshore, who points
out that the new business is losing no time
in moving forward: “We have just signed a
contract with Cosco Qidong for delivery of
an ASV newbuilding, including options for
50/50 joint venture
with private equity
investor HitecVision
to focus on high-end
Accommodation and
Support Vessels (ASVs).
From left: Jesper Kragh Andresen CEO Axis Offshore,
Jan Kastrup-Nielsen Executive vice president & COO
JL, Pål Reiulf Olsen, Senior Partner, HitecVision, Helge
Haakonsen, Chairman, Axis Offshore
another two vessels. The first vessel will be
delivered during Q1 2015 and will be targeted for the North Sea, including the Norwegian sector. The vessel, Axis TBN1, is based
on an updated GM500A design; a proven
design which has successfully been built
several times in China. The newbuilding, with
the capacity to house up to 500 guests and
crew, has been designed to comply with the
most stringent standards. It will feature accommodation cabins with natural daylight
and is compliant with the prevailing noise
and vibration levels thresholds for the Norwegian sector. Moreover, the vessel will be
equipped with eight free-fall lifeboats of the
most advanced make which are also compliant with the strict regulations soon to come
into force in Norway. The combination of the
newbuilding’s attractive contract price and
superior specification will make Axis Offshore very competitive relative to the market
incumbents.”
Pål Reiulf Olsen, partner in HitecVision, adds
that, “This project is better than the competing ones we looked at, as J. Lauritzen has
a strong organisation and an existing operation, as well as a five-year contract with
Brazilian Petrobras. We considered this to be
an attractive opportunity for us to further develop. We expect to increase our investment
in this area, and the ambition is to build three
additional vessels.”
15
Rail wagons
on board
Lauritzen Bulkers
gains a competitive
edge with unusual
cargo service between China and
Australia.
“What has really
made us competitive
here is the opportunity to carry backhaul cargo.”
Rasmus C. Hansen
Chartering Manager, Lauritzen Bulkers
For about a year, LB has been transporting
freight wagons for the Australian mining industry from railway equipment manufacturers in China. It is far from an ordinary bulk
cargo project, but LB has found a way to
make it work. “These wagons would normally be transported in tween-decker or multipurpose vessels,” says Niu Ziru, China-based
senior chartering manager for LB, ”but we’re
providing a customised service at a very
competitive rate. In fact, LB is the first true
bulk carrier to handle this kind of cargo.” The
business includes several mining companies
in Australia and rail equipment factories in
China and accounts for one or two shipments a month. LB also provides the same
service from North China to Indonesia.
Inbound and outbound
“What has really made us competitive here
is the opportunity to carry backhaul cargo,”
says Rasmus C. Hansen, chartering manager
for LB’s Singapore office. “The inbound rail
wagons enable us to build a lot more business from Australia by booking outbound
cargoes such as salt to China and South East
Asia, alumina to China, and grain to various
ports in Asia, among others. It’s always a
little bit of a chicken-and-egg question as to
which comes first, inbound or outbound – having one part has enabled us to develop new
customers and be much more competitive.”
When carrying traditional bulk cargoes like
grain, coal or minerals, LB provides the vessel,
and the shippers and receivers are responsible for loading and discharging. With the rail
wagon shipments, LB is responsible for loading, securing and discharging the cargo. “Ordinarily, we might not have been so keen to
do this as it is a bit out of our comfort zone,”
says Rasmus C. Hansen, “but Niu Ziru had
been looking into these kinds of cargoes
previously, before joining LB. He helped us
get the project going through contacts with
a company in China that could handle all the
cargo loading and securing work for us. At
the same time, I arranged for an Australian
company to handle discharging the cargo.
We did one trial shipment that went really
well and are continuing successfully today.”
Growth potential
The Australian mining companies are renewing their basic infrastructure with the rail
wagon shipments. Niu Ziru points out that
when that goal is reached within two or three
years, the current business will disappear.
“But”, he says, “we are gaining valuable experience with this project. Moreover, China
has a very strong rail equipment manufacturing capability and is already exporting lots of
equipment. So the upside for LB is that we
can see good future growth potential in other
markets”.
16
New fuel,
new market
Lauritzen Kosan
joins other industry
stakeholders to
outline an infrastructure for using
liquefied natural
gas (LNG) as an
alternative to
oil-based fuels.
New regulations on the sulphur content of
fuel for shipping in the Baltic Sea, the North
