CREW 4

1

G r i e G S h i p pi n G G ro u p m aG a z i n e w i n t e r 2010

cultrual expressions

In this section we focus on the various cultural expressions from many countries Page 18-28

the l-class

In mid November 2009 we initiated a tender process with totally 10 shipyards in Korea, Japan and China for our next generation Open Hatch Conventional Crane (OHCC) vessels. Pages 8-11

the safe class stuDY

Last year Grieg Shipping Group was invited by the Department of Psychosocial Science at the University of Bergen to participate in a research study. Page 13

2

GrieG ShippinG Group maGazine winter 2010

14 15

GrieG ShippinG Group maGazine WinTer 2010

What did the feedback tell us? The overall feedback was very good, yet there are also areas for improvements. With the recent reorganization process in mind, it was interesting to note the level of commitment to the new organization; Grieg Shipping Group aS. however, some respondents also indicate a lack of time with and knowledge about the new organization. This calls for continuous focus on building a common identity.

Some specific areas for improvement include enhancing the quality of communication across the organization, with the use of proper communication channels. By doing so we also believe efficiency as well as co-operation between departments will improve.

Competence building represents a challenge on some department levels, and should be targeted. We need to make sure we have the right competencies to meet future business needs, and that relevant training is provided.

Branch offices gave high scores on most indexes, including commitment to our values. in terms of these values, there is room for improvement in how we demonstrate i.e openness.

Follow-up During recent company conference in Bergen (october 19), our values were discussed in smaller groups. Based on the feedback from the employee satisfaction survey; how do we strengthen our values? how do we demonstrate them? openness is challenging to demonstrate, but it is also the most important value, as it is so closely linked to the other three. Without openness you will loose commitment and ultimately pride. as for solid, the interpretation is often linked to financial solidity. Solid also implies how competent we are in conducting our work and ultimately run our business.

The employee survey is an important key performance indicator (Kpi) for the company, but not an objective in itself. The important part is about identifying areas for adjustment and improvement, and working together to realize them. Several departments and branch offices have completed their feedback sessions and agreed on improvement areas and next steps.

Marit TrodalCr manage

Employee satisfaction survey 2010Last June/July an employee satisfaction survey was sent out to all Grieg Shipping Group employees worldwide. With a respondent rate of 95%, this feedback opportunity is appreciated and valued by the vast majority. Following up the survey at the Bergen Science Center; working and playing with our

values in groups

Working with the survey at the Atlanta office

DilemmasThe majority of our branch offices have in the course of 2010 conducted internal workshops, facilitated by our Human Resources department.

The purpose of these workshops has been twofold;To communicate our visions, goals and strategies, values, ethical guidelines and commitments to the ten principles of the UN Global Compact. Secondly; to create an open arena for raising ethical dilemmas that we face and discuss how we deal with them.

Dilemmas are by nature difficult to answer or solve. Hence, a typical answer when presented with an ethical dilemma is: ‘It depends…’

Here is one dilemma for you to dwell on and discuss:

You are out for a walk one night and see a man running towards you. He looks terrified, stressed and panicked. He comes up to you with tears in his eyes and says:

’I am going to hide right here. I can’t run anymore. I did not do anything wrong. Please promise me you will not tell them where I am.’ So you promise the man, he hides in the bush and you keep walking.

Ten seconds later four men turn the corner where the panicked man has come from and head towards you. As they come closer, you see that they are, indeed, police officers. They walk up to you and ask if you have seen the man they were chasing.

What do you do?

Full concentration while discussing our values.

16 17

GRIEG SHIPPING GROUP MAGAZINE WINTER 2010

Trust me, Readers. I really wanted to write something fun and interesting to read. However, unfortunately I was asked to write about Claims. It sounds very boring. Yes, but we need to remember that we are in a shipping business which is one of the most regulated international industries. Without knowing the laws and regulations, we cannot do a single thing in shipping. To operate the ship, we need to comply with countless international/regional rules and conventions, e.g. COLREGS, SOLAS, MARPOL, STCW, ISM, ISPS, Hague/Visby rules etc.

We can be exposed to great legal liability in all cases where an accident or incident has occurred. However, our liability can be greatly minimized if the correct action is taken at the correct time. It is our main task to protect the company from various potential legal risks. For example, in case of cargo damage, the claimant can arrest the vessel. We then endeavor to release the vessel promptly with P&I Club’s LOU or/and Bank Guaranty. Trusting our � nancial strength and a good name, P&I Clubs usually issue their LOU at once without any delay to release the vessel. At the same time, we send our competent surveyors to establish the extent, nature and cause of the damage. In our regular ports, we have our own surveyors who understand our business and ship’s type. P&I Clubs normally agree to appoint our surveyors than their own P&I surveyors since our branch o� ces and/or agents can arrange the survey swiftly.

We have also very diligent and dedicated claims coordinators in our branch o� ces. � ey secure/collect all necessary documents/evidences timely and also keep us updated with any developments of the incident. With our fantastic organization and surveyors’ network, we are able to be on the roof of the situation and to lead the risk management. Some months after the incident, we usually receive a bulk of claims � les. When we receive it by e-mail, it usually takes long time to

print it out. I can see that people become so happy when they are ahead of me in the line to use the printer. Otherwise they need to wait until I � nish my printing of a ‘book’. We then scrutinize the claims � le comparing with our survey reports and documents.

We � rst determine the applicable jurisdiction and law. We are operating the vessels worldwide, and the maritime law di� ers from nation to nation. For example, the limitation of carrier’s

liability may be only $ 500 in one country while it can be $ 1 million in another country. � e claimants therefore try to bring the matter to the most favorable jurisdiction, so called ‘forum shopping’. Based on the applicable law and precedent court cases, we evaluate our legal position and start negotiating the claim. We settle most of the claims amicably without referring it to the court. If no amicable settlement is reached, the case proceeds to Court or Arbitration where it usually takes some years to get a judgment. I still have an open case from 2002 on my desk. We live in the past and dig

out the old documents from time to time. One piece of old paper can make us win or lose a case.

If someone asks me what is the best way to handle the claims, I can say without any hesitation “it is to prevent the claims”. We have focused on the Loss Prevention for the last 2 years, after being an integrated shipping company, throughout both Grieg Star Shipping and Grieg Shipping. Since 2008, our loss ratio for H&M has decreased 13% and also 45% decrease for P&I. Grieg Shipping and Grieg Star Shipping have worked very closely together in all aspects, and the Loss Prevention is one of the successful stories of being ‘One Team’. With this great platform ‘One Team’, we are now well prepared to provide a fully integrated Legal, Insurance & Claims service to the Grieg Shipping Group.

Byoungil KangClaims Adjuster

Without knowing the laws and regulations, we cannot do a single thing in shipping.

If someone asks me what is the best way to handle the claims, I can say without any hesitation “it is to prevent the claims”.

Abbreviation Full Style

COLREGS The International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea 1972.

SOLAS The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea.

Marpol International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution From Ships.

STCW The International Convention on Standards of Training, Certifi cation and Watchkeeping for Seafarers.

ISM (Code) an International standard for the safe management and operation of ships and for pollution prevention.

ISPS (Code) The International Ship and Port Facility Security Code.

P&I Protection & Indemnity

LOU Letter of Undertaking

H&M Hull & Machinery

Legal, Insurance & Claims

14

16 LegaL, Insurance & cLaIms

12 13


We were more than happy to contribute, given the fact that safety and well being of the seafarers are of major concern to us. Scientific evidence always comes in handy to keep a steady focus on improvement work. This was also a unique opportunity for us to participate in a ground-breaking study within a field seldom scrutinized.

assisted by the human resources and the Safety & Quality departments, the researchers developed a questionnaire, which was sent on board our vessels, providing all the seafarers the possibility to express their opinions. as it turned out, the response rate was close to 100 %, a level of responsiveness never seen by the researchers before. equipped with a huge amount of data to analyze, they set out on an exciting exploratory journey. Would they be able to establish scientifically reliable proof to determine how safety climate is affected by human factors?

The first results of the study were presented in october 2009, and the findings were very interesting, although not all that surprising to us. First of all, it was evident that our seafarers perceive the safety climate on board as safe. it was also clear that they regard the company’s efforts within health and safety to be of high quality, and that they were allowed to influence decisions in matters related to h&S. Some areas received a poorer rating, especially concerning stress factors in the seafarers’ daily operations. a distinct finding was the correlation between leadership behaviour and perceived safety climate. This strongly indicates that leadership and the interaction between commanding officers and the crew constitutes

the single most influential factor with respect to safety work and risk management. as an additional take-away from the survey, all the participating captains were given the opportunity to receive feedback from their respective crews. This will be presented to them in a coaching session with the professors from the university.

Safety climate may be described as a snapshot of how people perceive safety and behave related to certain issues at a given point in time. The elements that are measured are influenced by leadership, rules and regulations, as well as how the crew feels and acts. This means that it is possible to develop and improve the safety climate, by making the right interventions and influencing attitudes and behaviour.

The learning and experiences from the study were presented and discussed during officers’ Conferences, providing deeper insights and material for further work for ourselves as well as the scientists. Consequently, we are now entering into a tripartite cooperation with the university and the norwegian research Council to support a doctorate study focusing on the leadership issues. Furthermore, the norwegian hull Club is supporting a study exploring the findings related to safety on board. Following the research at close range, and actually being a part of it, we will be able to evaluate and implement any improvement possibility that arises.

Ole Steinar MjellSenior Vice president hr

The Safeclass Project

A scientific approach to life at seaLast year Grieg Shipping Group was invited by the Department of Psychosocial Science at the University of Bergen to participate in a research study. The aim of the study was to explore the safety climate on board vessels, and how this was influenced by leadership, working conditions and human relationships at the workplace.

The first group of masters to participate in the follow up after the “Safeclass project” was edwin mendoza, Jimmy Sanches, alejandro Yuson and olivio Yuson. They all gathered in Bergen at the end of november. at the naval academy they performed simulator exercises related to leadership challenges at sea. They also received individual feedback from the researchers from the “Safeclass project”.

in addition they had several meetings with different departments in Grieg Shipping Group.

Ole Steinar Mjell

Crew from Star Japan

From the left: Ole Steinar Mjell, A. Yuson,Jarle Eid,E.Mendoza,Thomas Wedervang, O.Yuson, J.Sanchez, Hanne Borgersen, Kjersti Bergheim

1212The safecLass ProjecT a scIenTIfIc aPProach To LIfe aT sea

emploYee satisfaction surveY 2010

8 9


The shipping industry is extremely capital intensive as the vessels cost from ten to hundred of million dollars. Consequently, there is usually a significant need for external funding.

Financing of newbuildings

Sources of funding are debt (bank loans and bonds) and equity (retained earnings and external funds from private investors or publicly listed shares). When using debt as funding, the borrower commits to pay interest and meet a repayment schedule. With equity as source of funding, there is no contractual obligation to pay for the capital, but over time the owners shall have a return on their money in the form of increased value of the company’s shares and dividends.

