House Magazine - also distributed to customers and business relations
No. 105 April 2014
Sustained global growth Page 2
Strong development in Norway, Sweden and Finland
Page 6
Successful involvement in gigantic construction project
Page 11
Blue Water News | No. 105 | April 2014
Blue Water’s Management
Well equipped for the future Blue Water experienced a significant growth in 2013 and for our clients, the bigger and stronger organisation means even better service, flexibility and opportunities During the recent 3-4 years, Blue Water has seen a significant development in the entire organisation and the positive development continued in 2013 with the addition of 10 new offices – some of which through acquisitions. No matter where we are looking inside the organisation, Blue Water is today a more broad-based and stronger company than it was a year ago. The clients like our service and quality and this means that we have again gained market shares and grown more than the market in general. We have a healthy and relatively well-run business. All activities generate fine results and as a whole, the group produced a record turnover in 2013. The only parameter which is not as good
Turnover
700
in 2013 as it was in 2012 is unfortunately our bottom line. As this is a very, very important parameter for Blue Water, we are not satisfied with our annual profit of EUR 4,7 million which is far below the budget. We shall therefore together keep a straight focus on running the company in a remunerative way, also because we need a good bottom line to be able to continue developing and investing in our large business in the global market. Large investments Looking closer at the figures, we fortunately see that almost all business segments make reasonable money. However, a great part of this money has been spent on investments in new offices, new
buildings, new tools and upgrading of the support functions which shall support the growth of Blue Water in the future. In particular the establishment of 10 new offices – including the acquisition of three companies and the purchase of two properties in Esbjerg which were not provided for in the budget – contributes with a notable budget variance. But this is just one of the advantages of being Blue Water. Not many companies can make such relatively big investments, but also in this respect, Blue Water is different and seizes the opportunity when it presents itself. And we are satisfied with all the above investments as they, both in the short and long term, are good investments.
Development
(in EUR millions)
2011
600 500
Turnover*
400
*(in EUR millions)
2012
2013
470 m
555 m
595 m
Earnings before taxes*
10.3 m
11.4 m
4.7 m
Equity capital*
22.8 m
29.7 m
34.2 m
957
1,050
1,350
52
55
67
300 200
No. of staff
100 0
2
2011
2012
2013
No. of offices
Blue Water News | No. 105 | April 2014
All things considered, we in Management take an optimistic view of 2014. It is our aim to improve the annual results through earnings growth and by making fewer investments than in 2013. We expect to see a growth that is higher than our competitors’ and in this way gaining market shares. This year, we also concentrate on making our new investments a success and make sure that our new offices get off to a good start both operationally and financially. Four top priorities This year, we especially focus on four priorities: The Nordic countries: We have already come far with our ambitious plans of making the Nordic region, including Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Iceland, our home market. We shall, however, strengthen our offices, products and set-up even further.
Idea to client value: A concept to ensure that great ideas are turned into value-adding solutions for our clients in the fastest and most efficient way through knowledge sharing, IT development and synergies across the entire organisation. Logneo: Our new global transport management system, which will improve our service towards the clients through continuous implementation and at the same time ensure that we achieve a higher quality and flexibility through a common system. Staff development: The employees’ compentences, commitment and motivation is the most important foundation for Blue Water. Consequently we put extra efforts into development, education, courses and training so that Blue Water also in the future will have the best employees, specialists and managers within this line of business.
Unique team spirit These four top priorities are very important areas, and with the implementation of these priorities, we will hold a stronger position. In addition, our continued success is connected with our will to concentrate on being adaptable, service-minded and costconscious as we operate in markets with keen competition and a small margin. We will, also in the years to come, maintain our local presence, close to the clients, so that we can give them the optimal and best solutions. Even though Blue Water has grown considerably in recent years, we have maintained our strongest value and greatest strength, our unique team spirit, which gives our clients and business partners a very special experience when working together with us. Kim Hedegaard Sørensen Managing Director
Facts: »» 250 new employees
»» Delivery of yet another jackup rig to the Caspian Sea
»» 10 new offices
»» Continued development of Marine Logistics worldwide
»» Acquisition of NJK Denmark, W&K Finland, ACi Sweden, Airwan France
»» More than 750,000 tons of food products shipped in 2013
»» Good development in General Cargo including new logistics solutions
»» Continued growth in containers from USA »» v
Employees
1400 1200
60
1000
50
800
40
600
30
400
20
200
10
0
2011
2012
Offices
70
2013
0
2011
2012
2013
Certifications for Blue Water Esbjerg After months of hard work, Blue Water Esbjerg achieved recertification in quality and environment (9001/14001) and a new certification within health and security (OHSAS 18001). The certifications are important for the company and in the future, we will focus on achieving the certifications for other Blue Water offices. According to plan, Houston, Brest, Nantes and Marseille will be certified and more offices will follow. “Blue Water operates in many different business segments worldwide including complex and challenging transport
projects. The recertification and the new certification will along with our global management system strengthen our organisation significantly for the benefit of our clients”, says Dorte Mundt Andersen, Manager of HSSE&Q. The certifications have been challenging, as all the employees had to adapt to new systems. However, it will make a lot of things easier in the daily work. One of the systems, which should add to a better workflow, is the Management System which the HSSE & Quality department is implementing. The Management System
contains all documentation, manuals, policies, certificates and many other useful documents and information. This way, the documents are easily accessible for all employees and at the same time, the sy-stem supplies a good and clear structure for the different material. The implementation of the system will also directly affect the quality provided to clients all over the world in a cooperation with Blue Water. It is the same high standards that are offered no matter where in the world the client is located. 3
Blue Water News | No. 105 | April 2014
Member of leading logistics network
Left to right: Marc S.L. Praegel / Blue Water Copenhagen, Joel Glüssman / CEO of TALA and Jesper Nielsen / Blue Water Copenhagen. In 2013, Blue Water Shipping became an exclusive member of TALA Scandinavia which is the world’s leading Aerospace Network with the client in focus. TALA’s - The Aerospace Logistics Alliance - first conference for all partners took place in Dubai World Trade Center on 4 February. Jesper Nielsen and Marc S.L. Prae-
gel, both from Blue Water Copenhagen, participated as representatives for TALA Scandinavia. TALA is represented at more than 100 locations worldwide. The network’s objective is to fulfil the wishes and demands from airlines, MROs (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul), aircraft manufacturers etc.
Transport to the Sochi Winter Olympics Blue Water Ipswich has arranged road freight for the winter Olympic Games held in the Russian town Sochi in February. In total, 25 trailers of broadcasting equipment
Testing the container safety By joint efforts, Blue Water and Kabooki have completed a series of tests to determine the safety related to container transport. When shoes and clothes are shipped in a container, the cargo is often sprayed with for instance proofing so it can resist the temperature changes during the transport. “Safety is and must be a top priority for us, both for our employees, but also for business partners, clients and suppliers. In this case, gasses might be dangerous if the values measured are too high. That is why we carry out these tests so we can keep our word of delivering safe container freight solutions”, says Søren Madsen, Head of Development of Short Sea at Blue Water Aarhus. The test concluded that the potentially dangerous gasses did not emerge in the container and according to plan, the test is to be carried out a couple of times each year. 4
were transported from several Scottish locations to Sochi. Blue Water also handled the return of 23 trailer loads for the UK and 8 trailers to Germany. This was a challenging project with understandably tight deadlines to meet and everything arrived on time under the watchful eye of Olga Abbott from the Ipswich office.
Far East Cargo Line-conference
Left to right: Stig Egelund / Blue Water and Helena Hu / Cargo Services (China) Ltd. Hans Christian Mikkelsen / Blue Water New York and Stig Egelund / Blue Water Copenhagen participated in the Far East Cargo Conference held in Hong Kong in February in connection with Chinese New Year. Here, they met with our business partners from the Far East for a four-day seminar and “one-2-one” meetings. Our Chinese business partner, Cargo Services (China) Ltd., hosted the Chinese New Year eventwhere about 600 employees and other good friends and guests where entertained with music, a 14 dish dinner and several lotteries.