Sea and the English Channel – Sulphur Emission Control Areas (SECA) – will come in force
on 1 January 2015. The mandate to decrease
sulphur content from 1.0 per cent to 0.1 per
cent has intensified interest in the possibility
of using LNG – which has significant environmental and climate advantages over oilbased fuels as an alternative fuel. Moreover,
LK is looking at LNG not only as an alternative fuel solution, but also as a new business
opportunity in LNG transportation.
Both of these considerations spurred LK to
join other industry stakeholders representing
the LNG supply chain – including states and
ports, as well as gas and LNG terminal companies – in working on the North European
LNG Infrastructure Project, which recently
concluded with a report titled, “A feasibility
study for an LNG filling station infrastructure
and test of recommendations.” The project
forms part of a larger initiative co-financed
by the EU on LNG infrastructure and deployment in ships, which includes two full-scale
pilot LNG cruise ferries serving the southwestern part of Norway and the European
continent through the Port of Hirtshals, Denmark.
An open question
For more than a year, Peter Justesen, vice
president and head of fleet management for
LK, and Søren Berg, project manager, with
the assistance of LK technical specialists,
represented LK at project meetings around
northern Europe and in the UK. “Our basic
mission was to try to map out what is needed for LNG to become a viable alternative to
heavy fuel within the North European area,”
says Søren Berg. “The benefits and technology are proven: LNG is a much cleaner fuel,
which emits virtually no particles, no NOx and
SOx, and considerably less CO2. The main obstacle is the almost total lack of infrastructure
for storage and distribution. Ship owners are
hesitant to convert to LNG before infrastruc-
ture is available.” Peter Justesen concurs:
“At this point it’s an open question,” he says.
“If the infrastructure is available, people will
invest in LNG-powered ships, it’s as simple
as that. The key to making it happen is to
determine infrastructure requirements and
many related questions, and that was the
focus of the project.”
Although natural gas is in some regards
easier to handle than heavy fuel, it presents
storage challenges. If natural gas is cooled
down to minus 162 degrees Celsius, it becomes a liquid (LNG – liquefied natural gas).
Through liquefaction, 600 cubic metres of
natural gas are condensed to one cubic metre,
which makes natural gas suitable for storage,
transport, and bunkering. Even so, it still
takes nearly double the space of heavy fuel
and needs purpose-built cryogenic tanks –
existing fuel oil tanks cannot be used.
Compliance options
“Vessels such as coasters, ferries, and RoRo
ships trading exclusively within Northern
Europe are more likely to convert to LNG if
the infrastructure is in place,” says Søren
Berg. “For ships operating outside this area,
one answer with huge potential may be dual
fuel vessels that still burn heavy fuel on open
seas but have the ability to use LNG in emission control areas once it is available.” In any
case, use of LNG will demand considerable
investments – in new vessels or converting
existing ones – on the part of ship owners,
for whom it’s a question of whether they can
bring costs down and get a better margin. It is
a complex question: theoretically, if the cost
of compliance with the new regulations, including investing in conversion to LNG, goes
up too much, the effect could be to create
more overland truck transport within SECA,
which is not environmentally desirable.
For the time being, ship owners have three
possible compliance strategies: 1) continue
as today but comply by switching to lowsulphur Marine Gas Oil (MGO); 2) continue
to operate on high-sulphur fuel oil, but install scrubbers to wash the sulphur from the
exhaust gas; or 3) consider LNG engines.
The investment cost for the marine gas oil
strategy is limited, but the oil is expensive,
while the last two alternatives demand large
investments, but with the benefit of cheaper
fuels. “LNG is definitely an attractive alternative if the price is right,” says Søren Berg.
“Like much else at this stage, the future price
is market driven and uncertain, but our best
estimates – including a large add-on for infrastructure development – show numbers
that still justify building ships for LNG or dual
fuel, and even some retrofits as well.”
Twofold interest
“As far as we’re concerned at LK,” says Peter Justesen, “the answer is either scrubbers
or LNG, if we want to make a real change.
We’re also looking at the potential market for
smaller LNG distribution ships, as the ships
bringing LNG to Europe are very large and
can’t handle local distribution. So If LNG development goes forward there will be a huge
demand for distribution ships and for bunker
ships – presently nobody knows how big the
potential is, and we can’t build ships on pure
speculation. This uncertainty is also why
at the moment, as a shipowner, we favour
the dual-fuel option of building ships that
