Company Magazine for the Odfjell Group - March 2005

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In this issue: COMPANY MAGAZINE FOR THE ODFJELL GROUP - SEPTEMBER 2004 P.O. Box 6101 Postterminalen N-5892 Bergen Norway Tel: +47 55 27 00 00 Fax: +47 55 28 47 41 E-mail: quarterly@odfjell.com Internet: www.odfjell.com Editor: Klaus Walderhaug 6 An 8 Strenghtening Odfjell seafaring skills – emerging academy Bow Maasslot – a Dutch working beauty EDITORIAL COMMITTEE: Brit A. Bennett Tor Johansen Tor Jürgensen Geir Mjelde Siri-Anne Mjåtvedt Ellen Skagen Anne-Kristine Øen CORRESPONDENTS: Manila: Kjell Johansen Rotterdam: Theo Kruithof Singapore: Atle Knutsen Deadline next issue: June 6th, 2005 Design: MacBox AS Cover: Multitank Britannia entering Nana Creek in the Benin River, Nigeria. Photo: vessel crew. 12 OTR - Optimizing Product Handling 14 Koko. Into Africa – Multitank Britannia calls Nigeria Commemorating the loss of Bow Mariner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Odfjell Smartphones project - Taking connectivity one step further! . 10 The weakest link Safety and the ship/shore interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 YoungShip - Shipping for the younger generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Piracy - Armed robbery on the high seas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 What they actually do - Investor Relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Transhipment in Singapore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Safety Bulletin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Odfjell Quarterly Brainteaser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Greetings from around the world . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Quality Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Personnel Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 2 ODFJELL Quarterly March 2005
Dear Colleagues... On March 7th, Odfjell held a Board Meeting. For a CEO, Board Meetings are like passing an exam... The main topic for this particular meeting was to approve the final Financial Statements for 2004 and for the Board to finalize the Directors’ Report. Before so doing, the Board again addressed the issue of “Safety”, which is the first item on the agenda when the Odfjell Board convenes. This time I was happy to report that we have had no serious incidents or spills since the last meeting. The Odfjell Board of Directors supports the decision to concentrate, indeed to strengthen our work within HSSE, establishing Risk Management and Quality as a separate function; another strong signal that we give HSSE high priority. I have previously described 2004 as one of the most dramatic years in the history of Odfjell. Seen against this background, I think it is fair to say that we turned in a decent financial result. Our shareholders enjoyed a trebled share price, not at all because of particularly good results, but rather because of the promising market outlook. In this edition of Odfjell Quarterly, our Chairman makes some reflections on the increased newbuilding prices. Shipping has always been a fascinating industry; a competitive industry where freight rates are driven by supply and demand. No charterer asks about your costs, be that cost of capital or of operation. An example: At the peak of the tanker boom following the Suez crisis in 1973, a VLCC earned some US$ 400,000 per day in the spot market. Two years later the same ship earned around US$ 3,000 daily, owners went bankrupt and the ships were laid up. In neither case did anybody ask about the owner’s cost. Admittedly, our risk profile is different from that of the VLCCowner referred to. Although a significant part of the cargoes carried by our chemical tankers is fixed in the spot market, we normally have a portfolio of contracts of affreightment, securing a certain income and, importantly, a planned-for trading pattern. On the other hand, in addition to our industry being as capital intensive, our operations are generally much more complex than that of a VLCC-owner. Safe, reliable and efficient handling of more than 20 million tonnes of cargo annually by about 9,000 parcels, requires qualified and trained people on board and on shore. It goes without saying that this costs lots of money. I know we have a lot of skilled people in our organization worldwide. Still it is a fact, however, from time to time we make mistakes that are causing extra costs. What is more concerning and disappointing is that the reported LTIF (Lost Time Injury Frequency) increased last year, after several years of steady improvement. Hence, our goals and objectives were not met. With the corrective actions taken, including the Corporate Safety Initiative, I trust we will turn around any such tendency. The ultimate and clear ambition for Odfjell is to be a zero-accident company! I believe we are well positioned to meet future challenges. Let us make year 2005 the year of improvements in all respects. Each and all of us can contribute towards achieving these goals. The market outlook is promising, the more so since safer and operationally less challenging cargoes, such as clean petroleum products and even vegoils, are good alternatives to chemicals. In its Report for 2004 the Board of Directors expresses an optimistic view: “We expect a strong chemical tanker market the next few years as well as continued solid results in our tank terminal business.” Have a safe voyage! Bergen, March 8th 2005 Terje Storeng, President/CEO ODFJELL Quarterly March 2005 3
Page 1: Company Magazine for the Odfjell Gr
Page 5 and 6: Commemorating the loss of Bow Marin
Page 7 and 8: Basic training for 2005. Aside from
Page 9 and 10: During drydocking sium where a few
Page 11 and 12: The weakest link Safety and the shi
Page 13 and 14: YoungShip Shipping for the younger
Page 15 and 16: The pilot and bridge crew. From lef
Page 17 and 18: colonies. In contrast to the privat
Page 19 and 20: Transhipment in Singapore By Captai
Page 21 and 22: Tricky discharge at the Mhes Zi ter
Page 23 and 24: Sailors in snow White Christmas in
Page 25 and 26: Postcards from Chile Odfjell Quarte
Page 27 and 28: Owners and Managers Safety and Qual
Page 29 and 30: IN SERVICE FOR ODFJELL 40 25 25 YEA
Page 31 and 32: REGIONAL TRADE YEAR STAINLESS NUMBE

Company Magazine for the Odfjell Group - March 2005

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