”When talking about transport optimisation within Aerospace, TALA enters the picture. We offer one-stop-shopping and AOG Helpdesk 24/7/365. Our global network of experts always finds the most optimal transport solutions for the client resulting in an improved lead time and reduced freight charges”, says Marc S.L. Praegel. The next two days, TALA was as organisation represented at the ”MRO Middle East” exhibition which also took place at Dubai World Trade Center. More than 150 companies participated including airlines, MROs and various suppliers. The purpose of the event was among other things knowledge sharing, best practice and optimisation. The close cooperation between the parties of the TALA network helps us achieve our goals: to support our clients in the best possible way on a global scale.
New challenge The first wind farm in Macedonia is under construction and this means new and exciting challenges for Blue Water Herning. The office handles logistics for the site in the city of Bogdanci near the Greek border. In total, 55 shipments have been handled and more will follow. Normally, Blue Water Herning does not transport much cargo to Macedonia, so this is a new challenge where requirements are slightly different than normally. “The project has been successful when taking into consideration that we operate in a market which we are not deeply involved in. It develops our competences as well as it opens up some opportunities. Both in Macedonia and other countries close to Macedonia, we make an effort to increase our involvement”, says Fin Hüttel, General Manager of Blue Water Herning. The transports have been arranged in cooperation with the agent Intereuropa in Skopje. Return logistics has also been handled and so far, 22 trucks have brought containers, out of gauge cargo and tools back to Denmark. The wind farm will open during 2014.
Blue Water News | No. 105 | April 2014
Experts in transport to Germany and the Benelux countries
The freight forwarders at Blue Water Kolding are specialised in road transports to Germany and the Benelux countries. Each week, the office controls 59 Blue Water trailers which deliver and pick-up 220 loads. There are daily departures for both destinations with small parcels and full loads. Increased market shares Germany is an important trade partner for Denmark and the development in the market has been a factor for increased Blue Water market shares. “The tendency
is that a large part of the clients deliver more shipments in smaller volumes. That development is a good match for Blue Water, which has always been specialised in putting together different shipments. The shipments are loaded directly to a trailer and delivered to the consignee without reloading during the transport” says Bent Weidinger, General Manager for Blue Water Kolding. It is often necessary with a terminal to gather or spread out the cargo with local hauliers or to move cargo from one trailer to another. This can both reduce the volume of costly kilometers and comply with e.g. a client who only wants one pick-up a day. Quality and safety The days are challenging. It rarely happens that the cargo volume matches the available capacity on the trailers and the total volume varies a lot. Some clients may have volumes varying from 5 to 25-30 truck loads a day. Therefore, the freight forwarder must be flexible and use a network of partners to solve the assignment. Another factor that has an influence on the product is quality and safety regarding the equipment. “All Blue Water trailers have top modern equipment such as satellite and a slip resistant surface
Fast transport of ferry engine
The engine for the Faroese ferry measures 5.5 x 2.3 x 3.9 metres and weighs 38 tons. Here, it is loaded on a special trailer in Hirtshals, Denmark Blue Water has transported an engine to the ferry “Norröna” which had to change of its four engines due to a major damage. It was important for the ferry owners that the engine was replaced quickly. “We arranged the transport from Finland to Hirtshals where we handled the delivery and reloaded the engine on a special trailer. Later, the ship M/V “Mistral”, delivered the engine directly to the shipyard Mest in Tórshavn,” says Frodi Biskopstø Poulsen from Blue Water Hirtshals. Blue Water Shipping holds a strong position as provider of transport and logi-
on the floors. The freight forwarders can thereby keep track of the position of the cargo and see if there are any delays of traffic challenges. It also means that the cargo is handled securely and that the demands from the authorities are withheld. In addition, more than half of the trailers has a lift mounted so the driver can deliver the cargo for clients without a ramp”, says Bent Weidinger. The client can always call Most clients book by using the in-house developed booking system Compass. Most of the information are send to the driver electronically, but the phone is still an important tool. The trucks run 24/7 so situations where there driver or client needs assistance outside working hours will arise – it is part of the life as a freight forwarder, and they are ready to pick up a call at home. The office in Kolding also have routes to/ from Switzerland, Austria, The Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria in addition to a freight forwarding department servicing local clients. In total, there are 26 employees on the office and four on the terminal.
Royal delivery Queen Margrethe has a reputation of being an extremely well-prepared lady - in every respect. The artist Bjoern Noergaard has been assigned the task of creating the queen’s last resting place. The sarcophagus on top of the grave, where the Queen and Prince Consort will be buried, is made of glass and rests on three columns made of Danish granite, Faroese basalt and Greenland marble. Three elephant’s heads cast in gold are set between the columns and the sarcophargus. Smyril Blue Water was responsible for the transport of the Faroese basalt to the stonemason who is assigned to do the actual column job.
stics in the North Atlantic and the services cover not only project cargo, but also special package solutions, refrigerated freight, door/door deliveries, cruise logistics and port agency. Blue Water has offices in Greenland and on the Faroe Islands and Iceland and is working together with an agency network in several locations, which makes it possible to reach all corners of the North Atlantic. Blue Water is also the only freight forwarding company offering a Ro/Ro service on the North Atlantic. 5
Blue Water News | No. 105 | April 2014
Strong development in the Nordic countries During the recent year, we have seen great activity and progress in Norway, Sweden and Finland Blue Water is in the process of realising its ambition to obtain a strong position in the entire Nordic region. Over the years, Blue Water has built a key position in the Danish transport market and in order to strengthen the overall business and to give the clients an optimal service, Blue Water will develop its Nordic set-up after a Danish pattern. “We have seen a rapid development in the Nordic countries in 2013, and we are not finished yet. The number of offices in Norway, Sweden and Finland have increased from three to nine, and the number of staff as well as the turnover have more than doubled proving that we are in a very positive progress and have come closer to our objective; to make the Nordic countries our home market, says Poul Aarre, who is responsible for the Nordic region at Blue Water. Acquisitions and establishment of new offices In 2013, Blue Water increased its Nordic set-up by 6 new offices – through both establishment of new offices and through acquisitions. In Finland, three offices were added in Helsinki, Turku and Vasa through the acquisition of W&K (Wikeström & Krogius), which is a very
reputable and well-managed transport and logistics company with a wide range of services. In Sweden, an office was established in Stockholm followed by the acquisition of ACi Transport in Malmö – a company which, just like Blue Water, has wide experience with and expert knowledge of customised transport solutions. With the opening of the many new offices, Blue Water has secured a much stronger network in the Nordic region, which has resulted in many new clients and new and strong business partners worldwide. It has also been a very positive experience to see the enthusiasm of our new colleagues and especially the clients’ positive response to Blue Water’s transport solutions, says Poul Aarre. More activities in the pipeline Furthermore, the many activities in Norway, Sweden and Finland contribute greatly to the entire Blue Water network, for which we are internally working very determinedly to improve the cooperation to benefit our clients, who will continue to see Blue Water extend its selection of products and services within transport and logistics. Several of Blue Water’s business areas experience rapid pro-
“Talent of the year” award
Each year, the trade association, FDE Foundation, presents a “Talent of the year” award within transport and logistics. The winner is a person/company who shows a special commitment and makes a difference. This year’s award went to two nominees, as Arnt Vad Jensen and his employer Blue Water shared the prize. Blue Water’s effort to develop its employees, was mentioned as the reason for being nominated. “The company has always been up front in respect of education of its employees and it is a desirable place to work for young people who want to begin a 6
career in the transport and logistics business”, said Jens Iwer Pedersen, Chairman of the FDE Foundation. The other award winner was one of Blue Water’s own freight forwarders Arnt Vad Jensen. It was a decisive factor that he was involved in a very complex transport assignment at a very young age. In December last year, Arnt completed a project, which included transportation of the world’s largest wind turbine. As project manager for the large and very demanding project, Arnt lived up to the responsibility and handled the assignment satisfactorily. In addition, it was mentioned, that Arnt is a very good colleague and that he is dedicated to gain new knowledge within his field of expertise. “It is amazing to be part of a company which is not afraid to give a lot of responsibility to its employees. I am only 23 years old and I have already been part of a very comprehensive transport. It is a big thing for me and I am sure that I will develop my skills further in my future years with Blue Water”, says Arnt Vad Jensen. The prize comes with a donation of DKK 50,000, which can be spent on further education.