have LNG capability, but are not solely LNG
dedicated. Whereas if we knew there was a
17
market and an infrastructure, we could build
completely different types of ships.”
The project’s final report ends with 19 detailed infrastructure recommendations encompassing the full LNG supply chain, from
LNG import terminals and liquefaction of
natural gas in Europe to ships as end-users.
The recommendations also cover “soft” areas such as the need for regulatory bodies
to formulate rules for LNG bunkering, crew
training for LNG-powered vessels, and public communication. “The challenge is what
makes it interesting,” says Peter Justesen.
“It’s not a small task, but the report recommendations clearly outline the requirements
for setting up an LNG infrastructure, what
must be done to solve each problem, and
who has to do it. Taking part in the project
also certainly gave us a better understanding
of decisions LK will be faced with in the near
future.”
“We have two interests that made it
important for us to participate in the
project. First, as a shipowner and operator we wanted to see how the development
of LNG might affect our future, and which
compliance option we should choose. Second, we wanted to get a better view of the
development process to understand if
there is a market for us in LNG transport.”
Peter Justesen
Vice President and Head of LK Fleet Management
18
Stepping up
the fight
against piracy
With Danish leadership, the EU Piracy
Task Force advocates a united,
holistic approach
to protect shipping.
The EU Piracy Task Force, which was established in 2011, is comprised of shipowner
representatives from nations throughout
Europe who meet regularly and then try to
influence anti-piracy policy through three
main EU institutions: the Foreign Service, the
Transport Directorate, and EU NAVFOR (the
EU Naval Force). Jan Fritz Hansen, deputy
director general of the Danish Shipowners’
Association, is serving as the Task Force’s
chairman. He takes a philosophical view of
his appointment. “After 30 years of working
with my colleagues in Brussels, this is the
first time they have asked me to be chairman
of anything,” he says. “I suspect they were
strongly influenced by my familiarity with the
anti-piracy strategy drawn up by the Danish
government – which is fair enough as the
Danish policy does make an excellent template for planning on the EU level.”
Showing the way
Denmark is a maritime nation, responsible
for around ten per cent of the world’s sea
trade, and a small nation whose vessels
are heavily represented in the danger area
around the Gulf of Aden and off the coast
of Somalia. “This is a main route for trade
between the Far East and Europe,” says Jan
Fritz Hansen, “and Danish ships have a major presence there – on any given day there
can be up to 100 Danish controlled vessels
in the area.” He points out that the Danish
Shipowners’ Association has been urging
caution in this part of the world since 2005,
and especially after the hijacking of a Danish
vessel in the summer of 2007 that brought
the problem of piracy to the attention of the
Danish government and led to Danish naval
engagement and the formulation of a strategy to combat piracy.
“Because of this strategy and our experience,
Denmark has very much been the driver in
getting this EU task force together,” says Jan
Fritz Hansen. “Other members realised that
we had a good awareness of the challenge
and an established plan, but we needed partners and allies to fully carry it out.”
European focus
He also notes that working through the EU
framework brings a lot of shared knowledge and ability to bear on the issue of
piracy: “These European institutions have
all the necessary tools – naval and military
capability, development aid, diplomacy
and experience in Africa – to work with the
Danish strategy plan and help cope with
difficult issues such as economic aid, coast
guard security, and controlling police ashore,
among others.” He sees an EU arrangement
as the most suitable for several reasons, but
mainly because other institutions or individual
nations either do not have the full range of
necessary tools or have other priorities.
A successful strategy to combat piracy
According to Jan Fritz Hansen, out of some 50 acts of direct pirate aggression against Danish ships over the past few years, all but a handful have
been prevented. Apart from the huge security efforts of Danish shipowners
this is mostly due to the very successful piracy strategy formulated by the
Danish government. The Danish strategy is an exceptionally holistic, longterm plan involving cooperation among various government departments,
and including naval presence, coastal monitoring, and economic and social
aid – a complete tool box.
19
“The most common question is why the UN
can’t handle the problem,” he says, “but the
fact is that despite passing a number of resolutions, the UN has not taken direct action
on piracy, one of the reasons being that the
UN is crucially lacking in naval and maritime
insight. An organisation such as NATO, on