The Grieg Shipping Group fleet is financed by bank loans and retained earnings. retained earnings are profit from our operation not paid out as dividend to the owners. These earnings from previous years are added to the Group’s equity and are an important source of financing.

Bank loans are a common way of financing vessels. Typically a newbuilding is 50% to 90% financed by loans from banks. The loan can be advanced by a single bank or by a group of banks pooling their money to lend, a so called bank syndicate. The Grieg Shipping Group has loan agreements financing its existing fleet with DnB nor. They are agents for a syndicate of banks consisting of several european banks.

The work on financial solutions for the ohCC newbuildings was started in parallel with the negotiations with the yards, i.e. more than a year ago. The Grieg Shipping Group and the newbuilding program were presented to both banks that already provide loans as well as other relevant banks. as we know, the international bank marked has suffered large losses during the financial crisis and several banks are not able to advance loans to their customers. in times like this, the Grieg Shipping Group’s solidity and good reputation is very valuable. We are considered a preferred customer by several banks, and even in this bank market there were a number of banks who came up with interesting offers.

in the negotiations with the banks, there are several important aspects that are taken into consideration: the price which consists of the loan margin coming on top of the floating interest rate (Libor) and fixed fees, loan re-payment profile and tenor, financial covenants such as minimum requirements on liquidity, security and several other major and minor items ranging from insurance requirements to the definition of a banking day. Security is assigned

to the banks to achieve more favorable terms. it is common for the shipowning companies to pledge its vessels as collateral. in an event of default, the bank will seize the assets. Grieg Shipping Group has pledged several of its vessels as security for its loan obligations.

Through the negotiations we have been able to achieve financing for the first eight ohCC newbuildings at very good conditions, considering today’s market. This time the nordic banks were able to present the best total financing solution resulting in two loan facilities headed by respectively DnB nor and nordea. We expect to finance the last two newbuildings in the year to come.

Bodil BarkaFinance manager

Roar, what do you see as the biggest challenge in this project?Working with a different culture as the Korean, will be a challenge and a new experience for me, even if i have been dealing with many various cultures in my previous job.i have just had my first visit to the hyundai mipo Dockyard (hmD) and it is very promising to see that we have built up a very good relationship to the yard through our previous new-building project, the K-Class. We know that hmD is capable to deliver our special type of ships. however, to meet our high technical expectations, i think the most important and challenging part will be the human factors, to have a well working project team and good communication with the yard.

Talking with the L-class project manager

Roar started in his new position as Senior Project Manager 1. October 2010. He has several years experience from DnV. Roar will be responsible for the largest new-building project in the Grieg Shipping Group ever – 10 ships over two years.

The first ship will be completed by summer of 2012. Do you have the site team ready yet?Capt Cayabyab will continue his excellent work as Site manager assisted by C.e.oliva, but it’s a little early to announce the rest of the team.

To reduce and measure the energy consumption, will all ships have the “Marorka Energy Management System installed?The first ship will have a full marorka emS installation. in addition, another ship will also be fitted with marorka emS. By doing this, we will be able to measure the effect of various energy saving devices, like e.g. the mewis duct. The other ships will be equipped with torque meter and flow meter for measurement of propulsion power and fuel consumption. These are of the most important parameters to monitor and evaluate fuel saving measures and operation.

During my visit to Korea, together with Vice president Jan Øivind Svardal, i attended the hyundai’s research institute for the first towing tests of the ship model. This test is very important to evaluate whether the guaranteed speed and consumption can be reached. it looks promising.

How do you think your working days will be in the future?mainly office work, but also a lot of travelling of course. Final model testing will be carried out in the beginning of 2011. Steel cutting for the first vessel is scheduled to September 2011. The most important tasks in the coming period will be to establish the site team, finalise the equipment maker selections and drawing approval starting early 2011. i am glad to have experienced people from the K-class to join me here, like Vp Jan Øivind Svardal, Capt. Cayabyab and C.e. oliva.

Torill Lundeeditor8

abouT The new L-cLass vesseLs

18 19


� e appreciation of nature is part of the culture here and this is re� ected in the popularity of mountain hiking and the increasing membership of the Norwegian Trekking Association (DNT). � ey own 460 cabins and look after a network of about 20,000 km of marked summer walking trails and about 7,000 km of ski trails in winter. � e summer trails are marked with a red T painted on cairns and rocks and the winter trails are staked the with tree branches or poles stuck in the snow. � ere are three types of cabins: Sta� ed, self-service and no-service cabins and the unsta� ed ones are stocked with provisions including tinned goods, co� ee, tea and powdered packet soups and visitors are trusted to pay for any of the provisions that they use.

� e Starsport walking group were glad of the clearly marked tracks this autumn when we had our 2-day walking trip and stayed in one of the DNT’s sta� ed cabins, Rauhelleren. � is cabin was very typical of the standard with showers and electricity, and bunk beds in the rooms which slept from 4 – 8 people. We had booked rooms beforehand, but the DNT guarantees overnight accommodation for anyone who arrives at their cabins even if this means lying on mattresses on the � oor. � e showers and toilets were located in a separate building and as it was quite chilly during the night, it was advisable to make a last visit before the lights were turned out promptly at 11pm and the only available light before the next morning was torchlight.

� e food that they served was very traditional Norwegian farmers fare, a vegetable soup with a kind of thin wafer bread and then porridge made with soured cream and thinly sliced cured leg of lamb. � e next day we left with another traditional Norwegian custom in our rucksacks - the packed lunch - slices of bread spread with either goats cheese, liver paté or dried lamb’s meat, separated by thin sheets of baking paper.

Besides giving you time to enjoy the fantastic, unspoiled nature, quiet moments of re� ection and long conversations with your traveling companions, hiking in the mountains is also very sociable and it is very normal to stop and chat with strangers, comparing notes about your trip or picking up tips. Evenings in the cabins can also be very sociable when all the guests gather in the lounge and are welcome to join in the entertainment, whether it be games, quizzes or a spontaneous sing-song accompanied by a guitar. In fact, DNT cabins are renowned to be good places for single people to meet like-minded partners with a common interest in nature and outdoor sports :-)

Elizabeth Horn

Mountain hiking

18 19

Anybody who has visited Norway would have to agree that the landscape is truly beautiful with spectacular snow-topped mountains, glaciers and deep � ords. With a population of only 4.5 million people inhabiting an area approximately the size of California and the sixth largest country in Europe, there is plenty of space to satisfy the national passion for fresh air and outdoor pursuits.


View from Hein in the Hardangervidda national park.

The red T marking the summer trails.

Wor

ld w

ide c

ultu

ral

expr

essio

nspa

ge 18

-28

Culture: Norway

In t

his

sect

ion

we

focu

s on

the

var

ious

cu

ltura

l ex

pres

sion

s fro

m

the

man

y co

untr

ies

Grie

g S

hipp

ing

Gro

up

oper

ates

in.

Rea

d ab

out

hiki

ng i

n th

e N

orw

egia

n m

ount

ains

, fe

stiv

als

in t

he

Phi

lippi

nes,

foo

d in

Chi

na a

nd m

uch

mor

e.

18 cuLTuraL exPressIons

Our Cultureas i am writing this we have just reached the First Sunday in advent in norway. we have lighted the first out of four candles, and have watched the Christmas tree being lighted in Bergen followed by a fantastic firework. we are now looking forward to eating gingersnaps and spending time with our family in the coming month.

This and many other traditions are an important part of our culture. our offices around the world have shared with us some of the ceremonies and traditions which are part of their culture, and we hope this will inspire you to explore more about their country.

Shipping is a global industry which operates 24 hours a day all over the world. This requires a common language for communication, and common systems and regulations in place to ensure efficient and safe operation. in the articles from the Claims department and the CBCD you get an insight into how this works and how they view the shipping culture.

although the employees in Grieg Shipping Group come from many different cultures, we operate as one team. Some of these employees have been with our company for many years and have been part of forming the company as it is today. Julie Springer is one of these old-timers whom you can read about.

Grieg Shipping Group has made the largest investment ever – ordering 10 open hatch vessels and 2 supramax bulk vessels. in Crew we learn more about the L-class and the financing of the newbuildings. Going forward the safe class project is an innovative project which will be important when building a common safety culture and leadership skills among our officers onboard.

all this contribute to our common culture which we hope you will enjoy reading about.

Seasonal greetings to all of you!

Berit MyklebustThe editorial Group

creW is published by Grieg shipping Group and Grieg star shipping. all contributions to the magazine are written by employees unless other is noted.

editor in charge: Berit myklebusteditors torill lunde [email protected] andellen sundøy [email protected]

layout and design:

ole-Jørn Borum

cover photo: el cid tirol, sandugo festival2010, philippines

creW is printed on environmentally friendly paper

circulation: 1500

3

you all agree with me when i claim that to be our biggest privilege.

Thank you, each and every one of you, and your families for your substantial contribution to our shipping group. Let us continue to let our vision guide us;

“Create lasting value through our common effort’’

i wish you all a wonderful Christmas and a healthy new year filled with meaningful challenges and memorable experiences.

Camilla Grieg

it was not an easy or quick decision, a lot of work and analysis made by many people in our organization have been done in order to have the fundament we needed to feel comfortable and be able to make such a decision. The world around us is uncertain, at best, and our ability to see into the future under these circumstances is limited. what made it possible for us to take that decision in the end, was our firm belief in our market position, our organization and our ability to change when the unexpected happens, proven by the results we have delivered in the past.

nevertheless it is a huge amount that weights heavily in our thoughts and makes us scrutinize all elements of our business and market with even closer eyes. it is therefore more than gratifying that our business is doing so well this year, despite all the challenges that are still out there. That our estimated year end results are substantially over our expectations and budgets, obviously helped by a stronger than expected market, but not the least by hard work from all of you, of which we are grateful.

Furthermore, there is a growing optimism out there, in several areas of the world throughout a broad specter of industries, despite continuous difficulties in other countries. although we do expect the dry bulk shipping market to face some challenging years ahead because of too much tonnage coming into the market, this optimism is somewhat contagious.

and optimism and belief is essential for further development and growth of a business, as well as enthusiasm and commitment. Both our long tradition in the open hatch shipping industry as well as our latest investment decision, shows that we have all of the above. our commitment, endurance and hard work have gotten us where we are today. now the fundamentals have been laid down for many more decades in our industry, and the hard work continues. i hope

Dear friends & colleagues – sailing and ashore. 2010 will be marked in the history of the Grieg Shipping Group as a very important year, the year we did the largest investment decision in the history of the company. In time of writing we have an order book of 10 open hatch vessels and 2 supramax bulk vessels at a total investment of USD 550 million. That, my friends, is commitment. Commitment to our business, to our organization, to our customers and to our common future.

Words from the CEO

Growing optimism in a volatile market!

