Tag: Norway

What s next for shipping?

Armed guards on Norwegian ships

Norway is teaming up in pole position for battery-powered ships

Agreement for the sale and purchase of second hand ships BIMCO and the Norwegian Shipbrokers' Association (NSA) are proud to announce the launch of the new edition of SALEFORM - the industry's most widely used agreement for the sale and purchase of second hand ships.SALEFORM 2012 builds upon the international success of its predecessor, SALEFORM 93, while retaining the accepted general principles and familiar structure of the '93 edition. The decision to revise SALEFORM followed from consultation with the global second-hand ship sale sector who felt that the industry would benefit from a modest update of this widely-used agreement.The new edition incorporates many of the commonly made amendments applied by the industry. Certain provisions in the '93 edition which are known to have created uncertainty and misunderstanding have been re-worded in SALEFORM 2012 - resulting in much greater clarity.Care has been taken to avoid the agreement becoming overly prescriptive. The emphasis during the revision has very much been on retaining SALEFORM's character as a commercially flexible platform agreement on which to base a wide variety of different types of ship sale around the world.According to BIMCO's Deputy Secretary General, Mr Soren Larsen, "Together with the NSA, BIMCO is delighted to ...

New rules to allow the use of armed guards and firearms on board ships In 2011, 397 pirate attacks on ships were reported worldwide; out of these, 39 ships were hijacked. To meet the increasing threat from pirates operating in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, Norway has adopted new rules applicable to Norwegian registered ships and drilling units. The rules set out when force can be used in self-defence, and allow the use of armed guards and firearms on board ships and units when they are operating in certain geographic areas.No international legislation governs the use of armed guards on board ships, although the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has issued non-binding guidelines, which provided the basis for the new Norwegian rules. The rules were adopted on July 1 2011 through amendments to the existing Security Regulation for Ships 2004 and the Weapons Regulation 2009, and entered into force immediately. At present, 20% to 25% of Norwegian registered vessels have armed guards on board.Both the Norwegian government and the Norwegian maritime industry have emphasised that armed guards should be used in addition to, not in place of, the international maritime industry's Best Management Practices on non-violent protective measures ...

While recent Norwegian oil discoveries are exciting While recent Norwegian oil discoveries by Statoil ASA (STO) are exciting, the Norwegian oil sector needs access to new acreage to avoid a substantial production fall after 2020, Statoil Chief Executive Helge Lund said Monday.Lund revived the call for Norway to open up new acreage where development has been blocked because of environmental concerns.Statoil announced Monday that its Havis prospect holds between 200 million and 300 million barrels of oil equivalent, a discovery that follows other recent exploration successes. This is an "exciting time" for field developments in the Barents Sea, Lund said Monday in an interview with public broadcaster NRK.Statoil had drilled around 90 wells in the Barents Sea "without cracking the code", Lund said. But Lund added that with two substantial Barents Sea discoveries in nine months, Skrugard and Havis, "we now understand the area quite well."But even with recent discoveries, Norwegian oil and gas production "will fall substantially between 2020 and 2030 unless we get access to new acreage", he said, adding that politicians should gradually open up "all new areas" that can secure new production after 2020.Lund said Statoil has not given up getting access to areas outside of ...

Statoil has completed a fantastic year "Statoil has completed a fantastic year, both in terms of exploration successes, and the development of our portfolio on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS)," says Øystein Michelsen, executive vice president for Development and Production Norway.According to Michelsen the NCS will remain the backbone of Statoil for many years ahead. The company will maintain the current production level on the NCS until 2020, i.e. 600 000 to 700 000 barrels of new production per day.On the NCS the company made the largest oil discovery in the world last year - Aldous, in addition to the giant Skrugard discovery in the Barents Sea.Skrugard has renewed optimism and interest in exploration in the Barents Sea and is a potential door opener for a new oil province.Drilling on the Havis structure started in December. Next, the company will drill an appraisal well at Skrugard. As regards Aldous / Avaldsnes the fields will most likely be developed as a regional hub on the Utsira High.For the NCS in general the activity in the large field development projects has remained high."The maturing of the fast-track portfolio has continued at full force. In 2011 we made seven investment decisions, the aim ...

The training contract will focus on resource management and teamwork The Norwegian Coastal Administration (NCA) has entered into a five-year contract with FORCE Technology for simulator based training of 350 pilots and VTS operators.The training contract will focus on resource management and teamwork between pilots and VTS operators."We chose FORCE Technology because of their high competence level and their experience gained through many years of conducting training with a strong focus on human factors and pedagogical methods within simulator based training," explained Jon Leon Ervik, head of centre for pilotage and VTS in Norway.During the five year period, FORCE will conduct training of about 350 Norwegian pilots and VTS operators at its simulator training centre in Lyngby, Denmark.In addition, FORCE is to set up a state-of-the-art simulation facility at the Integrated Simulation Centre (ISC) at Singapore Polytechnic (SP).Down the years, FORCE said that it had established very good business relations with Singapore and holds a considerable customer base in the region.However, until recently, all contracts have been handled from Denmark, but the local market development and the new contract led FORCE to open a permanent business base in Singapore.The company will be working in close co-operation with Singapore Maritime Academy ...

ClassNK will perform surveys and issue certificates for Norwegian flagged vessels Japan-based classification society ClassNK on Tuesday received recognition for Recognised Organisation (RO) from the government of Norway.The new status grants ClassNK the authority to perform surveys and issue certificates for Norwegian flagged vessels.Noboru Ueda, chairman of ClassNK, said the agreement would "help to build even stronger ties between the two great maritime nations".The new agreement makes Norway the 103rd flag administration to delegate authority for surveys and statutory certificates to ClassNK.ClassNK has more than 190m gross tonnes on its register at the end of September this yearSource: Seatrade Asia

AISSat-1 satellite receives and forwards AIS messages from ships With payload developed by Kongsberg Seatex AS, Norway's AISSat-1 satellite was launched successfully from India last week.It has already begun transmitting AIS messages from space to earth via Kongsberg Satellite Services' ground station at Svalbard.AISSat-1 is an experimental satellite, equipped with a Kongsberg Seatex payload that receives and forwards AIS messages from ships. Using the technology in a fully developed system will improve safety at sea for vessels in Norwegian waters. It will make it easier to identify and coordinate vessels in search and rescue operations as well as assist and monitor the transport of dangerous goods and cargo in the high north.AISSat-1 is equipped with technology developed and built in cooperation between the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment, Kongsberg Seatex, the Norwegian Coastal Administration and the Norwegian Space Centre. It is financed by the Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry. Kongsberg Satellite Services' ground station at Svalbard is used for communication.'The satellite is an example on how the long term focus on Norwegian expertise creates good, innovative high technology solutions, tailor made for Norwegian conditions', said Trond Giske, Minister of Trade and Industry.AISSat-1 was launched in an Indian PSLV rocket from ...