the other hand, lacks many non-military capabilities. And the piracy question is certainly
too large and complex to be left to the shipowners to deal with alone, especially when
you consider the effects piracy can have
on large-scale questions such as the world
economy, international trade, and the global
oil supply.”
Action on multiple fronts
The Task Force’s first priority is to protect
vessels at sea. Here, again, Denmark has
provided an example, as legislation last year
– with the help of the Danish Piracy Task
Force – set up industry-standard guidelines
and best practices allowing Danish vessels
to have qualified third-party armed guards
on board as a self-defence measure. The EU
Task Force is working on similar guidelines,
although with the acknowledgement that it
is only a temporary solution. “We are reluctant to take this route and are encouraging
EU naval forces and those of other governments to increase their presence in the
area,” says Jan Fritz Hansen, “but the armed
guards are necessary as naval forces are not
always available when a threat occurs.”
Another important focus for the Task Force
is to determine how more can be accomplished ashore. This includes training land
forces in Somalia to eliminate pirate bases,
fighting organised crime, and improving
law enforcement. It also includes efforts to
convince local governments of the benefits
of fighting piracy, not least by helping them
to develop other economic opportunities
for the large numbers of young men drawn
into piracy. As Jan Fritz Hansen points out,
all such efforts, from coast guard and police
controls to development aid and seeding of
businesses, require sustained governmentlevel initiatives, and are far beyond the ability
of shipowners to handle.
Blocking the money flow
“Finally, and perhaps most importantly,” he
says, “is the growing realisation that we
need a sustained effort to follow the money.
The best way to have a long-term effect is
to cut off the backing for pirate groups and
Jan Fritz Hansen
Chairman, EU Piracy
Task Force
“These European institutions have all the
necessary tools – naval and military capability, development aid, diplomacy and experience in Africa – to work with the Danish
strategy plan and help cope with difficult
issues such as economic aid, coast guard
security, and policing ashore, among others.”
Jan Fritz Hansen
Chairman, EU Piracy Task Force
the profits they generate. There is a global
money trail that needs to be scrutinised and
blocked to make it more difficult for pirates
to operate. This is a point that the Task Force
made recently at a Paris meeting of the International Chamber of Commerce, where
we once again stated that this is an international problem, requiring involvement from
many players, including bankers, insurance
companies, shipowners, and governments –
all of whom can play a part in stopping the
money flow in and out of Somalia. People
often question why more effort isn’t made
to punish the pirates themselves. When it’s
possible, they should be punished – but that
will never reach to the core of the problem:
we need to go after the people behind the
game.”
Jan Fritz Hansen remains optimistic in the
face of these complex challenges. “We have
been working together for just a little more
than a year now, and already the EU institutions have received input from our task
force in an extremely constructive and positive manner,” he says. “We will continue to
be a strong advocate for a comprehensive
policy that uses all the tools the EU has at its
disposal. Thanks to the Danish example, we
have a good policy platform in place. One of
the main jobs of the EU Piracy Task Force will
be to keep the effort visible and on the agenda of EU governments and institutions.”
20
Competitive under
pressure
Lauritzen Kosan (LK)
steps up performance to meet an
increasing number
and variety of vetting requirements.
A lot has changed since Lauritzen News last
quoted Klaus Grøndal, vetting manager of LK,
on the subject of vetting requirements in the
September 2007 issue. “While the basic purpose of vetting remains the same,” he says,
“the vetting process itself has in the past
few years increased tremendously in quality
and complexity. Vetting allows the oil majors
to perform a risk assessment of vessels and
operating practices. Not doing well can have
serious consequences, as an unsuccessful inspection can cause the vessel to be rejected
by our customers, with loss of goodwill and
earnings as a result. Our reality is that ‘doing
well’ is becoming increasingly complicated,
but we see this challenge as a business opportunity: the better we perform, the more
competitive we become.”
Raising the bar
For the oil majors vetting is a defensive barrier – a means of achieving incident-free operation. And looking back over the last few
decades, the average number of oil spills has
indeed declined. History has shown that accidents or incidents rapidly shape the way oil
majors screen vessels which leads to rapid
growth of each oil major’s individual vetting