4


The general dry bulk market has been extremely difficult to predict after the financial crisis in the fall of 2008. Our market view has been rather negative, and I repeated the same in my comments in the last edition of Crew back in May. During the last months the Supra index has fallen week by week, and is now at around USD 14,500 per day.

Commercial Corner

we still believe that with the extraordinarily high number of vessels still to come, the world trade growth will not be able to absorb all the new buildings. There are no signs of a quick recovery of the uS economy, and with China possibly slowing down we believe that the general market will remain weak for next year and well into 2012.

Both the CBCD and the open hatch division are positioned for that.

2010 has been a historic year for us. The Grieg family have shown tremendous faith in what we all are doing, and have ordered 10 open hatch vessels for delivery in 2012/14. They have also bought 2 conventional new buildings. By such an investment, we show clearly to all our worldwide customers that we are here to stay, and we will continue to serve them also in the future. we should be extremely well positioned for both of our pools in the years to come.

For the open hatch pool, the new buildings of course represent some substitution of the older vessels, but also a possibility to expand in the shorter picture, if that is what we want. The question then is: “at what age should we let the older vessels go for demolition?”

This will be a very important discussion, which of course depends on what happens in the general market, and in our segment in particular.

The “talk of the town” lately has no question been the 25 year contract that StX pan ocean and Fibria have entered into. That Fibria were thinking along these lines is something we all knew, but

the surprise is that we have a newcomer in the forestry segment with StX pan ocean entering this segment in full scale. This means that another 20 open hatch vessels will be delivered by January 2015. They will cover close to 5 million tons per year of Brazilian wood pulp, which are currently carried by our competitors. however with the current confirmed new pulp projects in Brazil and uruguay, this “overcapacity” might be absorbed already in 2015. There will be quite some challenging years ahead of us.

we are happy to announce that we are entering the Brazil Far east trade for the first time. we concluded a contract with one of our Brazilian friends for a couple of years. This puts us back into Brazil for the first time on a regular basis after the demerger.

Both CBCD and the open hatch division will deliver results well above the budget for 2010. and in that respect, i will like to thank all of you for a well-done job in a challenging market!

we have also strengthened some of our branch offices lately, with new qualified personnel. we are confident that we are well organized to meet our challenges in the years to come.

i wish you and your families a merry Christmas and a happy new Year!

Best regards

Tom RasmussenpresidentGrieg Star Shipping

4

5

Shipping around 8 million tons of cargo a year, the conventional bulk carrier division of Grieg Star Shipping (CBCD) use a large fleet of chartered vessels. no ships are owned and controlled in house. Some of them join our fleet for a year or more, but the majority is being hired for a single voyage or for a short period. in 2010 we have operated 55 various bulk carriers chartered worldwide; thus both flags, ownership and crew represent a vast number of nations, from all continents of the world. in our every day’s work we cope with followers of various religions, with bearers of different traditions, ethics, mentality, - but surprisingly enough – from a chartering point of view we do not experience any substantial cultural challenges and clashes. one can wonder why?

although we are quality focused and we check records, we do not pay a lot of attention to the nationality of the shipowner, the flag or the nationality of the crew. Luckily, we do not have to, because:

The working language is always english. The charterparties are more or less standard based on english or american law and all ships have to follow the same international law and regulations. The vessel’s certificates are standard and they are nearly always issued by one of the major international classification societies (DnV, Lloyds, n.K. etc). The bulk carriers we use are constructed and built by common general rules and regulations. The crews are trained on basis of the same international practices and are protected by international conventions. So even if the culture or way of thinking might be different from vessel to vessel, we still find that all vessels work on basis of common standards and

Many nations – one cultureroutines. This also goes for the shipping companies, the shipping agents and shipbrokers. major business deals are concluded over the telephone, and still be respected. Literally all participants speak the same language (english), but to a great extent also the thinking is similar and not difficult to understand. in spite of all the nations and backgrounds we are dealing with, we see that we have one thing in common: the Shipping Culture. This is a culture that millions of people working in the shipping industry understand and share, wherever they live. we think it is a culture that benefits all people, worldwide.

Jack Birkenesexecutive Vp CBCD

CBCD poem50 cBcD vessels from all kinds of culturesnot so apparent as all our bulk vessels usersthey all want deal done and travel secureno matter country, cp or expressions -shipping culture worldwide are common - and to the core

this is how we like it, not a single day alikecould be anything from canceling to stevedores on striketo everybody assisting from our offices wide out thereeven if we come from different cultures - regulations and security are same - for shipping we all care

Grethe Olsen

many nations - one culture. elin osland and hans ivar oppedal visiting mv star cemara during loading at herøya.

6


Technical Corner

6

GrieG ShippinG Group maGazine Summer 2010

2010 has been a hectic year for all of us with important steps taken for executing our strategies for the future of our company.

we have this summer/autumn established our most extensive new building programme ever in the history of our company. 10 L-class open hatch vessels and 2 supramax bulk carriers are to be delivered during the years 2012 - 2014. This will be a great and exiting challenge to us. we will need to increase number of employees with professional and skilled seafarers and have qualified supervision teams in place for following up the building processes. our ambitious expansion programme is well founded on the expertise and contribution of a well-qualified and professional organisation including both ship and shore staff.

it is our management policy and philosophy to be competent and accountable to our clients in all areas of business. we believe in teamwork both within our own organisation and with our clients to ensure the best possible solutions to any problem. Successful ship management depends mostly on competence, systems, crew, staff & personnel and the right blend of experience. our target is a cost effective and efficient ship management service of good standard.

i returned from manila a couple of weeks ago where i had the pleasure of attending our second officer conference this year. Close to 90 of our seafaring colleagues attended together with office staff from Grieg philippines Ltd. and our Ship management and operation Departments. These conferences are very valuable in order to maintain the close relationship between the ship and shore staff and establishing the team spirit, which is essential for reaching our common goals.

taking good care of our cargoes is important for customer satisfaction. after a voyage completed recently (“Star Java”) we received the following feedback from the cargo owner:

“…. was also very impressed by the professionalism of the crew right down to thesmallest detail.... with the Captain himself actually going out on deck daily to ensureall was in good shape with the modules...down to the crew being so diligent on everything they did...and actually going the extra distance to wash the sea-spray off the modules prior to coming into port.”

By being dedicated down to such detail in caring about our cargo we strengthen our ties with and make us a preferred partner to our customers.

rightShip is a ship-vetting specialist, focusing on quality, safety, and efficiency onboard ships. Their surveyors annually visit all our vessels. high scores with rightShip is a key to further bulk cargo business. when we started with these inspections we considered them to be a hassle. By common efforts we have managed to obtain an average score for our fleet of vessels of 4,7 out of maximum 5. Continue to be on your toes during these inspections! This will be to our benefit and serves to maintain our already good name in the industry.

Thank you all for a job well done during the year soon coming to an end!

Christmas is just around the corner and i will take the opportunity to wish all of you the best for the holiday season.

Henry Svendsen

CeoGrieg Shipping aS

7

Safety, security, environment & quality

“New” SSEQ System

in order to be allowed to sail our vessels, we have mandatory Certifications, as for example; DoC (Document of compliance), iSm Certification and iSpS Certifications. in addition the board of directors has decided that Grieg Shipping should voluntarily be certified to the iSo 14001 standard. Grieg Star Shipping has up to now been iSo 9001 certified.

it has been decided that all companies within the Grieg Shipping Group will be iSo 14001 certified. in addition Grieg Shipping will need to have the mandatory certification as mentioned above.

in this process we are comparing the systems already in place within GSS and GS. hence we are not going through the process of making a completely new system, but common documents are being merged to one. Superfluous documents will be deleted, and relevant documents will be brought up to date.

we are trying to simplify and reduce our documentation and it

is important that every document owner takes this opportunity to tidy up within their own field, in order to have the new SSeQ manuals actually reflecting the main processes in Grieg Shipping Group.

So far we are on track with respect to the set time frame. By 31 December 2010 all the documents must have been revised by respective responsible. it is however important that managers have a continuous focus on this work as DnV in January will carry out document review on the new manuals.

in march/april in conjunction to Grieg Shipping’s yearly renewal of DoC, DnV will carry out an internal audit based on the new SSeQ manuals.

Erik BlomSafety & Quality manager

As a result of the merger of Grieg Shipping, Grieg Star Shipping and the establishment of Grieg Green under the Grieg Shipping Group umbrella we have identified a need for a common Safety, Security, Environment and Quality Management System (SSEQ).

7

8


The shipping industry is extremely capital intensive as the vessels cost from ten to hundred of million dollars. Consequently, there is usually a significant need for external funding.

Financing of newbuildings

Sources of funding are debt (bank loans and bonds) and equity (retained earnings and external funds from private investors or publicly listed shares). when using debt as funding, the borrower commits to pay interest and meet a repayment schedule. with equity as source of funding, there is no contractual obligation to pay for the capital, but over time the owners shall have a return on their money in the form of increased value of the company’s shares and dividends.

The Grieg Shipping Group fleet is financed by bank loans and retained earnings. retained earnings are profit from our operation not paid out as dividend to the owners. These earnings from previous years are added to the Group’s equity and are an important source of financing.

Bank loans are a common way of financing vessels. typically a newbuilding is 50% to 90% financed by loans from banks. The loan can be advanced by a single bank or by a group of banks pooling their money to lend, a so called bank syndicate. The Grieg Shipping Group has loan agreements financing its existing fleet with DnB nor. They are agents for a syndicate of banks consisting of several european banks.

The work on financial solutions for the ohCC newbuildings was started in parallel with the negotiations with the yards, i.e. more than a year ago. The Grieg Shipping Group and the newbuilding program were presented to both banks that already provide loans as well as other relevant banks. as we know, the international bank marked has suffered large losses during the financial crisis and several banks are not able to advance loans to their customers. in times like this, the Grieg Shipping Group’s solidity and good reputation is very valuable. we are considered a preferred customer by several banks, and even in this bank market there were a number of banks who came up with interesting offers.

in the negotiations with the banks, there are several important aspects that are taken into consideration: the price which consists of the loan margin coming on top of the floating interest rate (Libor) and fixed fees, loan re-payment profile and tenor, financial covenants such as minimum requirements on liquidity, security and several other major and minor items ranging from insurance requirements to the definition of a banking day. Security is assigned

to the banks to achieve more favorable terms. it is common for the shipowning companies to pledge its vessels as collateral. in an event of default, the bank will seize the assets. Grieg Shipping Group has pledged several of its vessels as security for its loan obligations.

Through the negotiations we have been able to achieve financing for the first eight ohCC newbuildings at very good conditions, considering today’s market. This time the nordic banks were able to present the best total financing solution resulting in two loan facilities headed by respectively DnB nor and nordea. we expect to finance the last two newbuildings in the year to come.