Blue Water offices Finland: Turku, Vasa, Helsinki Sweden: Gothenburg, Stockholm, Malmö Norway: Oslo, Stavanger
gress, but in particular import/export to and from the entire Nordic region and the transport activities between the Nordic countries are escalating. “The many new activities from 2013 are well under way and they will be followed. by even more activities in 2014 and 2015. Though we have taken a long step forward, our ambitions and objectives for Norway, Sweden and Finland are even bigger, as we, with a stronger set-up, will be able to offer our clients an even better service”, concludes Poul Aarre.
Good dialogues about cruise ships’ port calls In March, Blue Water Greenland promoted its services for cruise ships’ port calls in the North Atlantic. This took place at the Seatrade Exhibition in Miami. Our booth was well visited and there were many positive dialogues giving Blue Water Greenland an opportunity to elaborate on the services they offer such as contact to local operators, port agency, crew and passenger changes and provisioning.
Left to right: Pitsi Høegh / Destination South Greenland, Jørgen Larsen / World of Greenland Artic Circle, Kristian Bruus Hald / Blue Water Greenland and Anders la Cour Vahl / Visit Greenland.
Blue Water News | No. 105 | April 2014
Two offshore projects this summer Blue Water has been appointed agents for A2SEA for the offshore projects Borkum Riffgrund and Westermost Rough. Both offshore wind farms are owned by DONG Energy. A2SEA will load the Siemens turbines in Esbjerg and install them in German and UK waters respectively. ”We are very proud that A2SEA has decided to appoint Blue Water as agents for these two projects. We have worked with A2SEA many times before and latest on the wind farms Anholt and West of Duddon Sands where the turbines were shipped out of Greena and Belfast respectively. We are looking forward to yet another successful project”, says Head of Sales and Development Wind, Jacob Kjærgaard. Borkum Riffgrund is expected to commence in July 2014 with the vessel “SEA INSTALLER” which will install 77 turbines, and Westermost Rough will according to plan also commence in July 2014 with the newly built “SEA CHALLENGER” which will install 35 turbines.
Until recently, A2SEA’s fleet of vessels also included “SEA ENERGY” which was the first purpose re-built installation vessel for offshore wind – the vessel performed the installation of Horns Rev I in 2002. “SEA ENERGY” was sold earlier this year and Blue Water would like to wish her a fair wind in the future and thank her and her crew for many good hours and projects.
Support for offshore wind projects in the UK
”Pacific Osprey” is 169 metres long and 49 metres wide. The vessel’s six legs can be lowered 80 metres below sea level. During the first quarter of 2014, Blue Water has supported Swire Blue Ocean with port services for the Windfarm Installation Vessel (WIV) “Pacific Osprey” in the port of Liverpool. The vessel has been working at wind farms Walney, Burbo Bank and Rhyl Flats in the Irish Sea and Blue Water had the opportunity to prove how versatile our company is within
offshore services. “We have handled crew changes, procurement, provision supply, transport and made all arrangements for hotel accommodation in close contact with the marine coordinators”, says Rob Ballance from Blue Water UK. Blue Water also handled the vessel’s port call when it berthed at the Liverpool Cruise Terminal, co-ordinating all services for the visit. Due to operational and weather considerations, the call happened with short notice, and Blue Water handled bunkering, provisions, warehousing and delivery of spare parts, tugs and pilots. The pilots are required to board the vessel and guide it to its berth, as Liverpool has many sand banks and a large tidal range. It requires local knowledge to avoid damage to the ship and secure a safe port call. Among the assignments was also the transport of a 43 ton gearbox. The gearbox was placed on a barge and transported around the cruise terminal as it was not possible to load the gearbox from the quayside. The gearbox was loaded from the barge to the vessel using “Pacific Osprey’s” own crane. On previous occasions, Blue Water has provided support for the vessels “Pacific Osprey” and “Pacific Orca” including crew changes while the vessels were working on offshore wind projects in the Irish Sea.
Transport of the world’s largest wind turbine
Blue Water has handled the logistics and transport of the world’s largest wind turbine – the V164 8MW produced by Vestas. The assignment was to handle four sea freight transports from Aalborg, Lindoe and Southampton in connection with the installation of the test turbine. The first transport in the project included the very large and high tower which was shipped in five sections. “We have prepared for months and have had a close cooperation with Vestas throughout this challenging project. No projects are the same in our business, but we have the in-house experts as well as decades of experience with creating the right solution”, says Arnt Vad Jensen, who was responsoble for the project at Blue Water. The vessels “Eendracht” and “Meri” delivered the nacelle and the more than 80 metre long blades. All transports went according to plan, and Vestas’ large wind turbine is installed at the test centre in Oesterild in the Northern part of Denmark. “We deliver wind turbines to wind farms all over the world for Vestas, who is a good and important client for us. In addition, we are proud to have been selected to provide special transports like this one”, says Brian Sørensen, Sales and Development Manager from Blue Water’s Wind Logistics department.
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Blue Water News | No. 105 | April 2014
Large transport assignment to the Caspian Sea
Blue Water Shipping is preparing to transport heavy oil drilling equipment through the Russian Volga-Don river system. The transport begins in Singapore where four lower columns/288 tons each, four upper columns/511 tons each and four bracings/ 125 tons each will be transported to Mariupol, Ukraine. Here, the cargo iwill be transshipped under close supervision of Blue Water before the transport continues.
“The destination is Baku, Azerbaijan. Fortunately, we have the in-house experts required, with decades of experience, located on our own offices in the region, to handle the project and give our client the best service and solution possible”, says Jason Goh, Blue Water Shipping’s Regional Managing Director for Asia Pacific. In addition to the transport, other assignments connected to the project must be solved to make the transport a success. “We have engineers connected to the project, and we handle all river permissions which are obligatory if we want to use the river system for transport. This often involves communication between several cultures – which further highlights the importance of having local specialists on our team. During the transport, our own HSSE & Q department will ensure that no one is exposed to any danger. This is obviously important for us – but also for our clients”, says Thomas Bek, Global Manager for Oil, Energy & Industrial Projects in Blue Water.
Three large projects for Blue Water Georgia
Blue Water Tbilisi has experienced a positive development in the activities. At the end of 2013, the office handled equipment for a large granulation plant in Georgia. The cargo arrived in the port of Poti and the transport continued by truck and rail to the site. Especially the trucking required a thorough planning as there are many tunnels and bridges on the way from the port to the site. “It was challenging with the largest element measuring more than six metres in diameter and being more than ten metres long - but we believe that a proper preparation gives the best results”, says Shalva Gabechava, General Manager of 8
Blue Water in Tbilisi. The positive level of activity has continued into 2014, where Blue Water handled the transport of a dismantled onshore drilling rig to Poland. This project included road transport by 78 trucks, transports by sea and all loading operations in the port of Poti. In the beginning of February, Blue Water Tbilisi received M/V “Pacific Adventure” in Poti. On board were more than 4,000 tons of steel plates for a semi-submersible drilling rig. Blue Water are handling both the discharge and onwards rail transport to a shipyard in Azerbaijan. This assignment is a good example of cooperation between Blue Water offices as the overall project was secured by Blue Water Singapore. “It is essential that we constantly try to inform our colleagues – no matter where they are in the world – of the development, new methods etc. This way we are able to fully benefit from each other and can continue to offer comprehensive services within transport and logistics. We have many in-house resources and a close cooperation with each other, and in the Caspian Region, we have a good set-up with four offices which are able to provide all types of services to the Oil & Energy industry”, says Shalva Gabechava.
Hydropower logistics in Chile
Blue Water Munich has handled port operations, ocean freight, discharging and oncarriage up to site for a comprehensive civil construction/hydro energy project in close cooperation with Ultramar Logistics in Chile. As part of this project, Blue Water transported some concrete batch plant modules by sea from Belgium to Chile. A further five similar transports will be handled in future. All operations will be carried out by in-house experts from Blue Water Munich who have extensive experience in handling all types of project cargo for the oil, gas & energy industry as well as industrial project shipments and mining. The Chilebased Ultramar Logistics Group was in charge of taking over the cargo upon arrival and transporting the batch plant modules from the port of San Antonio to the site. The two companies have previously worked together on other projects.
Offshore container rental In a cooperation with a versatile shipping partner like Blue Water, offshore clients can benefit from both transport solutions and the opportunity of renting containers. Our clients can choose from a full range of certified containers; ISO, open tops, half heights, cargo baskets, mud skips, chemical tanks, slings and lifting equipment. Strict adherence to DNV (Det Norske Veritas) guidelines ensures the quality, and all units are designed and built according to DNV 2.7-1 and EN12079 standards. Each container has its own individual file containing a full overview of quality control, welding consumable and sling set details. Whether you need a longterm or ad-hoc contract, Blue Water can arrange this with a fast turnaround from order to delivery. The containers can be delivered worldwide from our stock in Esbjerg or Stavanger. For further information, contact: Allan L. Brodersen at alb@bws.dk.