requirements, above and beyond international
rules and legislation. Increasing environmental concerns also increase the stringency with
which these rules are applied. “Just five years
ago,” says Christian Riis, head of HSSEQ
for LK fleet management, “a rejected vessel
might have 20 observations, 15 of them related to crew performance, such as checklists
not completed. Now, the game has changed
and the bar has been dramatically raised to
the point where one or two observations can
be grounds to reject a vessel. So in order to
continue having our vessels accepted, we
must increase the quality of everything we do.
Our crews have responded tremendously well
to the challenge of reducing observations.
However, there is zero tolerance for variations
from the rule book or small mistakes, especially compared to the past.”
Physical inspection of the vessel encompasses a variety of parameters, such as ownership,
incident and casualty history of the company,
flag registration, crew matrix and experience,
and others – each of which could trigger
a hold or rejection. A rejected vessel is required to be satisfactorily re-inspected, which
is costly and time-consuming. This makes it
even more advantageous to constantly be in
compliance. For a time-charter the oil major
performs an inspection itself, but for spot
voyages – which constitute the majority of
LK’s business – oil majors will often accept
the results of other companies’ inspections,
which are kept in an industry-wide database.
This means that a rejection by one company
can instantly become an industry-wide black
mark. Klaus Grøndal points out that automated computer evaluations of inspection results
tend to remove human judgement from the
equation, making the vetting process increasingly rigid. Additionally, the growing severity
with which regulations are applied increase
the chances that rules are perceived or interpreted differently by the inspector and the
shipping company.
Performance initiatives
“Even though we have managed to significantly reduce our overall number of observations and crew-related remarks in the past
few years by harvesting the experience from
each and every vetting inspection,” he says,
“we still get rejections, and we get them for
fewer remarks. Our challenge is to be extremely alert and manoeuvrable – to discover
what triggers the oil majors’ concerns and respond to them quickly. It’s a constant race to
catch up, but we feel it is a race we can win,
competitively speaking, by continuing to be
proactive and developing initiatives that help
us increase performance. For example, when
we do have any kind of incident on board a
ship, we take immediate action, including an
inspection, root cause analysis, and corrective measures that can range from improved
equipment to more detailed written manuals,
to special training.”
Despite increasingly strict rules and assessments, LK has compiled excellent vetting
records. Klaus Grøndal points out that out of
more than 100 vetting inspections in the past
year LK has had only four rejections. “Three
of these were issued by same inspector from
the same oil major,” he says. “Even though
“It is ultimately
through strict compliance with our
Safety Management
System that we
achieve good vetting
results.”
Christian Riis
Head of HSSEQ, Lauritzen Kosan
Customer Vetting - SIRE Inspection Performance
- Positive trend with fall in number of deficiencies per
inspection in LKFM
10
5
0
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
Average number of deficiencies/SIRE inspection
Average number of crew related deficiencies/SIRE
Clearly, another way to improve industry-wide
performance would be a standardised set of
industry rules to regulate the vetting process.
A standard industry-wide checklist could
help establish a unified safety management
system. “There is a tanker safety forum that
includes the majority of Danish tanker operators,” says Christian Riis. “Each oil major
has its own officer experience requirement,
meaning the majors have different opinions
as to what level of competence is required in
order for an officer to be accepted for a particular voyage. It is the forum’s intention to
promote a uniform experience requirement
matrix, in order to obtain simplicity without
While complying with increasingly tough and
numerous vetting requirements is a constant
challenge, LK finds that flexibility and perseverance are the keys to staying competitive.
And, as Klaus Grøndal points out, there is an
undeniable upside to this demanding process: “We have to acknowledge that tough
vetting has tremendously increased safety
standards in the industry, far beyond the
minimum legal requirements. Today it is impossible to operate in a substandard way and
still get business. That’s a good thing, for the
industry and the environment.”
“Our challenge is
that we must be
extremely alert and
manoeuvrable to
discover what triggers the oil majors’
concerns and respond to them quickly. It’s a constant
race to catch up,
but we feel it is a
race we can win.”
Klaus Grøndal
Vetting Manager, Lauritzen Kosan
