Scandinavia takes centre stage – bulk handling in the region

Better service for NORDEN’s dry cargo customers

With a new set-up, NORDEN’s Dry Cargo Department will become even better at servicing its customers. The department, which has offices all over the world, has been organized into smaller and more specialized teams which can act faster, more easily and more smoothly. The new teams also have greater authority, as the responsibility in the Dry Cargo Department, containing more than 150 employees, has been spread out further. ”We will simplify, strengthen and empower our whole organization,” says Head of Dry Cargo Christian Vinther Christensen.

”The purpose of this new set-up is to become even better at servicing our customers. We will simplify, strengthen and empower our whole organization. Based on our strategy ‘Focus & Simplicity’, we are making our processes more efficient and transparent. At the same time, we are assigning authority to the front line, where our many motivated employees meet the customers and the market. I have a strong belief in management through involvement, presence and recognition,” says Head of Dry Cargo Christian Vinther Christensen.

ALWAYS MONEY TO BE MADE

The aim of the new set-up is to carry out NORDEN’s strategic decision that the Dry Cargo Department in significant scale and through organic growth is to increase its operating activities, where cargoes are combined with chartering of available vessels in the market for a single trip – or more.

Usually, money can be made on operating activities in both times of prosperity and times of decline. Focus is on the margins and the difference between cargo rates and the price of chartered vessels.

As a general rule, operating activities are therefore, in terms of earnings, characterized by being less dependent on market rates compared to the part of NORDEN’s dry cargo business which is based on use of the core fleet of owned or long-term chartered vessels.

The increased efforts related to operating activities are taking place at the same time as NORDEN continues its usual business activities on the spot market (day- to-day market) at full speed based on the use of its core fleet. NORDEN also continues the fulfilment of its many long- term contracts, just as there is focus on attracting new long-term industrial cargo contracts.

THE NINE NEW TEAMS

These nine teams have been set up:

THE BENEFITS TO THE CUSTOMERS

The Head of Dry Cargo Christian Vinther Christensen highlights the following benefits of the new set-up to NORDEN’s dry cargo customers:

 

• NORDEN improves its response times; v NORDEN improves its knowledge on customer requirements and requests;
• NORDEN increases its knowledge on the market;
• NORDEN becomes better at thinking big and at the same time always acting in such a way as to meet each customer’s requirements regionally — no matter the scope;
• NORDEN increases its competitiveness through increased activity;
• NORDEN becomes capable of assisting more customers with their spot requirements;
• NORDEN becomes more focused on each customer’s business and needs; and 
• NORDEN will have a dedicated ambition to grow with its cargo customers innovation.through commercial

 

THE OPERATORS PLAY A KEY ROLE

However, it is one thing is to obtain cargo for the vessels to transport. It is quite another to deal with the handling operations from loading port to discharge port.

It is the operators’ job to ensure that this is done in the most optimal way.

”Consequently, our operators play a more central role in the new set-up,” says Christian Vinther Christensen.

NORDEN’s Dry Cargo Department has a staff of skilled and experienced operators, who operate from the many offices within NORDEN’s global network. They have thorough knowledge of the many challenges which the vessels face on their voyages.

”They can make the famous difference to our customers. We need to be able to deliver genuine and value-creating service, and we do this better when we have thorough local knowledge,” says the Head of Dry Cargo.

SERVICE PROVIDER

Two internationally experienced men join NORDEN’s Board of Directors

BOTH NEW NORDEN BOARD MEMBERS HAVE A SKILL SET THAT WILL SUPPORT THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ STRATEGIC AND GROWTH-RELATED INITIATIVES, AND BOTH HAVE EXPERIENCE IN RELATION TO RISK MANAGEMENT.

Two experienced men from the global world of shipping were elected into NORDEN’s Board of Directors at the annual general meeting held on 5 April this year at Hotel Scandinavia in Copenhagen. Tom Intrator is former CEO of Cargill International SA and is a Swiss citizen. Hans Feringa is CEO of the chemical tanker company Team Tankers International Ltd. and a Dutch citizen living in the USA.

At the annual general meeting — with final approval at an extraordinary general meeting on 19 April at NORDEN’s head office in Hellerup — it was also approved that NORDEN’s corporate language be changed from Danish to English. This i.a. means that from now on English is the working language in the Board of Directors which until now has not had any members not versed in a Scandinavian language. With the change into English, the Board of Directors can be internationalized as needed.