Blue Water News | No. 105 | April 2014
Tunnel-boring machines to Australia
Blue Water has signed a contract for the transport of four hard rock tunnel-boring machines from China to Australia. Each machine has a volume of 3.200 cbm and the project also includes transportation of the head cutter which is close to seven metres in diameter. The transport of the first machine will take place in June, and the remaining machines will follow. Blue Water in Marseille, Shanghai, Singapore and Melbourne are all involved in the complex and challenging project.
“The machines will be transported from Shenyang, China to the site close to Sydney, Australian. Our ability to coordinate shipments and cooperate is vital, and the operation involves several people. The import rules are strict in Australia, but we have the specialists to handle it. We will no doubt meet challenges when the delivery is to be completed, as this will happen in a zone where trucking is only allowed in certain hours of the day to minimize unnecessary noise for the surrounding community. We use many resources to ensure a precise planning of the operation because we want to ensure that everything goes according to plan”, says Lionel Guilbaud, Oil & Energy Project Director, Blue Water Marseille. The contract is carried out for NFM Technologies - a leading worldwide provider of tunnel-boring machines. This assignment is part of the North West Rail Link project – the longest rail tunnels ever built in Australia.
Energy for Australia
Complete logistics for Swedish gas production plant
Blue Water has completed the logistics for a gas production plant in Ljungby, Sweden. “Our client has only had one contact person with Blue Water to simplify procedures”, says Nikolaj Buurgaard Sørensen, from Blue Water’s Project Department in Esbjerg. Blue Water has arranged the transport from a number of American & European suppliers, making use of our own offices and agents. “The most complicated components we handled were four storage tanks measuring approx. 2.97 x 4.50 x 4.65 metres and weighing 98 tons. The tanks were transported from the Czech Republic to Germany, where they were loaded on a coaster before being sailed to the final destination in Sweden. We chartered a barge, specifically designed for low water levels, as we were challenged by the low water level at the Elbe River. For this project we have also handled export/import customs, terminal handling of the cargo, heavy haulage and craning”, says Nikolaj Buurgaard Sørensen.
Contract renewal in Kazakhstan Blue Water Singapore has completed the overall logistics for the Leichhardt Power Station project at Mount Isa, Australia. “The logistics required close co-operation between multiple areas of the three major parties, Leighton Contractors, RollsRoyce and Blue Water Singapore. This co-operation enabled all major packages to be delivered and placed immediately on their foundations, which was of crucial importance on a small and busy site and with a tight construction schedule” says Rob Sherwood, Senior Project Manager from Leighton Contractors who is the owner of the project.
The local operations in Australia, including the 1,400 km heavy duty transport up to site, was arranged and supervised through Blue Water’s local experts from the company’s office in Melbourne. “We handled logistics of components from around the world for delivery deep into the heart of Queensland, Australia. This included a 104 ton AC generator from Loughborough in the UK as well as a 56 ton Rolls-Royce Gas Turbine Generator from Mount Vernon, Ohio, USA.” says Sebastian Stephan Schilde, Project Manager from Blue Water Singapore.
Blue Water Aktau has renewed a contract for providing domestic freight services for Halliburton International Inc. Kazakhstan. Halliburton International Inc. is one of the world’s largest service providers to the oil & gas industry. The contract includes domestic rail freight of chemicals to various locations in Kazakhstan. Most shipments are destined to the cities Kzylorda, Aksay and Shymkent. “We are pleased to continue our 5-year cooperation with Halliburton. And we are proud to be part of the development of this industry in the Caspian region”, says Alla Guk, General Manager from Blue Water Aktau. 9
Blue Water News | No. 105 | April 2014
Project specialists transporting lower hull for drilling rig Blue Water signed a contract in 2013 with a global leader in the design, construction and repair of mobile offshore rigs. The contract included heavy-lift transportation of a number of drilling rigs and handling of more than 600,000 freight tons by dry and wet towage. ”For this project we have chartered the biggest semi-submersible vessel in the world, the ”Dockwise Vanguard”. We completed a float-on operation of the first lower hull in mid-December 2013 and the vessel safely delivered the lower hull to Brazil at the end of January 2014”, says Lars Skov Christensen, Project Manager from Blue Water Singapore. The next part of the first drilling rig will be the heavy-lift transportation of a drill floor, living quarter and two derrick sections, which will be integrated with the lower hull in Brazil. The main challenge for this shipment is to find a heavy-lift vessel with a very good stability. Units weighing more than 1300 ton and a lower derrick section as heigh as 45 metres, vessel stability is essential. Numerous engineering hours have been located to calculate the motion data, load spreading and sea fastening design.
”Dockwise Vanguard” • Length o.a. 275.00 metres • Deck space (L X B)* 275.00 x 70.00 metres
The arrival of the bicycle tube In March, the M/V “Pollux” berthed in the port of Copenhagen carrying 27 bridge sections from Shanghai. Blue Water handled both the port agency and stevedoring and acted as the cargo owner’s agent. The bridge sectons are for the construction of a floating bridge, for bike riders, connecting one part of town to another at first floor level. Copenhagen has a vision of becoming the world’s best bike city in 2015 and the bridge is a step towards improving the conditions for the many bike riders in the city.
Important contracts signed in Baku 2014 came off to a good start for Blue Water Baku. The office has signed several important contracts. One of the most prominent contracts is a threeyear agreement with Schlumberger Logelco (SLB) - a world leading supplier to the worldwide oil and gas industry. The contract includes freight forwarding and customs clearance services in Azerbaijan. SLB and Blue Water have cooperated on previous occasions, and the cooperation continues with a team of five specialists from Blue Water working closely together with SLB. Together, they will coordinate all import and export logistics of cargo to/from Azerbaijan. Blue Water Baku has been involved in a number of interesting projects. One of these included transport of 12 transformers from Croatia to Azerbaijan. The transformers weighed from 32-87 tons and they were all loaded on special vehicles in Zagreb. The client was the State Power Company, Baku Electric – another valued client of Blue Water. 10
• Depth 15.50 metres • Dead weight 117,000 metric tons • Speed 14.5 knots
Blue Water strengthens its port set-up In March, Blue Water acquired the building at the address of Sahara 6 in the south-eastern part of the port of Esbjerg. The building faces the motorway and is therefore an excellent eye catcher for anyone approaching Esbjerg from this direction. The building consists of 2500 m2 warehouse and a covered area of 800 m2. In connection with the acquisition, Blue Water has rented a further 8500 m2 outdoor area from the Port of Esbjerg. The acquisition and the new facilities is part of the plans of strengthening Blue Water’s port agency set-up in the port of Esbjerg.
Blue Water News | No. 105 | April 2014
Positive prospects for gigantic construction project Blue Water is strongly involved in the preparations for the construction of the future Fehmarn Belt Tunnel, which is going to be the world’s biggest combined road and railway tunnel addition to transport of production machines, equipment and supplies, we work with port-related services and provision of a number of services” says Niels Tolstrup, Director for Blue Water’s port-related activities.
Over the years, Blue Water has taken part in a number of large, complex construction and infrastructure projects around the world. These year-long experiences combined with innovative solutions are the motivating force for Blue Water’s involvement in the construction of the Fehmarn Belt Tunnel which is going to link Denmark and Germany with an 18-kilometre immersed road and railway tunnel. ”Blue Water has at a very early stage decided to invest in a strong set-up in connection with this gigantic construction work which will be one of Europe’s biggest construction projects with a budget of DKK 40 billion. Our year-long experience and expertise with this type of projects enable us to analyse and create solutions and service of high quality and flexibility. And we want to become involved in more parts of the project. In
Strong local network Two years ago, Blue Water became a co-founder in Femern Belt Services A/S, which is a company contributing to creating the optimal conditions for the parties interested in the future large building and construction projects in the region. This is done through local knowledge and an international network, and Blue Water is one of the four owners. ”The basis for success with these large projects is – apart from the right competences - the will of the different actors to work closely together and interact. Experience from similar projects, we have been part of, proves this. We have therefore taken steps to establish the network FB Suppliers which cooperates on supply of services, competences and manpower to the contractors and business partners of the construction work”, Says Niels Tolstrup. Today, FB Suppliers represents more than 100 members, which makes it the biggest network of its kind in Denmark. Along with this cooperation, Blue Water draws on its many international competences and partners in connection with transport and logistics assignments.