each rejection is considered a failure, our
overall record is even better than it looks, as
the rejections are limited to the perception of
this particular oil major and is a consequence
of their special focus area. We need to work
with this oil major to address their concerns
and to avoid misunderstandings. Also we
have instituted a number of initiatives, such
as training programmes and a leadership and
management course for officers, to help raise
and maintain awareness.”
compromising safety. The forum’s work in
this regard could also help standardise vetting for gas carriers. We participate in their
effort to promote a uniform classification system to measure ourselves against.”
21
22
Building a better
product
tanker
Fernando Granda,
Lauritzen Tankers’
site manager at
Guangzhou Shipyard
International (GSI) in
China, shares some
observations about
optimisation of
vessel design.
According to Fernando Granda, it is standard procedure after the delivery of every
newbuilding to perform a project review. The
review summarises lessons learned during
the shipbuilding process, and also includes
internal suggestions for improvements and
comments from the ship’s crew, all of which
contribute to future design improvements. In
the following, he describes some of the improvements that have been implemented in
the latest newbuildings at GSI which are accomplished at the rate of approximately two
vessels a year.
Ergonomic bridge arrangement
This optimisation has been carried out in two
steps. First, we replaced the console-type arrangement used in our first vessel with an
integrated bridge design. The second step
was taken in order to comply with an IMO
guideline on ergonomic criteria for bridge
equipment and layout, which was also adopted as a requirement by the Danish Maritime
Administration. This led us to improve bridge
visibility and navigator ergonomics with welldefined working areas and a symmetrical
design that produces an improved cosmetic
appearance. The four consoles of our original
design have been reduced to two in the new
design to create a more ergonomic and spacious wheelhouse.
Larger, more comfortable ship’s office
The ship’s office has been optimised to enable up to six officers to work together in the
same room. The main purpose of this large
and ergonomic ship’s office is to provide
room enough to allow officers to comfortably
work together, rather than working separately
in their cabins. The new features include improvement of the interior design and equipment.
Updated galley arrangement
One of the biggest challenges in China is to
find a galley furniture maker able to deliver
European-standard items. It took us more
than a while to find the right maker, but finally we were able to replace the old stainless
steel cabinets. Apart from a better cosmetic
appearance, the new units make it easier to
perform cleaning which is one of the biggest
challenges in a ship’s galley. Now, all the doors
can be easily removed to facilitate cleaning.
Handles and latches have been improved as
well. Flush-mounted electrical appliances are
the second achievement in this galley optimisation. Now, all lamps, speakers, phones,
and electric sockets are flush mounted and
water splash proof. The previous arrangement
looked more like an engine room than a living
space. The new galley design has a clean and
friendly appearance.
IT café
New vessels are now provided with an IT café,
which includes three PCs and one printer. As
the vessel is also equipped with a Sevsat
antenna and a 24-hour Internet connection,
crew members can use the café facilities to
easily keep in touch with their families via email, Facebook, Messenger, etc.
Looking ahead
In addition to these design improvements, LT
will continue in the future to focus strongly on
fuel optimisation in order to reduce our emissions and to mitigate our environmental impact.
Staff
news
23
returned to
Copenhagen
Jan Kastrup-Nielsen, executive vice president
and COO of JL, returned to Copenhagen in
June from 12 months in JL’s Singapore office.
“This was an invaluable opportunity for me to
get up-close experience of the Asian markets
that are increasingly important to JL’s business,” he says. “I returned to Copenhagen
more impressed than ever with Singapore’s
importance as a hub for shipping – not only to
China, but also to booming economies such
as Indonesia and India, among others.”
J. Lauritzen appoints
new President of its dry
cargo activities
China and Korea. Peter Borup holds an MBA
from IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland, and
lectures at Shanghai Maritime University.
Peter Borup is 43 years old and comes from
Dampskibsselskabet NORDEN, where he currently holds the position of managing director,
Singapore, and group senior vice president,
Norden Asia, with responsibility for NORDEN’s
activities outside Denmark.
“We look forward to welcome Peter who
brings a lot of experience from the dry bulk
sector, in particular from the Far Eastern markets where we are constantly developing our