HIGHLY QUALIFIED

In his report, Chairman of the Board Klaus Nyborg described the two new board members as “highly talented”.

In his speech prior to the election of Tom Intrator, Chairman Klaus Nyborg emphasized that Tom Intrator has experience as head of one of the world’s

largest trading houses, that he has an international background and that he is significantly knowledgeable within energy, shipping and metals. At the same time,Tom Intrator will add to the Board’s qualifications within management, strategy, investment, costumer relations and service, financial matters and risk management, said the Chairman.

Klaus Nyborg substantiated the appointment of Hans Feringa for election to the Board with his experience as head of global, listed shipping companies, in-depth knowledge of global shipping as well as an international background from the Netherlands, Singapore and the USA. In addition, Hans Feringa will add to the Board’s qualifications within tankers, management, strategy and growth, investment, purchase and sale of vessels, financial matters and risk management.

FAREWELL AFTER 28 YEARS

At the annual general meeting, Erling Højsgaard stepped down from the Board of Directors due to the age limit of 72 years. He sat on the Board for 28 years, two of which as vice chairman. The new vice chairman is Johanne Riegels Østergaard, who represents the major shareholder Motortramp.

The Board of Directors now constitutes six general meeting-elected members and three employee-elected members.

UP FOR ELECTION EVERY YEAR

At the annual general meeting — with final approval at the extraordinary general meeting — it was also approved that from now on, all six general meeting-elected board members are up for election every year instead of every second year. The employee-elected members continue with a term of three years.

Tom Intrator, newly elected board member, says:“NORDEN has held a leading position in the business for more than a century and is positioned to continue holding this position in future.”

Scandinavian company leads antifouling revolution

Sat in the heart of Scandinavia, Swedish biotech innovators I-Tech AB has been shaking things up in the paints and coatings sector of the maritime industry over the past few years. The company was founded upon a unique discovery made by Gothenburg scientists that is revolutionizing hard biofouling prevention on ship hulls. The team of scientists proved the efficacy of an active substance, which at extremely low concentrations, can neurologically scramble a barnacle larva making it hyperactive, with reversible effects, preventing it from being able to attach to any coated ship wetted hard surface. This bio-repellent innovation is unique within its application in marine coatings and has attracted great interest from marine coatings manufacturers and ship owners. For the owners of dry bulk carrying ships, this Scandinavian innovation could offer a solution to the growing problem of hull fouling, particularly for idling bulk carriers.

Companies that transport dry bulk, iron ore, coal and other bulk commodities are weathering the downturn in a market. Under current market conditions, idle bulk carriers, in addition to other ship types, are inhabiting coastlines across the globe. Ship owners are increasingly demanding solutions that are both well-suited to specific ship trading patterns, and varying activity levels. When looking at the future

trading potential, they need to ensure that their ship is protected whether it be in constant active service, idle for long periods of time, or have the risk of fluctuating between the two. This future- proofing approach to antifouling coating selection, without any certainty of future trade, is exerting great pressure on the coatings suppliers, prospering great innovation and new approaches to the development of fouling prevention technology.

A great number of ships frequently lay idle in biofouling hotspots. Average global sea temperatures are warming meaning that biofouling risk within these areas is increasing year-on-year. A fouled hull is an issue for any ship operator as it directly impacts the fuel consumption of a ship due to increased drag. The different types of fouling can also present differing issues in addition to immediate fuel consumption impact. Some soft fouling may be ‘washed off’ when an idling ship once again becomes active at a certain speed. Soft fouling can also be removed by less impactful hull cleaning practices. Hard fouling, however, is a trickier guest to get rid of. Hard fouling, including barnacle growth, will not be removed when a vessel is travelling at speed. Also, the hull cleaning methods required to remove hard fouling can be more impactful to the coating than those effective for the removal of soft fouling.

This means that ship owners are placing great importance on selecting coating products that can cope with conditions in the ‘red zones’ in which their ships operate, where water temperate can be high and hard fouling can be problematic if a ship is at anchorage for three to four weeks, for example.

The issue of biofouling is also becoming an increasingly dominant issue on the agenda of some Asian shipyards, with newly launched vessels laying idle in warming waters, suffering the effects of intense fouling during the three to four months fitting out process. This accumulation of biofouling on the hull can impact both the newly applied coating and the ship performance of a newbuild leaving the yard. This means the shipyards are also pushing for antifouling solutions that ensure static performance of ships during outfitting.