Femern Belt Suppliers’ network grows More than 100 companies are now a part of FB Suppliers in Roedby. The network supplies all types of services to large construction projects of mutual benefit to the projects and the local business community.
The team behind the daily operation in FB Suppliers. Left to right: Susanne Vemmelund (responsible for sales and development), Filip Behrens (project responsible) and Helle Gluud (administration).
When the contractors for large construction projects need carpenters, smiths, cleaning services, lawyers or accountants, they only need to address the network FB Suppliers. The basic idea of the business network is to gather different local services under one roof. This has already proven to be a good idea and has yielded several assignments. The primary objective is to deliver services to the construction of the Fehmarn Belt Tunnel, which is going to link Denmark and Germany with an 18-kilometre immersed road and railway tunnel. “We gather decades of craftsman experience and services from many different industries and make them easily accessible for the contractors or owners, as they only have to contact us to access numerous
”Blue Water has today more than 60 offices worldwide. One of them is located in Rødbyhavn a few kilometres from the future Fehmarn Belt connection and the production port which will be built to handle the entire construction project. This means we have the set-up in place. One of the biggest ports in Denmark Blue Water has a good dialogue with a number of consortiums who intend to bid for the jobs in connection with the Fehmarn Belt Tunnel. This include jobs in connection with the production port, which will be the focal point for all participating consortiums, contractors and suppliers. The construction of the production port will be from scratch and will together with the production areas cover an area equivalent to 300 football fields. During the operation period, this port will be one of the five biggest in Denmark. “It will be a very comprehensive logistics and operation project to make the production port work optimal. When combining our experience from large offshore projects, in the North Sea among other places, with our wide competences within logistics and port operation, I am fully convinced that we are able to provide the right solutions. This is what we have proved in many other places” says Niels Tolstrup who, together with Bent Lange and Per Jensen, make up the overall project group at Blue Water.
suppliers. As well as it creates a natural and easy workflow, it creates growth and development. The increase of members shows us that the activity in the area is developing positively. Recently, we welcomed our member no. 100 and now we offer more competences than ever”, says Susanne Vemmelund, Head of Sales and Development for FB Suppliers. FB Suppliers represent more than 100 companies and over 10,000 local employees. In addition to growth and employment, the members can benefit further. “We experience that several members in the network have a unique opportunity for knowledge sharing with other specialists both from their own as well as from other industries. FB Suppliers also facilitate co-operation between different industries. ”Since we started two years ago, the amount of members has been increasing steadily which confirms the need for a local network of this type” says Susanne Vemmelund. 11
Blue Water News | No. 105 | April 2014
Proactive cruise logistics Freight solutions to the cruise and marine industry is a core competence in Blue Water, and the preparations for the new season include developing and adapting the services to fit the ever changing requirements from the clients. “’We are constantly developing. Logistics and the services we provide for the industry are not static – and in accordance with one of our company values, we work proactively to serve our clients in the best way possible”, says Lisette Trab Munk, Business Development Manager from Blue Water’s Marine and Cruise division. While attempting to serve the clients in the best way possible, Blue Water in Copenhagen also aims to exploit the port facilities which are going through some
An engine for a legend on Bahamas Blue Water Miami, Shill Distribution Services and Tri-Esco Inc. in Lafayette, Indiana, USA have transported an engine to the cruise vessel “Carnival Legend”. The engine weighs about 15,000 kilos and was transported from Lafayette to Bahamas where the Grand Bahama Ship Yard is located. The loading took place in the Purdue University Airfield in Lafayette. All customs-related matters were organised and managed by our local Cruise & Marine Logistic Network partner: Freeport Ship Services, Freeport, Bahamas. The Cruise & Marine Logistic Network is specialised in logistics etc. to the cruise industry and providing services such as warehousing, pick & pack, air, sea and land transport to the ships.
Visiting our colleagues in Finland In January, the Finnish colleagues had a visit from Bruno Ferrand from Blue Water Nantes and Mogens Nielsen from Blue Water Brest together with Kurt Skov and Lisette Trab Munk from Blue Water Esbjerg. The trip started in Turku with a visit to our ‘new’ colleagues from W&K. They are deeply involved in transports of vendor supplies to the cruise & marine as well shipyard industry, which create good synergy with Blue Water within these industries. The trip also included a visit to Blue Water Helsinki. Here they had arranged for a true Finnish tradition – a visit to a sauna – a challenge which some took in the freezing cold (minus 20 degrees Celsius) weather. The photo is taken in Turku in front of “Suomen Joutsen”. The ship was built in 1902 at St. Nazaire, France. 12
Left to right: Kurt Skov / BWS Esbjerg, Bruno Ferrand / BWS Nantes, Henrik Mahlberg and Tom Öhman / BWS Turku, Mogens Nielsen / BWS Brest, Lisette Trab Munk / BWS Esbjerg and Janne Tapio Koivisto / BWS Helsinki.
major changes. With a new quay, the port of Copenhagen increases the volume for possible port calls each year. “The focus on Copenhagen as a cruise port gives us great ideas on how we can add further services to our clients, and we have prepared well for the new season”, says Lisette Trab Munk. Blue Water supplies cruise ships all over the world with e.g. victuals, equipment for disabled and walking-impaired cruise guests, machine spare parts etc. Further services are ship’s-side-delivery, sea and air freight import of food products and temperature controlled cargo, warehousing and port agency services. All services are offered in a single-point-of-contact approach for the convenience of the client.
The best exhibition ever
Blue Water and Cruise & Marine Logistic Network have been attending the Cruise Shipping Miami/Seatrade exhibtion for many years. This year, however, it was by far the best exhibition ever. Our worldwide Cruise and Marine Logistic Network, which we control together with our good partner Priano Marchelli in Italy, is really proving its power and value. We had many interesting meetings with shipowners and vendors, and hopefully even more agents/partners will attend the event in 2015. We enjoyed the exhibition as well as the daily served Danish hot-dogs. As previously, our booth was located at the Danish pavilion arranged by the Danish Export Association. Visit the Cruise & Marine Logistic Network at: http://www.marinelogisticnetwork.com
Blue Water News | No. 105 | April 2014
Developing Blue Water provides the reefer international cross trades services “In Blue Water we always strive to develop our activities and pursue every chance we get to be able to offer further activities and services to our clients. As a result, we can now offer options when transporting fresh and frozen fruit in cooperation with our agent Maghreb Solutions”, says Frank Madsen from Blue Water’s Reefer department. The fresh fruit transports cover weekly shipments of fresh citrus fruits from Morocco to destinations in Holland, Scandinavia, USA, Canada and Dubai. In addition, containers with frozen strawberries are transported to EU and China. “It is always a pleasure to see a new initiative off to a good start, and of course we will continue to develop our services. The culture in our company is to constantly be on the lookout for new business opportunities”, says Frank Madsen.