Bodil BarkaFinance manager

9

Roar, what do you see as the biggest challenge in this project?working with a different culture as the Korean, will be a challenge and a new experience for me, even if i have been dealing with many various cultures in my previous job.i have just had my first visit to the hyundai mipo Dockyard (hmD) and it is very promising to see that we have built up a very good relationship to the yard through our previous new-building project, the K-Class. we know that hmD is capable to deliver our special type of ships. however, to meet our high technical expectations, i think the most important and challenging part will be the human factors, to have a well working project team and good communication with the yard.

Talking with the L-class project manager

Roar started in his new position as Senior Project Manager 1. October 2010. He has several years experience from DnV. Roar will be responsible for the largest new-building project in the Grieg Shipping Group ever – 10 ships over two years.

The first ship will be completed by summer of 2012. Do you have the site team ready yet?Capt Cayabyab will continue his excellent work as Site manager assisted by C.e.oliva, but it’s a little early to announce the rest of the team.

To reduce and measure the energy consumption, will all ships have the “Marorka Energy Management System installed?The first ship will have a full marorka emS installation. in addition, another ship will also be fitted with marorka emS. By doing this, we will be able to measure the effect of various energy saving devices, like e.g. the mewis duct. The other ships will be equipped with torque meter and flow meter for measurement of propulsion power and fuel consumption. These are of the most important parameters to monitor and evaluate fuel saving measures and operation.

During my visit to Korea, together with Vice president Jan Øivind Svardal, i attended the hyundai’s research institute for the first towing tests of the ship model. This test is very important to evaluate whether the guaranteed speed and consumption can be reached. it looks promising.

How do you think your working days will be in the future?mainly office work, but also a lot of travelling of course. Final model testing will be carried out in the beginning of 2011. Steel cutting for the first vessel is scheduled to September 2011. The most important tasks in the coming period will be to establish the site team, finalise the equipment maker selections and drawing approval starting early 2011. i am glad to have experienced people from the K-class to join me here, like Vp Jan Øivind Svardal, Capt. Cayabyab and C.e. oliva.

Torill Lundeeditor

10


L-class at Hyundai Mipo DockyardIn mid November 2009 we initiated a tender process with totally 10 shipyards in Korea, Japan and China for our next generation Open Hatch Conventional Crane (OHCC) vessels.

Hull No. Target Delivery

8075 02.07.20128076 28.09.20128077 27.12.20128078 06.03.20138079 14.05.20138080 16.07.20138081 24.09.20138082 03.12.20138083 11.03.20148084 07.05.2014

l-classMain particulars: L-class K-class J-classlength o.a. abt 204 m 208,7 m 198,0 mlength p.p. 194,0 m 197,40 m 187,0 m Breadth mld. 32,26 m 32,20 m 31,00 mDepth (main deck) 19,0 m 19,50 m 19,0 mDraught (scantling) 12,34 m 12,34 m 12,02 m

cargo holds 9 11 11cranes 4 x 75 slewing cranes 2 x 70t Gc 2 x 68t Gcspeed 15,5 kn. 16,0 kn. 16,0 kn.

The target was to conclude the Contract mid June 2010 in order to see deliveries of new vessels in 2012 and 2013. hmD came out as the winner of the contract after careful considerations of all aspects in the project.

The new concept is with slewing cranes and somewhat different cargo hold configuration compared to previous class vessels. The first stage of model testing for the new hull form was completed in week 45 and the preliminary results shows that hmD will be able to meet the contract speed of 15,5 knots

The following may be mentioned as main events for the project so far:• Contract signed for 6 firm and 4

options on 16th of June 2010• 2 options were declared 15th of

august and another 2 on 15th of october 2010 – totally 10 vessels.

• approval process for detailed design of drawing will start end of January 2011.

• Steel cut first vessel is 29.09.2011.

Changes from previous class vessels.The design basis for the new L-class is K-class with some vital changes:

Operational • tween deck in hold 4 and 7 in two

levels (height between tD is same as K-class)

• abt 500 mm wider cargo holds (adjusted since Gantry Crane is removed).

• 9 holds – hold no 9 for tween decks and light loaded cargo (5.5 t / m2)

• Separate forced mechanical ventilation for cargo holds. Dehumidification system same as K-class.

Slewing Crane principal particulars:• hosting capacity: 75 tons at 26 m and

60 tons at 30 m.• 75 tons power swivel (same function

as turntable)• SteaDYLine - keeps cargo in

same position when slewing• outreach from ship side; 9,9 meters

at 75 tons and 13,9 meters at 60 tons• Combined lift to 150 tons on two

cranes• Frequency drive crane – abt 35 %

energy saving compared to similar electrical / hydraulic crane.

• Fully electric crane – extremely smooth operation

Technical • Ballast water treatment System -

(maker not decided yet)• Frequency drive Sea water cooling

pumps – energy saving

• improved access to bow thruster roomheight above main engine increased for better maintenance space of pistons.

• electronic controlled main engine: man 5S60 me-C8:

• engine control room moved to port side

• Stern thruster removed – Becker flap rudder to compensate for missing stern thruster.

• mewis Duct installed as power saving device for propulsion

• power management system incorporated in alarm and control system

• improved main access to cargo holds – spiral ladders in centre of vessel

Accomodation• trunk for electrical and pipe trunk

split in two for more locker space.• only single cabins – 28 persons

accommodated. (maritime Labour Convention –mLC)

• air condition room moved to below upper deck.

• paint store and oil equipment store located port side upper deck inside accommodation block

• Separate smoking room

Jan Øivind Svardal Vice president project Development

11

During the period of 16th – 18th november 2010 the first stage of model testing for the new L-class was completed. The test results are promising and show a preliminary improvement of 2,5-3,0 % of fuel consumption compared to K-class.

The main reason for the slight improvement is the change of propeller diameter from 6,8 m to 7,0 m. in addition further improvement of the hull form in the stern part of the vessel has been carried out.

The tests that are done is important input to the design process in order to verify the guaranteed speed and consumption. The results confirms that yard will be able to meet the guaranteed speed of 15,5 knots at a fuel oil consumption of 36,6 tons/day.

estimates done at previous stages are all based on database information and comparison of similar designs.

L-class Model testingThe towing tank at hyundai heavy industries (hhi) have top modern facilities with the following main particulars: 200m x 14 m x 6 m (LxBxD). The length of the model used for the testing is abt 6,3m (scale 1:31).

Jan Øivind Svardal Vice president project Development

Suggestion for Improvements:

there are still possibilities to propose suggestion for improvements for the new l-class. the input we receive from our sailing and shore staff is most importance for continuous improvement of our vessels. the project Department particularly challenge the staff onboard the K-class vessels to come up with suggestions for improvements that might be observed during the first short time of operation.

12


crew from star Japan12

13

we were more than happy to contribute, given the fact that safety and well being of the seafarers are of major concern to us. Scientific evidence always comes in handy to keep a steady focus on improvement work. This was also a unique opportunity for us to participate in a ground-breaking study within a field seldom scrutinized.

assisted by the human resources and the Safety & Quality departments, the researchers developed a questionnaire, which was sent on board our vessels, providing all the seafarers the possibility to express their opinions. as it turned out, the response rate was close to 100 %, a level of responsiveness never seen by the researchers before. equipped with a huge amount of data to analyze, they set out on an exciting exploratory journey. would they be able to establish scientifically reliable proof to determine how safety climate is affected by human factors?

The first results of the study were presented in october 2009, and the findings were very interesting, although not all that surprising to us. First of all, it was evident that our seafarers perceive the safety climate on board as safe. it was also clear that they regard the company’s efforts within health and safety to be of high quality, and that they were allowed to influence decisions in matters related to h&S. Some areas received a poorer rating, especially concerning stress factors in the seafarers’ daily operations. a distinct finding was the correlation between leadership behaviour and perceived safety climate. This strongly indicates that leadership and the interaction between commanding officers and the crew constitutes

the single most influential factor with respect to safety work and risk management. as an additional take-away from the survey, all the participating captains were given the opportunity to receive feedback from their respective crews. This will be presented to them in a coaching session with the professors from the university.

Safety climate may be described as a snapshot of how people perceive safety and behave related to certain issues at a given point in time. The elements that are measured are influenced by leadership, rules and regulations, as well as how the crew feels and acts. This means that it is possible to develop and improve the safety climate, by making the right interventions and influencing attitudes and behaviour.

The learning and experiences from the study were presented and discussed during officers’ Conferences, providing deeper insights and material for further work for ourselves as well as the scientists. Consequently, we are now entering into a tripartite cooperation with the university and the norwegian research Council to support a doctorate study focusing on the leadership issues. Furthermore, the norwegian hull Club is supporting a study exploring the findings related to safety on board. Following the research at close range, and actually being a part of it, we will be able to evaluate and implement any improvement possibility that arises.

Ole Steinar MjellSenior Vice president hr

The Safeclass Project

A scientific approach to life at seaLast year Grieg Shipping Group was invited by the Department of Psychosocial Science at the University of Bergen to participate in a research study. The aim of the study was to explore the safety climate on board vessels, and how this was influenced by leadership, working conditions and human relationships at the workplace.

The first group of masters to participate in the follow up after the “Safeclass project” was edwin mendoza, Jimmy Sanches, alejandro Yuson and olivio Yuson. They all gathered in Bergen at the end of november. at the naval academy they performed simulator exercises related to leadership challenges at sea. They also received individual feedback from the researchers from the “Safeclass project”.

in addition they had several meetings with different departments in Grieg Shipping Group.

from the left: ole steinar mjell, a. Yuson,Jarle eid, e.mendoza,thomas Wedervang, o.Yuson, J.sanchez, hanne Borgersen, Kjersti Bergheim

14


Employee satisfaction survey 2010Last June/July an employee satisfaction survey was sent out to all Grieg Shipping Group employees worldwide. With a respondent rate of 95%, this feedback opportunity is appreciated and valued by the vast majority. The questions covered areas such as systematic competence building, ability to change, leadership and communication, efficiency, and commitments to values and the company.

full concentration while discussing our values.

15

What did the feedback tell us? The overall feedback was very good, yet there are also areas for improvements. with the recent reorganization process in mind, it was interesting to note the level of commitment to the new organization; Grieg Shipping Group. however, some respondents also indicate a lack of time with and knowledge about the new organization. This calls for continuous focus on building a common identity.

Some specific areas for improvement include enhancing the quality of communication across the organization, with the use of proper communication channels. By doing so we also believe efficiency as well as co-operation between departments will improve.

Competence building represents a challenge on some department levels, and should be targeted. we need to make sure we have the right competencies to meet future business needs, and that relevant training is provided.

Branch offices gave high scores on most indexes, including commitment to our values. in terms of these values, there is room for improvement in how we demonstrate i.e openness.

Follow-up During recent company conference in Bergen (october 19), our values were discussed in smaller groups. Based on the feedback from the employee satisfaction survey; how do we strengthen our values? how do we demonstrate them? openness is challenging to demonstrate, but it is also the most important value, as it is so closely linked to the other three. without openness you will loose commitment and ultimately pride. as for solid, the interpretation is often linked to financial solidity. Solid also implies how competent we are in conducting our work and ultimately run our business.