activities in all sectors,” says Torben Janholt,
president and CEO of JL.
Peter Borup had his basic shipping training
at A. P. Moller Maersk and spent nine years
with the Maersk Group in various managerial
positions, including overseas postings to
Peter Borup will join Lauritzen Bulkers on 1
February 2013, when he will take over the
position from Ejner Bonderup who leaves JL
after more than 24 years of employment.
New head of LB chartering
As of 1 October 2012, Claus Stahl has been
appointed senior vice president and head of
Lauritzen Bulkers’ chartering activities. Claus
Stahl is 46 years old and started his career
with JL in 1987. He was employed in JL for
ten years in various positions including overseas postings to Chile and the US. He spent
ten years outside JL before returning in 2007
when he became chartering manager of
Lauritzen Bulkers. Claus Stahl was appointed
vice president in 2009.
Congratulations to
our trainees who
completed their
two-year intensive
training programme
with JL at the end of
July this year
Jacob Lund (left) will kick off his career with
Lauritzen Bulkers Singapore at the start
of 2013 as assistant chartering manager.
Marie Louise Hansen (middle) will continue in
Lauritzen Kosan as assistant operations
manager, and Nikolaj Søgaard (right), who
now holds the title of assistant operations
manager, will continue with Lauritzen Tankers.
In memoriam:
Henrik Thirup Daarbak
1990, when he joined LK as second engineer. He was promoted to first engineer in
1991 and chief engineer in 1995. In 199799 Henrik was assigned to LK’s newbuilding project at HHI in Ulsan, Korea. He then
left LK for a couple of years, and returned in
2006, when he was seconded to LK’s newbuilding project at Sekwang in Ulsan and
then moved on to STX HI, Pusan, Korea, as
site manager.
It is with utmost sadness that we announce
Henrik Daarbak’s tragic demise, on Sunday
15 July 2012 at the age of 45. Henrik had a
long career at LK. He served the fleet since
Since 2009, Henrik held the position of
technical project manager heading LK’s
newbuilding project at Kejin in China, and
also supervised LT’s newbuilding project
at the Guangzhou Shipyard. He was instrumental in the construction of the 3600
CBM series of pressurised gas carriers that
were built in China between 2008-2012.
His ability to guide the site team and the
shipyard as well as his willingness to share
his experience with them to create a cooperative environment was key to the suc-
cess of the project. Fairness and objectivity
were always his first priorities, something
felt by all who worked with him. These are
the qualities every shipowner would love to
find in a project manager. Henrik was also
able, throughout the project, to establish a
good understanding of and develop keen
ties with local and foreign manufacturers
of parts and equipment, which gives Lauritzen Kosan a wider array of choices for
any future projects.
Henrik will always be remembered for his
sense of humor and his ability to make all
around him feel good, not only during work
but also after work where many of us also
enjoyed his company.
Henrik Daarbak will be truly missed by
everyone at JL, and at LK in particular.
Our thoughts and sympathy go to Henrik’s
familiy and girlfriend.
Picture kindly provided by Henrik’s girlfriend
Maricel “Mycah” Calian De Guzman
Editors
Torben Janholt
Jens Søndergaard
Maj Faurholm
Charlotte Nilausen
J. Lauritzen A/S
Sankt Annae Plads 28
1250 Copenhagen K
Denmark
Tel: +45 3396 8000
Editorial support and design
Cross-Border Communications,
Copenhagen
Printed by
KLS grafisk hus A/S, Copenhagen
Inhouse Photographer
Ulla Munch-Petersen
Lauritzen News is a semiannual
publication. Reproduction permitted
only after agreement with the editors.
J. Lauritzen A/S operates globally and is engaged in diversified ocean transport through Lauritzen Bulkers (dry bulk cargoes), Lauritzen Kosan
(petrochemical and liquefied petroleum gases), and Lauritzen Tankers (refined oil products). J. Lauritzen also serves the offshore oil exploration and production industry with specialised tonnage through Lauritzen Offshore.
JL employs a staff of approximately 1,400 persons and together with partners/associates controls a combined fleet of about 200 vessels including short-term time-charters and vessels on
order consisting of bulk carriers, gas carriers, product tankers, and dynamically positioned offshore support vessels.
For more details on JL’s business activities and fleet, see www.j-l.com

Lauritzen news

Transcription

Similar documents

P.H. Lauritzen1, M.A. Taylor2, S. Goldhaber1, P.A. Ullrich3, J

lng vessels/buques gnl

J. Lauritzen A/S Investor Update – Annual Report 2013

Buks6r 0g Berging to build world`s first LNG tugs

FarmTracking - LandbrugsInfo

2003 Crownline 225 LPX - $ 19,900

click here - Korean-American Offshore Engineers Association

Son of Putin ally has £35m London house

1981 Gulfstar 39 Sailmaster - $ 79000

CV - Mónica Oliveira

Aprobación de proyectos de gas natural en buques

Seabreeze May

Everything for your LP gas business