Blue Water supplies a wide variety of reefer services. One of these is cross trade, which covers transports where the country of origin and the destination countries are not the client’s home market. Imagine a Danish client who requires poultry from Turkey to West Africa, frozen fish from South America to the Far East or fruit from Northern Africa to Scandinavia. Whatever our clients require, Blue Water will find the best solution. In Esbjerg, we
Football game with clients
Behind - left to right: Sam Mcgregor, Simon Mulrenan, Niels Peter Thuesen, James Charlton and Christian Wichmand / Vestey Foods International and Rene Van Belle and Chris Sorrell / Blue Water. In front - left to right: Xing Hu and Søren Jakobsson / Vestey Foods International, Simon Skov / Blue Water and Chantelle Mccullough / Vestey Foods International. When England and Denmark played a friendly match at Wembley Stadium in March, Blue Water invited 10 employees from our worldwide reefer customer Vestey Foods International to the game. Both companies had a mix of supporters for both teams, and the support was en-
thusiastic. Although the result was bad for Denmark, everybody enjoyed the game and a nice dinner afterwards. Blue Water was represented by Frank Madsen, Chris Sorrell and Simon Skov, from Blue Water Esbjerg and Rene Van Belle, Blue Water Rotterdam.
have dedicated specialists working exclusively on this service through an extensive network of own offices and agents. Even if the service needed is dry cargo or an air freight solution, Blue Water can also provide that. For inquiries about cross trade, please contact your local Blue Water office or our experts in Esbjerg. Simon Auken Skov: sis@bws.dk or Christopher Sorrell: cjs@bws.dk
Optimising the reefer products
Blue Water’s reefer department had a global reefer meeting in April. The venue was Barcelona, where Amadeu Outeiro and his team from Blue Water Barcelona hosted a very good meeting in nice surroundings. The agenda included discussion of the strategy, clients, new market opportunities, shipping lines, systems and the very positive result of our client survey. The aim of the meeting was to discuss the opportunities of developing the activities and sharing all the ideas of how we can continue optimising the product portfolio. These steps are important to keep supplying our clients with good service that matches their expectations. The same week, the Alimentaria Exhibition took place in Barcelona, and naturally, some of the participants visited the fair and met some clients as well. 13
Blue Water News | No. 105 | April 2014
Kurt Skov received honorary award from business community
In January, the founder and chairman of Blue Water, Kurt Skov received the honorary award from Esbjerg Business Development Centre at the annual New Year’s reception held for the business community of the city. For 19 years, the special award has been given only three times. “I am very pleased and proud to receive this recognition. Developing the busi-
Aalborg in the snow Friday 14 March after office hours, the majority of the staff at Blue Water’s Aalborg office set out for Norefjell in Norway for a skiing weekend. Despite a long bus ride and gale warning, our colleagues made it and arrived on schedule and were ready to run down the slopes when the ski lifts opened Saturday morning at 0900 hours. Sunday, our colleagues had the chance of one more day on the slopes in fantastic weather. The whole crowd was back in Aalborg on Monday at 0300 hours, and some of them had been sensible enough to take the day off.
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ness has been and still is a priority. It has been a long journey, since the beginning in 1972, and I am grateful for the many memorable moments with good colleagues from around the world during all these years. The future holds many exciting assignments and opportunities for Blue Water, which I will continue to be part of in my role as active chairman of the board”, said Kurt Skov. His visionary approach to business development and cherishing of the local community was one of the main reasons for awarding Kurt Skov. “The ability to spot new opportunities, take advantage of niches and create unique solutions have been a driving force in developing the company to what it is today. Also, the award winner has made a great effort to develop Esbjerg within the areas of sports and nature”, said Chairman of the Board of Esbjerg Business Development Centre, John Lesbo.
Weddings
Forwarders’ Cup 2014
Saturday 22 February, the annual football tournament for the local freight forwarding companies, Esbjerg Forwarders’ Cup took place with 33 participating teams in the EFI Sports Centre. Blue Water was co-organiser together with Scan Shipping. Naturally, Blue Water was amply represented with five participating teams in the men’s series, three mixed teams and two old boys’ teams. As far as prizes are concerned, Blue Water also left its mark on the tournament. Our experienced old boys’ team gained a signal victory, our mixed team won a second prize and our men’s team came a joint third. A very successful day finished with a festive evening in the lounge at Blue Water Arena with a record number of participants (316).
On 4.1, Klaus Odby Jensen/agency department, Esbjerg married his girlfriend, Louise, at The Old Town Hall in Ribe.
On 26.1, Nanna Juul Andersen/Blue Water Miami married her boyfriend, Ryan Ellis.
Camilla Stockmar Søgaard and Lasse Reuss - from Port Services and exhibition in Esbjerg respectively – gave their family and friends a bit of a surprise at the christening of their little son, Noah, on 1.2. Camilla and Lasse had decided to get married on the same occasion.
Dejan Brajkovis/Blue Water Aarhus had chosen Valentine’s Day to marry Rikke, the bride of his choice. The wedding took place at the town hall in Aarhus and the wedding festivities for the closest family and friends was held in the newlyweds’ home.
Blue Water News | No. 105 | April 2014
Team Rynkeby the Faroe Islands
For the first time ever, the Faroe Islands have got a cycling team together – Team Rynkeby the Faroe Islands – for this year’s Team Rynkeby Tour de France. The tour starts on Friday 3 July outside the nursing home in Klaksvik, which has very appropriately been nicknamed “Rynkeby”, meaning wrinkle town. A week later, on Friday 11 July, the riders will arrive at Avenue des Champs-Elysées in Paris. The crossing to and from the Faroe Islands will take place on board Smyril’s ferry “Norröna”. The team has 33 riders – among others the Faroese Prime Minister (lagmand) Kaj Leo, whom we know from his previous employment as a fish export client. Poul Michelsen, one of our good import clients, who is selling Rynkeby products and is the focal point in the project, has also decided to join the team and support the project in favour of The Children’s Cancer Foundation. The racing bikes are manufactured by the well-known Italian company Bianchi and Blue Water has arranged the transport of the bikes from Italy to the Faroe Islands. We wish the team a fair wind on the tour.
Record number of applicants In February, Blue Water hosted its annual trainee arrangement to recruit 25-30 new trainees for the Danish offices. The candidates were chosen from more than 600 applications, which was a new record. “The trainees in Blue Water have good chances for development in the future. Engagement and job satisfaction are our top priorities and we enjoy when new trainees with the right spirit becomes part of our team”, says Aase Bjerregaard, Head of HR with Blue Water. The candidates were challenged and had the opportunity of meeting present trainees who explained about their daily work in Blue Water. In addition, all the managers from Blue Water’s offices in Denmark participated to talk with the candidates.
Blue Water Marseille’s first anniversary Blue Water Marseille, our Oil, Gas & Project division in France, started operating on 5 March 2013. Recently, our French colleagues marked the occasion of their
first anniversary with a delicious dinner at a good restaurant close to the old port in Marseille.
Left to right: Julien Hamon, Alban Bianchi, Oljas Koulimbajev, Sylvie Sirixay, Apolline Simeon, Solène Blanchet, Julie Tallec and Lionel Guilbaud.
Denmark’s most travelled man Torbjørn Pedersen, our former colleague who has been far and wide on Blue Water’s world map, is part of a project which will make him the most travelled man in Denmark. Torbjørn has entered into cooperation with Danish Red Cross for which society he is travelling as Goodwill Ambassador – his (perhaps) most distinguished title so far. Torbjørn left Denmark on 10 October and expects to be back in 3-4 years when he has visited every country in the world. Torbjørn must stay for minimum 24 hours in each country and is not allowed to go by plane.
The trip from Europe to for instance North America was planned to go by ship from Norway to Iceland and then via Greenland to Canada. However, Torbjørn’s project group wanted him to call on the Faroe Islands on his way in order to cover Denmark properly. He therefore took contact to his old company, Blue Water, to ask if we would consider sponsoring a ferry ticket with Smyril Line from the Faroe Islands to Iceland, which we of course confirmed. We wish Torbjørn a fair wind on his tour of the world. You can follow him on: www.onceupona saga.dk
Mayors’ meeting in Esbjerg
The mayors of Esbjerg, Stavanger and Aberdeen had a meeting in Esbjerg in February. As part of the programme, the mayors and their representatives paid a visit to Blue Water’s headquarters where
Kurt Skov and the Port Director of Esbjerg Ole Ingrish gave presentations. The visit is part of a research and innovation cooperation between the three cities. 15
Blue Water News | No. 105 | April 2014
New employees Aarhus Jan Dam Poulsen, 40 years old, is employed as Manager of our Sea and Airfreight department as from 1.2. Jan is the former Director and Part Owner of Relation Shipping Ltd. Casper Nordby Madsen, 26 years old, joined our Norwegian department as Freight Forwarder on 1.2. Casper completed his apprenticeship with Itella four years ago and during the recent two years, he has been organising their Norwegian traffic in Risskov (Aarhus). Billund Rene Rasmussen, 40 years old, is employed as Manager of the Export department as from 1.12.13. Rene comes from a job as Sea & Air Manager at East Logistics. Paul O’Connor Jensen, 34 years old, is employed as Freight Forwarder in Government & Defense Logistics as from 7.1. Paul joins us from a freight forwarding job with Kurt Beier. Nicklas Christensen, 21 years old, joined our Courier department as Freight Forwarder on 7.1. Nicklas comes from Worldtrans where he served his apprenticeship. Johnny Mortensen, 51 years old, is employed as Aid & Relief Manager. Johnny was previously employed with Bestnet, Kolding as Transport & Logistics Manager. Copenhagen Maria Rømer, 36 years old, is employed as Administrative Assistant in our Continental department as from 1.12.13. Maria served her apprenticeship with DFDS and has for the recent 12 years been working for Freja Transport & Logistics in Taastrup. 16
Natasha Larsen, 25 years old, joined our North Atlantic Airfreight department on 7.1. Natasha comes from Agility Logistics where she served her apprenticeship involved in air freight. Peter Larsen, 44 years old, is employed as Sales Executive. Peter has comprehensive sales experience from the transport business and comes from a position of Branch Manager at Dachser. Esbjerg Bartosz Zenon Stempinski-Nielsen, 36 years old, started as Coordinator in IT Development on 22.11.13. Bartosz used to work as a Software/ Systems Developer at Virtual Lab Aps. Maria Bjørnager Balogh, 27 years old, joined IT Development as Assistant on 1.12.13. Maria has a Bachelor’s degree in Humanistic Informatics, a Master’s degree in IT Management and has previously worked for AAu and Red Barnet Ungdom. Anders Brunbjerg, 30 years old, is employed as Freight Forwarder in our Parcel group. Anders comes from a similar job with DSV. Susanne Christensen, 37 years old, started as Receptionist on 5.12.13. Susanne comes from a job as Administrative Assistant with EfB Elite. Lise Starck, 32 years old, is employed as Accounts Assistant as from 9.12.13. Lise comes from a job in the Finance department of 2Care4. Hanne Sørensen, 41 years old, is employed as Assistant in Technical Wind Support as from 12.12.13. Hanne was previously employed as Purchaser/Planner at KJ Industries, Hjerting.