The employee survey is an important key performance indicator (Kpi) for the company, but not an objective in itself. The important part is about identifying areas for adjustment and improvement, and working together to realize them. Several departments and branch offices have completed their feedback sessions and agreed on improvement areas and next steps.

Marit TrodalCr manager

following up the survey at the Bergen science center; working and playing with our values in groups

Working with the survey at the Atlanta office

The majority of our branch offices have in the course of 2010 conducted internal workshops, facilitated by our human resources department.

the purpose of these workshops has been twofold:to communicate our visions, goals and strategies, values, ethical guidelines and commitments to the ten principles of the un Global compact. secondly; to create an open arena for raising ethical dilemmas that we face and discuss how we deal with them.

Dilemmas are by nature difficult to answer or solve. hence, a typical answer when presented with an ethical dilemma is: ‘it depends…’

Here is one dilemma for you to dwell on and discuss:

You are out for a walk one night and see a man running towards you. He looks terrified, stressed and panicked. he comes up to you with tears in his eyes and says:

’i am going to hide right here. i can’t run anymore. i did not do anything wrong. please promise me you will not tell them where i am.’ so you promise the man, he hides in the bush and you keep walking.

ten seconds later four men turn the corner where the panicked man has come from and head towards you. as they come closer, you see that they are, indeed, police officers. They walk up to you and ask if you have seen the man they were chasing.

What do you do?

16


Without knowing the laws and regulations, we cannot do a single thing in shipping.

Legal, Insurance & Claims

17

trust me, readers. i really wanted to write something fun and interesting to read. however, unfortunately i was asked to write about Claims. it sounds very boring. Yes, but we need to remember that we are in a shipping business which is one of the most regulated international industries. without knowing the laws and regulations, we cannot do a single thing in shipping. to operate the ship, we need to comply with countless international/regional rules and conventions, e.g. CoLreGS, SoLaS, marpoL, StCw, iSm, iSpS, hague/Visby rules etc.

we can be exposed to great legal liability in all cases where an accident or incident has occurred. however, our liability can be greatly minimized if the correct action is taken at the correct time. it is our main task to protect the company from various potential legal risks. For example, in case of cargo damage, the claimant can arrest the vessel. we then endeavor to release the vessel promptly with p&i Club’s Lou or/and Bank Guaranty. trusting our financial strength and a good name, p&i Clubs usually issue their Lou at once without any delay to release the vessel. at the same time, we send our competent surveyors to establish the extent, nature and cause of the damage. in our regular ports, we have our own surveyors who understand our business and ship’s type. p&i Clubs normally agree to appoint our surveyors than their own p&i surveyors since our branch offices and/or agents can arrange the survey swiftly.

we have also very diligent and dedicated claims coordinators in our branch offices. They secure/collect all necessary documents/evidences timely and also keep us updated with any developments of the incident. with our fantastic organization and surveyors’ network, we are able to be on the roof of the situation and to lead the risk management. Some months after the incident, we usually receive a bulk of claims files. when we receive it by e-mail, it usually takes long time to

print it out. i can see that people become so happy when they are ahead of me in the line to use the printer. otherwise they need to wait until i finish my printing of a ‘book’. we then scrutinize the claims file comparing with our survey reports and documents.

we first determine the applicable jurisdiction and law. we are operating the vessels worldwide, and the maritime law differs from nation to nation. For example, the limitation of carrier’s

liability may be only $ 500 in one country while it can be $ 1 million in another country. The claimants therefore try to bring the matter to the most favorable jurisdiction, so called ‘forum shopping’. Based on the applicable law and precedent court cases, we evaluate our legal position and start negotiating the claim. we settle most of the claims amicably without referring it to the court. if no amicable settlement is reached, the case proceeds to Court or arbitration where it usually takes some years to get a judgment. i still have an open case from 2002 on my desk. we live in the past and dig

out the old documents from time to time. one piece of old paper can make us win or lose a case.

if someone asks me what is the best way to handle the claims, i can say without any hesitation “it is to prevent the claims”. we have focused on the Loss prevention for the last 2 years, after being an integrated shipping company, throughout both Grieg Star Shipping and Grieg Shipping. Since 2008, our loss ratio for h&m has decreased 13% and also 45% decrease for p&i. Grieg Shipping and Grieg Star Shipping have worked very closely together in all aspects, and the Loss prevention is one of the successful stories of being ‘one team’. with this great platform ‘one team’, we are now well prepared to provide a fully integrated Legal, insurance & Claims service to the Grieg Shipping Group.

Byoungil KangClaims adjuster

if someone asks me what is the best way to handle the claims, i can say without any hesitation “it is to prevent the claims”.

Abbreviation Full Style

colreGs the international regulations for preventing collisions at sea 1972.

solas the international convention for the safety of life at sea.

marpol international convention for the prevention of pollution from ships.

stcW the international convention on standards of training, Certification and Watchkeeping for seafarers.

ism (code) an international standard for the safe management and operation of ships and for pollution prevention.

isps (code) the international ship and port facility security code.

p&i protection & indemnity

lou letter of undertaking

h&m hull & machinery

18


18


view from hein in the hardangervidda national park.

the red t marking the summer trails.

Wor

ld w

ide c

ultu

ral

expr

essio

nspa

ge 18

-28

in t

his

sect

ion

we

focu

s on

the

var

ious

cu

ltura

l ex

pres

sion

s fro

m

the

man

y co

untr

ies

Grie

g s

hipp

ing

Gro

up

oper

ates

in.

rea

d ab

out

hiki

ng i

n th

e n

orw

egia

n m

ount

ains

, fe

stiv

als

in t

he

phi

lippi

nes,

foo

d in

chi

na a

nd m

uch

mor

e.

19

The appreciation of nature is part of the culture here and this is reflected in the popularity of mountain hiking and the increasing membership of the norwegian trekking association (Dnt). They own 460 cabins and look after a network of about 20,000 km of marked summer walking trails and about 7,000 km of ski trails in winter. The summer trails are marked with a red t painted on cairns and rocks and the winter trails are staked the with tree branches or poles stuck in the snow. There are three types of cabins: Staffed, self-service and no-service cabins and the unstaffed ones are stocked with provisions including tinned goods, coffee, tea and powdered packet soups and visitors are trusted to pay for any of the provisions that they use.

The Starsport walking group were glad of the clearly marked tracks this autumn when we had our 2-day walking trip and stayed in one of the Dnt’s staffed cabins, rauhelleren. This cabin was very typical of the standard with showers and electricity, and bunk beds in the rooms which slept from 4 – 8 people. we had booked rooms beforehand, but the Dnt guarantees overnight accommodation for anyone who arrives at their cabins even if this means lying on mattresses on the floor. The showers and toilets were located in a separate building and as it was quite chilly during the night, it was advisable to make a last visit before the lights were turned out promptly at 11pm and the only available light before the next morning was torchlight.

The food that they served was very traditional norwegian farmers fare, a vegetable soup with a kind of thin wafer bread and then porridge made with soured cream and thinly sliced cured leg of lamb. The next day we left with another traditional norwegian custom in our rucksacks - the packed lunch - slices of bread spread with either goats cheese, liver paté or dried lamb’s meat, separated by thin sheets of baking paper.

Besides giving you time to enjoy the fantastic, unspoiled nature, quiet moments of reflection and long conversations with your traveling companions, hiking in the mountains is also very sociable and it is very normal to stop and chat with strangers, comparing notes about your trip or picking up tips. evenings in the cabins can also be very sociable when all the guests gather in the lounge and are welcome to join in the entertainment, whether it be games, quizzes or a spontaneous sing-song accompanied by a guitar. in fact, Dnt cabins are renowned to be good places for single people to meet like-minded partners with a common interest in nature and outdoor sports :-)

Elizabeth Horn

Mountain hiking

19

Anybody who has visited Norway would have to agree that the landscape is truly beautiful with spectacular snow-topped mountains, glaciers and deep fjords. With a population of only 4.5 million people inhabiting an area approximately the size of California and the sixth largest country in Europe, there is plenty of space to satisfy the national passion for fresh air and outdoor pursuits.

norway

20


College footballAthens, Georgia, any given Saturday during fall.

As the leaves changes, and goes red, so does the town of Athens and much of the whole state of Georgia. University of Georgia, the state’s largest university is home of the Georgia Bulldogs, the university’s football team.


20

uSa

images: courtesy of university of Georgia

20

21

For a norwegian, living in atlanta, Ga for the last 4 years, i still get impressed by the massive popularity of college sports, and college football in particular. while the local nFL team, atlanta Falcons normally can show for a full Georgia Dome with a 71,200 attendance capacity, the story is bigger for the university of Georgia and their bulldogs. The 92,746 seat Sanford Stadium in athens is filled on every home game, this for a university with a student population of about 40,000. Supposedly, Sanford Stadium is the 15th largest stadium in the world, and only the 7th largest college stadium in the uS. and if you look around in atlanta, on any gameday, find a sportsbar, and it will be filled with Georgia graduates and other fans, proudly wearing red and black, while cheering for their televised “dawgs”.

The South has a particular large culture for college football, and a very strong alumni, who is vital both in support at the stands and in terms of monetary gifts to the sports programs of their former university. The university of Georgia have been playing football since 1892, and their most historic rivalry is with the auburn tigers of alabama, referred to as The Deep South’s oldest rivalry, and is dating back to the year of the first touchdowns in athens, 1892.

Going to a game, is just not like any other sporting event. Be prepared to start early, early in the morning that is. The parking lots of the university is the place to be, where the major “tailgating” finds place. it started out as what it is called, college kids sitting on the tailgates of their pickup trucks, with a couple of beers before the game. tailgating has today turned into an elaborate event, and equipment is a key factor. a bus-size rV, a propane grill, and large ice chests with plenty of beer are all very popular standard items, or even essential to enjoy a gameday properly.

and not to forget, the sport is major revenue maker for the universities, not only through ticket sales, but they are extremely inventive when it comes to merchandise. You can furnish your house and garden with college sport merchandise, and when driving around atlanta, you will soon spot Georgia-stickers and flags on passing cars.

as for this office, the majority shows their allegiance to Georgia Bulldogs, but monday morning debates get heated. andy is a graduate and staunch supporter of the South Carolina Gamecocks, and Finn roden, who just signed on, is a proud uCLa supporter. For our 3 man strong mobile office, the split goes deep through

the Football Season, with university of alabama, Louisiana State university and university of auburn fans working side by side.