Gothenburg-based I-Tech AB has thus far dedicated over a decade of research and development work to these current aforementioned issues. Its quest to find, develop and commercialize a fouling prevention technology alternative for hard fouling prevention commenced in the wake the IMO decision to ban the application of tributyltin (TBT)-based paints on vessels as of 1 January 2003.

What the Swedish scientists discovered was a unique pharmacological mode of action that works to prevent barnacle larvae from settling on ship structures by inducing hyperactivity in the barnacle larvae. Selektope®’s fouling prevention mechanism works by temporarily stimulating the cyprid larvae octopamine receptor and activating swimming behaviour. The effects of this neurological scrambling are temporary, with the larvae returning to normal functional capacity shortly after encountering the Selektope® present in the ship’s hull coating.

With an efficacy that requires just 0.1% of Selektope® in an antifouling coating’s overall constituency, this technology offers the opportunity for coatings suppliers to use just a fraction of the active substance needed to achieve comparable performance if traditional copper-based biocides are used. In fact, Selektope® is flexible enough to boost copper-based formulations, but is also powerful enough to replace copper in copper-free formulations.

Due to the powerful effects demonstrated, this first-of-its-kind coatings technology rapidly caught the attention of coatings suppliers in the early stages of its research and development. To this date, the testing of Selektope®-containing form- ulations by coatings suppliers continues to accelerate at a rapid pace, with a multitude of commercial products being launched onto the market.

The all-important green light for global market deployment was signalled in 2015 when I-Tech received EC recognition for Selektope®, enabling it to be included in anti-fouling products sold throughout the EU as of 1 January 2016, in accordance with the terms of the EU Biocidal Products Regulation. This came in addition to the already secured approvals for the use of active agent in Japan, China and South Korea.

The first commercial, Selektope®-containing coating products for use on ocean going vessels (OGVs) were launched in the market in 2016. That same year, a 12-month trial of a tanker coated with copper-free, Selektope®-containing paint yielded fantastic performance results. This six-year 2010-built, 46,067dwt IMO II chemical and products tanker vessel Calypso, due to enter into its second year of active service since the Selektope®-containing hull coating was applied in November 2016, is still showing extremely low development rates of added resistance on the hull. Scandinavian ship owner, Laurin Maritime, applied the coating inclusive of I-Tech’s bio- repellent technology during the ship’s first five-year survey at the Singapore yard Sembcorp.

Another Scandinavian owner, Stena RoRo signed a contract to coat the hulls of four newbuild RoPax ferries with paint that incorporates Selektope®. The delivery of the newbuild Stena RoPax ferries is scheduled for 2019/2020. They will be built at the AVIC yard in Weihai, China.

“We are honoured that a pioneer of sustainability in commercial shipping such as Stena RoRo has chosen a Selektope®- containing hull coating product for its newbuild programme. Their investment in a premium antifouling product that contains Selektope® will deliver strong antifouling performance with the additional benefit that their high-activity vessels will have the best protection from barnacle invasion.” says Philip Chaabane, CEO I-Tech AB.

I-Tech has also celebrated success with the launching of brand new products into the market this year. The increasing diversification in the range of Selektope®- containing products available to ship owners suitable for different vessel requirements demonstrates the unrivalled versatility of the antifouling ingredient. It also demonstrates a growing commitment to the technology as demand from ship owners for antifouling coatings comprising Selektope® intensifies.

SEA GRANDPRIX 880HS PLUS is the third product Chugoku Marine Paints (CMP) has launched that contains Selektope®. It joins CMP’s SEAFLO NEO CF Premium; and SEAFLO NEO-S PREMIUM Selektope® products.

The new antifouling coating is based on hydrolysing technology and can be applied to deep sea-going vessels trading worldwide in- service periods for up to 90 months. Uniquely, CMP guarantees extended static performance of up to 45 days, thanks to the barnacle-repellent boost enabled by Selektope®- combating barnacle settlement on the ship’s hull by temporarily stimulating the barnacle larvae’s swimming behaviour.

To date, marine coating products containing Selektope® have been applied to over 150 vessels including many bulk carriers.

“As demand for Selektope® soars, the number of antifouling products that contain our unique bio-repellent ingredients is expanding. This ensures that ship owners and operators have a selection of products to choose from, and confirms the flexibility and compatibility of our product with a range of different antifouling ingredients,” says Philip Chaabane, CEO I-Tech AB.

For Selektope®, the future is promising as an ingredient for marine coating that can enable superior static performance in addition to supporting the reduction of invasive species transfer and emissions by contributing to cleaner, more efficient hulls.