Claus Hahn Andersen, 46 years old, is employed as Terminal Assistant as from 21.12.13. Claus was a Fisherman before he joined Blue Water. Berit Kolb, 46 years old, is employed as Accounts Assistant in Accounts Receivables as from 1.1. Berit comes from a job as Chief Clerk at Fødevareerhverv in Tønder. Tommy Hansen, 22 years old, started as Terminal Assistant on 14.1. Tommy used to work for JM-Byg, Nordenskov.
Gitte Nielsen, 47 years old, joined our Terminal Administration team as Assistant on 1.2. Gitte joins us from a job as Freight Forwarder at Kühne & Nagel in Esbjerg. Lars Søndergaard Petersen, 26 years old, is employed as Coordinator in IT Development as from 1.2. Lars has for a period worked as a Student Assistant in the same department and is a newly qualified Computer Scientist. Mike Røjkjær, 22 years old, joined IT Development as Coordinator on 1.2. Mike has for some time been working as a Student Assistant in the same department and is a newly qualified Computer Scientist. Bob Jacobsen, 31 years old, is employed as Coordinator in IT Development as from 1.2. Bob is a former Student Assistant in the same department and a newly qualified Computer Scientist. Nikolaj Lund Sørensen, 24 years old, is employed as Coordinator in IT Development as from 9.3. He is a former Student Assistant and a newly qualified Computer Scientist.
Blue Water News | No. 105 | April 2014
New employees Mikkel Bukholt Mikkelsen, 24 years old, is employed as Coordinator in IT Development. He comes from a job as Web Developer with Rosendahls in Esbjerg and is a newly qualified Computer Scientist. Lars Horsbøl, 45 years old, started as Terminal Assistant on 10.3. Lars comes from Semco Maritime where he performed the function of Valve/Instrument Tecnician. Kenneth Lund, 28 years old, joined our terminal team as Assistant on 10.3. Kenneth comes from a similar job with Scanglas. Anja Juel Lindblad Madsen, 28 years old, is employed as Freight Forwarder in our Parcel group. Anja has a Bachelor degree in Purchasing Management and joins us from Bahne. Michael Birkedal Lauritsen, 42 years old, started as Terminal Assistant on 17.3. Michael was previously employed as a Driver with Dansk Motorsport. Iain Bradford, 43 years old, is employed as IT Test Manager as from 1.4. Iain comes from a similar job with Royal Air Force. Herning Martin Andersen, 26 years old, joined our East European department as Freight Forwarder on 1.12.12. Martin is a familiar face as he was previously employed in Blue Water and joins us from Alpi. Hirtshals Camilla Kalludan Damsgaard, 23 years old, forms part of our Export department Faroe Islands/Iceland since 24.2. Camilla served her apprenticeship with Leman in Aalborg.
Kolding Tina Nygaard, 44 years old, joined our Part & Full Loads team as Freight Forwarder on 1.12.13. Tina has previously belonged to our Kolding team, but has for a number of years been working for System Transport Herning.
Aktau Artyom Durmanov, 24 years old, is employed as Translator/Freight Forwarding Trainee as from 18.11.13. Artyom comes from a job as Warehouse Inventory Specialist at ACME Operations LLP.
Heidi Mejlgaard Rasmussen, 40 years old is employed as Freight Forwarder in our East European group as from 10.12.13. Heidi joins us from a similar job at Transconsult/East Logistics.
Baku Elshan Hamidov, 38 years old, is employed as Freight Forwarder as from 13.3. Elshan comes from a job as Logistics Coordinator at F.H. Bertling Ltd.
Martin Rosenkilde Jensen, 32 years old, started as Terminal Assistant on 15.1. Martin comes from a similar job with DSV Taulov. Knud Engelbreth, 33 years old, joined our part and full loads group as Freight Forwarder on 1.2. Knud joins us from a similar position at System Transport, Herning. Lindoe Carsten Jensen, 27 years old, started as Terminal Assistant on 24.2. Carsten has previously performed the function of regular Substitute at Blue Water. Odense Rene Bak Thomsen, 46 years old, started as Warehouse Assistant on 2.1. Rene comes from a similar job with Rex Holm, Holstebro. Tine Kaaber, 41 years old, is employed as Global Claims Manager. Tine joins us from a position of Claims Advisor at Crawford & Company. Nicolai Jacobsen, 24 years old, is employed as Accountant. Nicolai comes from a job as Assistant in the Accounts Receivable department at L’EASY, Odense.
Farid Veliyev, 24 years old, started as Terminal Assistant on 15.3. Farid comes from a job as Stoker at Azersu JSC.
Marina Andreyeva, 24 years old, is employed as Invoicing Coordinator as from 17.3. Marina joins us from a job as Operations Administrator at Weus Holding Ltd. Gunay Amanova, 35 years old, is employed as Assistant Accounts. Gunay comes from a job as Dispatcher at Aqua Vita Company. Dubai Jayesh Narayan, 28 years old, joined our team as Air Freight Forwarder on 2.3. Jayesh comes from a job as Air Freight Coordinator at ARZ Cargo Services LLC, Dubai Airport Free Zone. Fort Lauderdale Howard Heller, 55 years old, is employed as Freight Forwarder in Air & Ocean Import as from 20.1. Howard comes from a job as Licensed Customs Broker at Vandergrift. Gothenburg Per Helander, 50 years old, is employed as Freight Forwarder in Road Traffic as from 1.1. Per comes from a similar job with ColliCare. 17
Blue Water News | No. 105 | April 2014
New employees Sandra Carlsson, 39 years old, is employed as Freigh Forwarder in our Sea Freight department as from 21.1. Sandra joins us from Schenker, where she took care of Sea Freight and KAM (Key Account Management)
Nikki Faith Jensen, 30 years old, is employed as Processor in the Fashion Processing department as from 17.3. Nikki comes from a similar job at Smithfield Murray, Manchester. Melbourne Jade Simjanovski, 33 years old, is employed as Assistant as from 1.1. Jade joins us from a job in Customer Service Operations at UBI Logistics Pty. Ltd.