College football spurs a lot of feelings, and is major news in this part of the country. Games, players and coaches are in the media being analyzed at depth beyond what we see for the shipping market elsewhere, and football is dead serious business. The SeC (South eastern Conference) standings are being followed closely, and in just a few weeks, we will see which teams that will make it to the playoffs. will university of alabama Crimson tide go on and claim another national Championship title this year? or is it time for a return of the Florida Gators? Gators have their first season without their major star tim tebow, who went professional at the end of last season, after his now legendary college career. as this goes to press, this last paragraph will sure be debated, and perhaps frowned upon, but the strongest contenders for a place in the regional championship game of the SeC now seems to be auburn and South Carolina.

Thomas Johansen

american fotball players uga the bulldog mascot

21

• college football developed out of the game of rugby.• The first college football game was broadcast on television

in 1939. the teams involved were fordham university and Waynesburg college.

• throughout the 1960s, the university of florida kept a real-life alligator named albert on the sidelines.

• Quarterbacks from Alabama won the first three Super Bowls. they also have more super Bowl wins than quarterbacks from any other school (Kenny stabler 1, Joe namath 1 and Bart starr 2).

22


22


Mixed unityBrazilian culture is an extremely diverse Latin american culture. its main early influence - aside from the original indigenous cultures - came from portugal, due to strong colonial ties with the portuguese empire which spread the portuguese language, legal system, Catholic religion, and other cultural traditions. Brazilian culture also derives from other european influences, the beliefs and customs of the native South american peoples, as well as from african and asian cultures.

although some nations pride themselves on fostering the peaceful coexistence of multiple cultures (multiculturalism), the Brazilian concept of culture is one of ‘mixed unity’, meaning that it is not exactly very open.

PeopleThe Brazilian population, spread out over a continental-sized nation, reflects a wide ethnic and cultural mix. in general, Brazilians have a human warmth probably unsurpassed anywhere in the world. They are a remarkably happy people, with a spontaneous, enthusiastic and high-spirited naturewhich they eagerly demonstrate at every opportunity for a celebration, especially during the annual Carnival parades.

Roberto Gayoso

Brazil

Il Palio Di SienaThe palio di Siena is a horse race held twice a year (July and august) in Siena by ten horses and riders, bareback and dressed representing the seventeen city wards so called in italian ContraDe.

a magnificient pageant Corteo StoriCo precedes the race. it is a very famous attraction for foreigners as for italians. Thousands of spectators are coming from all over the world.The race is held in the main circles square piazza DeL Campo on which a thick layer of dirt has been laid, three times and usually lasts no more than 90 seconds. it is not uncommon for a few of the jockeys to be thrown off their horses while making the treacherous turns in the piazza, and indeed it is not unusual to see unmounted horses finishing the race without their jockeys. This tradition goes back at least to medieval times starting with buffalos, then donkeys and later on by horses.

in each race, only ten of the seventeen contrades participate: the seven which did not participate in. a lottery determines which horse will run for each contrada. Six trial races are run, the first on the evening of the horse selection and the last on the morning before the palio. The devout residents so called contradaioli, of each

italy

contrada invoke the sacred aid of their patron saint for their horse and jockey. The horses are of mixed breed; no purebred horses are allowed.

The palio is won by the horse who represents his contrada, and not by the jockeys. The winner is the first horse to cross the finish line — a horse can win without its rider. The loser in the race is considered to be the contrada whose horse came second, not last.The winner is awarded a banner of painted silk, or palio, which is hand-painted by a different artist for each race. The enthusiasm after the victory, however, is so extreme that the ceremony of attribution of the palio is quite instantaneous, being the first moment of a months-long celebration for the winning ward.

Lucia Filippi

2323

philippines

The Filipino Fiesta!The fiesta (Spanish word for party or festivity) is a well-known Filipino tradition. Mention the word fiesta to a Filipino and it will likely elicit a smile. The word conjures images of banderitas (flaglets), carrozas (processional carts), marching bands, and delicious food.

The philippines celebrates more than a hundred festivals throughout the year. This does not mean that every Filipino celebrates every one of these fiestas, as they are normally linked to a specific city or town.

So what exactly is it Filipinos celebrate or acknowledge during a fiesta? most of the fiestas are religious celebrations of a Saint’s birth, death or good work. many towns celebrate their fiesta to honor their patron saint, in order to receive good luck and cures of illnesses. These fiestas build on the Spanish traditions and the Catholic faith. other fiestas however, are not religious, but more a celebration of life itself. These fiestas are celebrated to promote a specific province or island in the philippines, and often include boat races, with the traditional Filipino sailboat banka, sports events and musical contents.

when attending the celebration of a Filipino fiesta, you will find out that it expresses much of the Filipino life. it gives a picture of the culture, society, religious belief and history. Families and friends gather together for a day of bonding. Lots of delicious food, often with the lechon (whole roasted pig) as the main attraction, is prepared for the guests. Brass bands go from house to house to perform, and people dance. in the city center or town proper

there is often a parade during the fiesta, where people dress up in costumes and paint their faces. it is truly a colorful celebration and an event enjoyed, not only by the Filipino people themselves, but also by many tourists and visitors.

Jannicke Steen

24


24


So, where were you born? ah yes, the one question you have most likely been asked if you have ever had the privilege of setting foot on what 34 million people on this earth call home.

Canada. or as our aboriginal forefathers called it: Kanata meaning “village” in huron.

now any attempt to define a Canadian would be futile at best, and one dares not even try. For defining a Canadian is like trying to pigeon hole the world’s fleet of ships into one all encompassing word ”boat”. You are surely treading on dangerous territory…namely from those who are educated in such things and know better.

That said, i believe there is a global acceptance shared by most of us in Grieg that those of us in Canada are really no different that any other office in the world.

take Japan for example…we in Canada, like our Japanese counterparts, find it perfectly appropriate to conduct business meetings over a plate of raw fish (after all, the average “Canadian” consumes roughly 50 pounds of fish every year).

however, your representatives at 49/123 share something very unique with the rest of the world; namely the rest of the world. it is this that makes the Vancouver office stand out within the Grieg Star organization.

much like our Vessels, most of us in Vancouver were built and flagged in a

place and culture very different than where we operate.

The office in Vancouver is comprised of a very diverse group of people who were launched in places like Japan, egypt, Sri Lanka, philippines, holland, india, russia, and malaysia (which is no wonder it takes a Board of Directors to figure out the ethnic food of choice at our bi-annual potlucks). in fact, less than 50% of us were actually born in Canada.

So, within our offices in Vancouver, regardless of where our keels were laid, we can all be considered Canadians. a small village that survives and flourishes thanks to a diverse group of people and backgrounds drawing on experiences from a wide range of cultures.

add to that hockey, cold beer, and an insatiable appetite to spend time in –40 degree weather at the top of a mountain, and you have the closest thing to a Canadian that can be found.

This wouldn’t of course be complete without a polite and, in good Canadian fashion, non-confrontational legal disclaimer in respect to our friends back east:

By no means do the aforementioned views or opinions, whether directly or indirectly, whether expressed or inferred, limit or minimize the people or culture of Quebec.

it’s a Canadian thing….

Victor Pfortmueller

Canada

It’s a Canadian thing

2525

The Squamish nation is comprised of descendants of the Coast Salish aboriginal peoples who lived in the present day Greater Vancouver area; Gibson’s landing and Squamish river watershed. after contact with european settlers, 16 Squamish speaking tribes amalgamated to form one unit called the Squamish indian Band. The amalgamation was signed on July 23, 1923 and it was established to guarantee equality to all Squamish people and to ensure good government.

The Squamish nation have occupied and governed their territory since beyond recorded history. total area of Squamish nation traditional territory is 6,732 sq. km. (673,540 hectares). The nation’s population is scattered among nine communities stretching from north Vancouver to the northern area of howe Sound (north of our break-bulk terminal; Squamish terminals). 2,239 of the 3,324 Squamish nation members live on-reserve and membership is determined

by marriage and birth right.

The Squamish people are the native indians who speak the Skwxwú7mesh Snichim, Squamish language. today the term Squamish nation is often used to describe this group of Coast Salish people, however in the long ago there was no word for “nation” and the Squamish simply called themselves Squ-ho-o-meesh, “the Squamish people”. The Skwxwú7mesh Snichim although critically endangered is still a vital part of the Squamish peoples culture.

if you are visiting whistler, British Columbia (just north of Squamish) be sure to stop in to the state-of-the-art Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre (www.slcc.ca); where mountains, rivers and people meet, in the preserving and sharing of their traditional culture.

Kim Stegeman-Lowe Squamish terminalsSource: www.squamish.net

Skwxwú7mesh Úxwumixw

Coast Salish First nations in Canada

Blue mask: Woodcarving from squamish. Both photos by Gary fiegehen.

26


2626


Mid-Autumn FestivalThe joyous mid-autumn Festival, the third and last festival for the living, was celebrated on the fifteenth day of the eighth moon, around the time of the autumn equinox. many referred to it simply as the “Fifteenth of the eighth moon”. in the western calendar, the day of the festival usually occurred sometime between the second week of September and the second week of october. in this year, it is on Sept 22.

Because the full moon is round and symbolizes reunion, the mid-autumn Festival is also known as the festival of reunion. all family members try to get together on this special day. Those who cannot return home watch the bright moonlight and feel deep longing for their loved ones.

people in different parts of China have different ways to celebrate the mid-autumn Festival. in many places, a huge lantern show is a big attraction for citizens.

Special foods for the festival included moon cakes, cooked taro. These cakes were made with melon seeds, lotus seeds, almonds, minced meats, bean paste, orange peels and lard. a golden yolk from a salted duck egg was placed at the center of each cake, and the golden brown crust was decorated with symbols of the festival. traditionally, thirteen moon cakes were piled in a pyramid to symbolize the thirteen moons of a “complete year,” that is, twelve moons plus one intercalary moon. Some people insisted that cooked taro be included because at the time of creation, taro was the first food discovered at night in the moonlight. of all these foods, it could not be omitted from the mid-autumn Festival.

Eillian Qian, Tracy Zhu, Lisa Liu

China

moon cakeslantern show in Yu Garden

2727

Chinese New YearChinese new Year, also known as the Spring Festival or the Lunar new Year is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. it traditionally starts on Chinese new Year’s Day, celebrated on the first day of the first month of the Chinese calendar (generally on January or February) ends with the Lantern Festival, last the 15 days. usually, the celebration begins on new Year’s eve. a reunion dinner is held at home. members of the family, near and far, get together for celebration. The new Year’s eve dinner is a big meal including chicken, fish, meat, fruit, and lots of traditional food, niangao(rice cake), dumplings, spring roll, eight-treasure rice pudding and so on. all the members come back to enjoy the time of family reunion. after dinner people like to watch CCtV Spring Festival Gala on tV or set off firecrackers and fireworks, even throughout the night.

During the Spring Festival people paste red-paper couplets like “peace all year round”,”money and treasures will be plentiful” or new Year painting on doors and windows. and visit relatives and friends with the words “happy new Year and have all your wishes”. it is at this gathering that red packets, within some cash, are given to unmarried members of the family in order to bless them a good future. The last day in Chinese new Year period is the Lantern Festival. Full moon rise in the sky. people will reunite again, eat Yuanxiao (glutinous rice ball), hang colorful lanterns and try to solve the puzzles on the lanterns for fun.

people feel that the Spring Festival is the happiest time of the year.

Lisa Liu

the “spring” letter as new year’s decoration

28

GrieG ShippinG Group maGazine winter 2010GrieG ShippinG Group maGazine winter 2010

For us who work in an international company it is interesting to observe the differences between the different cultures. effective communication with people of different cultures is especially challenging as it influences ways of seeing, hearing and interpreting the situation. we may think that deep inside people are the same, but they are not.

Thus the same words and gestures can mean different things to people from different cultures. For instance, in some countries like China and Japan, punctuality is considered important and being late would be considered as an insult. however in countries like South america and the middle east, being on time does not carry the same sense of urgency.

The concept of personal space also various from country to country. in certain countries it is considered respectful to maintain distance while interacting, while in other countries it is not important. Cheek kissing when greeting somebody is quite common in Southern europe and Latin america, but is not so common in the uSa, english speaking Canada and northern europe.

it is essential that we research the cultures and communication conventions of those whom we are going to meet, whether it is for business reasons or a colleague from another country. This will minimise the risk of making elementary mistakes, and help making sure that everyone understands the nature and purpose of interaction.

Which Country?For fun - test your knowledge of cultural differences by guessing in which country or part of the world the statement could come from. The statements come from our local offices among others, and reflect things we should be aware of.

1. arrival to a meeting is 10 minutes later than agreed. 2. finishing all of your food may be an insult to your host,

since it can mean he/she did not provide enough food.3. Knowing the names of a customer’s favourite university

football team will get you a long way.4. pass food with your right hand supported by your left. 5. When invited to a meeting, you might meet a large

group of people as the customer/client want to show respect by letting you know all people involved.

6. after a meal there may be singing. it is impolite to refuse to sing if asked.

7. there must be no rush in a meeting. clients like to talk about general things as they like to have people contact before focusing on business.

8. the customer generally prefers going to dinner early. 9. Refill your neighbours’ cup when empty, and expect the

same. If you do not want refill, do not finish your glass. 10. the man should always open the door and let the

woman pass first.11. It is preferable to finish what is on your plate, since not

to can mean that you do not like the food.

if you are curious to know more about cultural differences, you can explore the web site of prof. Geert hofstede. here you can find a study of how values in the workplace are influenced by culture from more than 70 countries. See http://www.geert-hofstede.com.

Berit Myklebusthr manager

Test your cultural knowledge

answers:1. italy, 2. China, 3. South east uS, 4. South Korea, 5. italy, 6. South Korea, 7. italy, 8. South east uS, 9. South Korea, 10. italy, 11. norway.

28

29

The it department now counts 13 people - operating as a virtual global team. There are eight people located in Bergen, two in atlanta, two in Vancouver, and one in tokyo. having it personnel spread across multiple time zones like this makes it easier to provide support to our organisation 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and also makes it easier to cater to the needs of the branch office users, who are an essential part of the chartering and operation activities.

The main tasks of the it department are to:• make sure that we have stable infrastructure and network

connections• Give general support to all our users • Develop good systems to support business processes• assist in developing best practices using the systems

Following a period of getting to know each other in the department, and learning about each others systems and business processes, we are now ready to move forward. one of the focus areas the coming year will be to get all users on to one common platform in Grieg Shipping Group. This will affect equipment, systems and processes. we are also looking at how we can make our data warehouse more easily available to the various functions throughout the organisation.

There are several challenges ahead of us and some of this work will take some time. anyway, we will do our utmost to give you the best support possible during this period.

new organisation

The IT DepartmentAs a result of the reorganisation of Grieg Shipping Group we now have one IT department covering both shore and sea. Thus this spring the IT staff from Grieg Shipping moved to the 8th floor, together with their IT equipment.

Jerry Zilske - it manager

Øystein sivertsen - maritime it manager

espen Brandt - responsible for it related tasks onboard

stein sebak - programmer, intranet developer, notes expert. lene abrahamsen - operation, maintenance and user support

Brenda stich - it manager

Vancouver

nader Gendy - responsible for it infrastructure, operation, maintenance and user support

akiyoshi itoh- responsible for it tokyo issues

John Øfstegaard - network and infrastructure, operation, maintenance and user support.elizabeth horn - programmer, oneWorld

Kirk Wedge - vice president

Kjersti hartvedt - Business processes, Dataloy

cody Wehunt - responsible for atlanta it infrastructure, operation, maintenance and user support

AtlantaTokyo

Bergen

29

30


The three day conference was attended by 87 officers – which is the highest number of attendees we have ever had! There was a good mix of officers, ranging from the most experienced to newly promoted officers.

Several speakers from the head office in Bergen, as well as from offices in oslo, Shanghai and Vancouver visited manila for the conference, and discussed topics related to company strategy, newbuilding project, training, manning and welfare, good operational practices, as well as operational challenges in China and on the uS west Coast. Several group activities were also part of the program.

Bjørn Flom from assuranceforeningen Skuld gave a presentation on the role of the p&i Club, and norwegian hull Club’s Geir Skoglund conducted an interactive emergency/piracy awareness exercise. elisabeth Grieg also came to manila for the officers’ Conference and held a very informative presentation for the officers and their wives about the company’s values and commitment to the environment.

The officers’ Conference is an excellent arena where the office personnel and the seabased personnel get a chance to discuss and develop better solutions. as always, the participants asked many questions and we developed several valuable discussions.

The wives of the officers attended a separate conference specifically designed for them, which involved presentations on dengue awareness, community and home-based nature conservation and a craft recycling activity.

The three days long officers’ Conference ended with a formal dinner at makati Shangri-La honouring five of our seafarers, whom have served the company for 25 years. The five awardees were:• Ce antonio allones• Ce roman oliva• Deck Fitter roberto eurolpan• Deck Fitter Felix merka• Deck Fitter Delfin maca

we congratulate them on this very special award and thank them for their loyal service to the company!

Being the first time to present the 25 Years Loyalty award, it was especially meaningful to the awardees that elisabeth Grieg was present during this memorable evening. The event was graced by the philippine artist Jenine Desiderio, who had the lead role as ‘Kim’ in miss Saigon in London from 1989 to 1993.

Jannicke Steenmaritim personnel Coordinator

Autumn 2010

Officers’ ConferenceLast October Grieg Shipping Group held its bi-annual Officers’ Conference at The Peninsula Manila and had the honour of awarding five of our seafarers for 25 years loyal service.

first row from left: Kjerstin nerås, magne hjertholm,elisabeth Grieg, henry svendsen, ernesto mercado

second row from left: Delfin Maca, 4th from left roberto europlan, 6th from left felic merka, 7th from left antonio allones, to right roman oliva.

31

The following members from the Grieg offices participated:

Grieg Shipping Groupchair elisabeth Griegcr manager marit trodal

Grieg Shippingceo henry svendsenfleet manager stein andersensafety and Quality manager erik Blomsenior marine superintendent magne hjertholmmaritime personnel manager Kjerstin neråsmaritime personnel coordinator Jannicke steen (manila)

Grieg Star Shippingcargo operations manager arild hammer (shanghai)cargo operations manager lucky hewavitharana (vancouver B.c.)

Grieg Philippinespresident ernesto mercadovice-president cesar azanzatraining manager fernando masicampo

Autumn 2010

Officers’ Conference

Officers working on their group assignment

chair elisabeth Grieg giving her presentation about the values of the company.

capt. rolando aspacio asks a question during a discussion forum.

32


When did you start working for the company?my first day was June 1, 1972. i was hired after an interview with Dorothy Duffy who was Secretary and treasurer of Star Shipping (nY) inc.

What was your position?i was the secretary to the General manager of the new York office, mr. Sven mossberg.

What was your job like back then?my main duty was to type letters for mr. mossberg on a typewriter, there were no computers. mr. mossberg would talk into a recording machine called a Dictaphone and give me the recording and i would listen on a headset and type.

How did you communicate with the other offices?most of our communication was by mail as long distance telephone was very expensive and only used for very urgent matters. we also had a telex machine to send instructions to our agents and messages to other Star Shipping offices.

When you started where was the office located and how many people worked there?we were in manhattan at 90 west Street. There were 6 employees. in addition to mr. mossberg and mrs. Duffy, and myself, it was Sal Gelati, in operations, Louise Cuneen, accountant and ovind olsen was here from Bergen and worked in operations.

What trades did the company support? most of our business was forest products from Saint John to Korea and Japan. we also had a meD trade and an atlantic trade, with some spot business of loading scrap steel from new Jersey to Japan and Korea. The level of activity was not as it is

today. Back then we had only one or two ships on our coast per month.

Do you remember any of the names of the vessels that called your coast?Some of the vessels i remember were the Star tuva, the Star Boxford and the Star magnate.

What are some of your most memorable moments from the early years?we had a short visit from the president of Star Shipping in november of 1972 who was on a business trip, i was asked to supply mr. per waller with some traveler’s checks. only days later we were shocked to hear the tragic news that mr. waller had died in a plane crash as it was leaving moscow for tokyo. in the summer of 1977 the president of Star Shipping, mr. ostervold, was visiting our office which was then on rector Street in manhattan. The entire city suffered an electrical blackout while he was here and mr. mossberg and mr. ostervold had to walk up the many stairs to our office on the 34th floor.

How has new technology changed your job over the years?There were no computers in the beginning. when we moved to Stamford Connecticut in 1985 we got our first computer that everyone in the office shared. we continued to get more computer systems, first ShipS and then noteS, and because of technology my job became easier. in the old days i had to type on a typewriter and send the letters in the mail. now with email i just type on the computer and hit send, what a great improvement!

In 1996 the office moved from Stamford to Atlanta. What was the biggest difference for you?atlanta is less stressful than the new

York area, especially the commute. many people living in atlanta complain about traffic during rush hour, i say let them try commuting in new York, especially in the winter! i don’t miss the winter in the north at all.

What do you like to do when you are not working?i love to travel! each year i try to get back home to trinidad for Carnival. i have also traveled to australia, China, israel, Japan, Kenya and the united Kingdom over the years.

how would you summarize your career with Grieg Star Shipping?i truly enjoy working at Grieg Star Shipping and i have many good memories and have met many interesting people. Someday i could probably write a book about all i have seen and heard, but not today, i have to get back to work!

John O’KeeffeGeneral Service manager

Life with Grieg Star Shipping Julie Springer is a Marine Accountant in the Atlanta office of Grieg Star Shipping. She has been employed by the company longer than anyone else in our office. We asked Julie to give us some reflections on all she has witnessed over her career.


32

33

Being on board on mV Star Grip for 5 months, i’ve already traveled to several countries, meeting new individuals with different nationalities. During those months i have witnessed their ways of living, and of course, it is different from those things way back home.

i can still remember the first time when i step off the ship and had my shore leave together with the Captain and some of the crew. we decided to take a few rounds in the city of antwerp. it was so amazing to see the different architectural designs, the houses made of bricks, the cinemas, the churches and cathedrals which stand tall in the heart of the city, and the train station which yields a lot of people all the time. how could i forget the street party where people dances and grooves in the sound of the music. Those sights were far more urbanized compared to usual things i see in our country.

Then our vessel traveled to mexico. i was given the chance to meet the agent when we took a bite at one of the fast food chain together

with the Captain and 3rd officer trainee. while taking our meal i noticed how the taste of their food differs from those i usually eat back home although the name of that fast food chain is the same. Then the agent shares an interesting story when he takes his meal. according to him he usually eat breakfast at 10 am, lunch at 2pm and dinner at 8 pm. when we told him that we usually eat our breakfast at 6-7 am, lunch at12 pm and dinner at 6 pm, he was surprised to learn how early we took our meals. well, maybe these are just results of the differences in customs and culture between countries. The way people live.

These are just some of my experiences and i have still a long way to go. months or years from now i will still be meeting new faces and people, and i will be glad to be together with them. Thank you GrieG for giving me such an opportunity!

Deck Cadet Legaspi, R.F.

The first time Maybe one of the most difficult things is to be away from home. As a teenager from the Philippines, a country known for having close family ties, it is not easy to say “Goodbye” to your family and turn your back as you leave and venture across the seas. Although it is hard to accept, but that’s the reality!

Another first timer on deck

34


RoAR FAnEbuSTstarted working in the project department in Grieg Shipping, Bergen, as Senior project manager newbuilding from 1st october. roar is 43 years old and comes from the position as newbuilding project manager with DnV (Det norske Veritas). roar has 16 years experience from DnV where he has held positions as project manager and principal Surveyor. roar has a master of Science in marine engineering from the norwegian university of Science and technology (ntnu).

New employees

ToRE JEnSEnstarted working with Grieg Shipping, Bergen, as a Superintendent from 1st September. tore is 56 years old comes from the position as Senior Superintendent with Kristian Gerhard Jebsen Skipsrederi. he has previous experience from Viken Ship management and 13 years years experience from Statoil on offshore installations.

GERRIT HARTMAnnstarted working in Grieg Star Shipping, Gothenburg, as Commercial manager 1st September. Gerrit is 32 years old, and comes from the position as Sales manager with united european Car Carriers in oslo. he has 12 years experience from the maritime and logistics industry, and has previously worked with euKor Car Carriers and wallenius wilhelmsen. Gerrit holds a business degree in logistics management from Germany, and has completed a management program with eCG

FInn RoDEn joined Grieg Star Shipping in atlanta on october 4, 2010 in the position of Commercial manager - project Cargo. Finn’s prior position was with nYK Line in Jacksonville Florida. his education is from the California maritime academy.

GrieG ShippinG Group maGazine Summer 2010

34

LARS KLAvEnESS started in September in his position as Sales manager. he has previous experience from working for arnulf l’orsa who represents several shipyards within repairs and newbuildings.

ALLAn GAo comes from Germanisher Lloyds. he will be working from the Shanghai office as technical manager.

35

Anniversaries - 25 yearsToM RASMuSSEnjoined Star Shipping august 12, 1985.

ASbJøRn M. oLSEn joined Star Shipping September 2, 1985.

LuCIA FILIPPI joined Star Shipping December 31, 1985.

Anniversaries - 30 yearsTHoRLEIF n. TEIGLAnD joined Star Shipping January 2, 1980.

Ann M. HAnSEn joined Star Shipping February 16, 1980.

Thorleif and ann will receive the ”norges Vel medalje” this year.

Former cadets John Ferdinan e. Lumiguen and Guiller r. tria recently achieved a place among the top ten passers in the country on the marine engine and marine Deck officers Licensure examinations.

Both of the young men became the third best placer in the philippines; Lumiguen on the officer in Charge of an engine watch exam and tria on the officer in Charge of a navigational watch exam.

we congratulate them on their excellent achievement!

Grieg Cadets:

Top Notchers on the Recent Licensure Examinations

Guiller r. tria ferdinan e. lumiguen

congratulations with 25th and 30th anniversaries!

36


official change of command in the Crew, Safety & training department took place recently following procedures same as those used in the Government when new ministers take office, including hand over of the key to the new department head.

Since our office doors do not have any key and knowing Capt. Blom’s desire for sweets a key made of chocolate was used as a substitute. The photo shows a smiling Capt. Blom accepting the responsibility of the department as well as looking forward to taste the hand made chocolate key together with his family. all employees at the office took part in this important moment in the history of the company, by sharing a delicious marzipan cake together.

Magne HjertholmSenior marin Superintendent

Change of Command in the CST department

handing over the home made chocolate key.

During Grieg Star Shipping’s managers’ meeting in January we decided it was time to modernize our website, and to make it a bit more functional. a quick survey indicated that access to schedules, people and offices should have priority, and that the pictures needed updating.

The new site went live late September, and has been well received. Check it out, and please let us know if you find something wrong or missing.

a website like ours is not static – changes take place throughout the organisation all the time. an example is the agency page, were our branch offices are responsible for keeping Bergen uptodate with correct info. we suggest you check out your local listings on a regular basis, and let us know if you have corrections.

any feedback is of course appreciated!

Gunnar HaavikVp pr & marketing

Grieg Star Shipping’s new website is live

37

on the 21st of June 2010, at 1500h onboard mV Star Japan, on voyage from Lianyunggang, China to Corpus Christi, tX, uSa all crew was full of excitement. it was the opening day of the competition. The competition was called “Star Japan north paCiFiC Cup 2010”. There were a total of 25 games that were played during the 12-day event which composed of 4 teams. every member of each team was re-shuffled for every game that was played. each game every team received certain points and became the score of each player. at the end of the tournament the one who had the highest point was declared as the Champion. on the opening day, the game of high roller, Long Jump, Basket Shooting, and Basketball were played.

The following days the Card Games, table tennis, and Dart were played. only 18 more games to go. The last day in the tournament chess and bingo were played

“Let the Tournament begin”

Star Japan North Pacific Cup 2010everyone put all their efforts and gave all their best up to the finals. The tournament ended with m/m arian paul S. hernal declared as the Champion garnering a total of 395 points. 2nd placer is Jr. electrician alvin C. Gravoso with 380 points and it was a tie on the 3rd place between 2/a/e ruel B. Lachica and o.S. antonnieto G. Chavez who both got 340 points each. Cash prizes and certificates were awarded to the winners. The awarding ceremony was held on Saturday afternoon, 03rd July 2010, with great Foods and Drinks. every participant received a consolation prize with certificate as well. it was a one memorable moment for all the officers and Crew who all participated with a very good cooperation and attendance during the full event.

Capt. Jimmy G. Sanchez

Deck Fitter Wilson Calderon with bucketful of water during the drum filling game.

Third Officer Joel Abrantes ready to grab a glass of beer during the beer drinking contest.

Boys on the go during the Basketball game..

2nd Officer Albert Nullas receiving his consolation prize and certificate from Capt. Jimmy Sanchez during the awarding ceremony.

38


38

Bird

s on

bard

sta

r hid

raic

ing

on s

tar h

idra


Bathing on star evviva

3939

the norwegian shipowners assiciation and the norwegian maritime Directorate holds their traditional photocompetitions for seafarers who work on norwegian vessels.here are some of the contributions from the Grieg crew.

mai

nten

ance

on

sta

r atla

ntic

www.grieg.comwww.griegstar.com

MILJØMERKET

241 Trykksak 600

noRWAYBerGen:

Grieg Shipping Group aSGrieg-Gaarden, C. Sundtsgate 17/19

p.o. Box 781 Sentrumn-5807 Bergen

telephone: +47 55 57 69 50

Grieg Shipping aSGrieg-Gaarden, C. Sundtsgate 17/19


telephone: +47 55 57 69 50

Grieg Star Shipping aSGrieg-Gaarden, C. Sundtsgate 17/19


telephone: +47 55 23 96 00

oSLoGrieg Shipping Group aS

p.o. Box 513 SkøyenKarenslyst allé 2

n-0214 oslotelephone: +47 23 27 41 00

SWEDEnGothenBurG:

Grieg Star Shipping aBSkeppsbroplatsen 1

Se-41118 Gothenburgtelephone:+46 31 3395500

bELGIuMGrieg Star Shipping Belgium

avenue des Bouleaux 111420 Braine l’alleud (Brussels)

telephone: +32 2 351 8088

THE nETHERLAnDSrotterDam:

Grieg Star Shipping Cargo handling Dept. rotterdam

Streefwaalseweg 15, port no. 2810, 3195-Kn rotterdam-pernis, The

netherlandstelephone: +31 (0) 10438051

Grieg Star Shipping technical Department, rotterdam

edisonweg 16nL-3208 KB Spijkenisse

telephone: +31 181 610998

ITALYLiVorno

Grieg Star Shipping S.r.l.u Via della Scopaia, 48

57128 Livornotelephone: + 39 0586 851936

uS/CAn.E.CoAST & uS GuLFatLanta, Ga:

Grieg Star Shipping (uSa) inc.600 Galleria parkway – Suite 925

atlanta, Ga 30339telephone: +1 770 226 5900

uS WEST CoASTLonG BeaCh, Ca:

Grieg Star Shipping (uSa) inc.1330 n. avalon Blvd.

wilmington, Ca 90744telephone: +1 310 233 2720

CAnADAVanCouVer, BC:

Grieg Star Shipping (Canada) Ltd.9th floor

1111 west hastings StreetVancouver, BC V6e 2J3

telephone: +1 604 661 2000

SQuamiSh, BC:Squamish terminals Ltd.

p.o.Box 1520Squamish, BC V8B 0B1

telephone: +1 604 892 3511

bRAZILrio De Janeiro

Grieg Star Shipping Comercio maritimo Ltda.

av. Gildásio amodo no. 55rooms 2006/2007

edificio Centro da Barrario de Janeiro

tel: + 55 21 2493 7705

FAR EASTtoKYo:

Grieg Star Shipping aS22F toranomon Kotohira tower

2-8, toranomon 1-chomeminato-ku, tokyo 105-0001, Japan

telephone: +81 3 5501 1761

SeouL:Grieg Star Shipping aS

18th floor Kwanghwamun Bldg64-8, taepyungro 1ga

Chung.ku, Seoul, Korea 100-101telephone: +82 2 399 2880

maniLa:Grieg philippines inC.

G/F Legaspi towers 200,107 paseo de roxas Street

1229 makati Citiphilippines

telephone: +63 917 511 9416

ShanGhai:Grieg Star Shipping aS

unit 2904-2917, office towerShanghai Central plaza

381 huai hai zhong roadShanghai 200020

peoples republic of Chinatelephone: +86 21 6171 1100

Documents

CREW 4