Joy Luangsorn, 30 years old, is employed as Freight Forwarder with focus on road traffic between Norway and Finland. Joy comes from a similar job with ColliCare. Ulf Engsmyre, 48 years old, is employed to develop Air Freight and Courier as Air Freight Manager as from 21.4. Ulf comes from a similar position at Post Nord. Houston Kerry L. Simmons, 45 years old, is employed as Manager Project Field Services as from 18.11.13 Kerry joins us from a job as Project Site Superintendent at Agility Logistics GIL. Davis Fox, 63 years old, is employed as Manager Projects as from 2.12.13. David comes from a job as Executive Director of Logistics at Flour. Stacey Martinez, 41 years old, is employed as Revenue Management/Procurement. Stacey comes from a job as Revenue Management/ Projects at NACA Logistics. Ilulissat Salik Schmidt, 24 years old, is employed as Assistant in our North Atlantic department. Salik was previously employed with Blue Water Sisimiut. Manchester Rob Balance, 53 years old, is employed as Business Development Manager as from 1.3. Bob comes from a job as Business Development Manager Wind Logistics at Blue Water Danbrit. 18
Miami Esteban Echeverri, 35 years old, is employed as Freight Forwarder as from 13.1. Esteban comes from a job as Logistics Coordinator at Quest cargo. Jorge Benitez, 37 years old, is employed as Freight Forwarder at Miami Warehose as from 13.1. Jorge comes from a job as Transportation Supervisor with Rock Garden. New York Barbara Bell, 49 years old, is employed as General Manager of our New York branch as from 6.1. Barbara joins us from a similar position in SBS Worldwide. Lisa Manetta, 41 years old, is employed as Coordinator Import as from 13.1. Lisa comes from a similar job in SBS Worldwide.
Michele Ross, 47 years old, is employed as Coordinator Import as from 4.3. Michele comes from a similar job at SBS Worldwide. Erica Torres, 40 years old, is employed as Coordinator Export as from 12.3. Erica comes from a similar job at DSV.
Nuuk Carl Bjørn Enequist, 33 years old, is employed as Driver as from 8.11.13. Carl Bjørn was previously employed at GNC. Uularik Kunuuteeraq Lybert, 26 years old, started as Driver on 9.12.13. Uularik was previously employed with Royal Arctic Line. Oslo Gry Kraby Bjørnseth, 44 years old, is employed as Business Developer Air & Sea as from 11.11.13. Gry comes from a job as Pricing Specialist at DHL Global Forwarding. Rio de Janeiro Rodrigo da Silva Andrade, 25 years old, is employed as Freight Forwarding Agent Operations Auxiliary as from 2.12.13. Rodrigo comes from Kuehne + Nagel Serviços Ltda. Where he served his apprenticeship.
Kelly Delle Fave, 43 years old, is employed as Vice President Business Development as from 18.2. Kelly comes from a similar job in SBS Worldwide.
Rotterdam Pascal Van Der Meer, 43 years old, is employed as Freight Forwarder as from 1.1. Pascal has worked in the Project department of Damco Netherlands as a Senior Forwarder for nine years (also for SBM and other project clients).
Charles Harder, 46 years old, is employed as Vice President Customs Brokerage as from 3.3. Charles comes from a similar job at G.W. Harder Company.
Angelo Giovanni Infantino, 25 years old, started as Terminal Assistant on 10.2. Angelo comes from a job as Warehouse Assistant at Greenery Netherlands.
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New employees Lesley De Visser, 20 years old, is employed as Assistant Transport Coordinator. Lesley comes from a job as Waterclerk at Haeger & Schmidt International.
Shanghai Kitty Tao, 26 years old, is employed as Freight Forwarding Agent Project Operation. Kitty comes from a similar job at Panalpina, Geodis Wilson.
Jeffrey Woudenberg, 26 years old, is employed as Assistant Customer Service as from 1.4. During the recent two years, Jeffrey has worked as Logistics All-round Operator at Keiretsu Europe.
Spike Ge, 31 years old, is employed as Project Manager as from 1.1. Spike comes from a similar job with Cosco Logistics.
Jubilees 30 years On 1.8, Fred Kegge/Blue Water Rotterdam will be reaching a milestone; his 30th anniversary with Blue Water. Fred forms part of our reefer department as freight forwarder. We all know Fred as hard-working and sometimes grumpy, but also singing his own modified songs, especially when it is beer time Friday afternoon at 1630 hours. Fred’s younger colleagues sometimes try to pull his leg in a funny way, but they know that he will pay them back double. Fred often remembers the good old days when we used telex and typewriters which required a lot of time. It is therefore funny when Fred loses patience when a PC takes three seconds to open a file. Fred lives with his girlfriend and his cats. After office hours, he enjoys sitting or working in his garden and talking to his cats. At least they cannot argue with him, and he is always right.
Silver Frank Junk/Blue Water Kolding, a young lad with great success on the football fields in Southern Jutland started his career in the freight forwarding business at Blue Water’s Padborg office on 4.7.89. Things went fast. After a few months, Frank was promoted to manager of the department when two out of a staff of three rushed off to a competitor. Young Frank got assistance from the Esbjerg office, but this involved heavy demands on him at a very young age. Whether this is the reason
for the willpower and endurance, characterising Frank, or it is the Southern Jutland genes, remain uncertain. Everyone working together with Frank will meet a very dedicated person who is always keen, professionally unbeatable and possesses an extensive market knowledge. After his first years in Padborg, where he was mainly filling in customs papers, Frank was transferred to Esbjerg to a freight forwarding job with focus on the German traffic. In addition to his great gifts for playing football and for performing his forwarding duties at the border, Frank soon showed a talent for freight forwarding. When Blue Water established a branch office in Kolding, it seemed unimaginable without Frank being transferred to Kolding. He has now formed part of our Kolding team for 12 years, during which he has been involved in all the different activities of the office. Frank has risen to the occasion and is today in charge of groupage, part and full loads as well as the Austrian/East European groups. On 7.7., Susanne Almind Nørbygaard/Blue Water Esbjerg will be celebrating her silver jubilee with Blue Water. Only a few know that Susanne is in fact a skilled freight forwarder from the island of Funen, more precisely from Blue Water Odense. However, her origin always reveals itself when she is talking to another person from Funen on the telephone. Precisely what made Susanne move from Funen is a long story. But we do know that there once was a Blue Water company party, at which Susanne’s present husband participated.
Anna Hu, 26 years old, is employed as Oil & Gas Operator. Anna comes from a job in the Project department of Partner Logistics. Jacky Wang, 27 years old, is employed as Oil & Gas Operator as from 25.3. Jacky comes from a job in the Project department of SDV. Singapore Cheryl Kwan, 31 years old, is employed as Freight Forwarding Agent Project. Cheryl comes from a job as Customer Service Executive at Deugro Singapore Pte. Ltd.
Later on this resulted in a happy event, and it soon became obvious that Susanne would not pursue her freight forwarding career when she returned from maternity leave. Consequently Susanne decided to take charge of the administrative routines in the department for road transport Western Europe, to become a superuser and an expert in our sales system and to take care of other important administrative routines – all things that her colleagues in the department benefit from in their workday. Susanne is always wel prepared, in particular in connection with audits by Norske Veritas. She was therefore deeply disappointed when our auditor, at the latest audit, left the department after 10 minutes without “examining” her. In her spare time, Susanne looks after her family – her husband Kim and the three daughters, Anne, Line and Mette. She is also fond of rope skipping.
20 years On 1.3, Amadeu Outeiro Barber/Blue Water Barcelona will be celebrating his 20th anniversary with Blue Water. Amadeu was originally a captain of the merchant marine before he decided to change to a career in the freight forwarding business. After several years in the business, where he became acquainted with Blue Water, the good relations and our close cooperation on road transport resulted in 1994 in the establishment of Blue Water Barcelona with Amadeu at the helm Amadeu has a clear memory of his first 19
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Jubilees business trip to Denmark with the purpose of nursing/attracting clients. As a joke the trip was called “Desert Storm”. Amadeu is the proud father of a grownup daughter. He is a loyal F.C. Barcelona supporter. When he is not following his favourite team, he enjoys reading a good book, while listening to music delivered by Bruce Springsteen Juan Antonio Rubio/Blue Water Barcelona has also been part of the Barcelona office from the very start on 1.3.94. Juan Antonio is accounts manager and was from day one thrown into his new job as Amadeu started his employment with a business trip to Japan, leaving Juan Antonio alone at the office to handle everything. The two gentlemen started the Barcelona office from scratch. On the home front, Juan Antonio has a wife and a daughter. His hobbies include wine and football and a good book is not to be sneezed at. 20 years back, on 1.6.94, Serge Geelhoed/Blue Water Rotterdam joined Blue Water’s team in Rotterdam, 21 years old and having done his military service. In the beginning, Serge was taking care of general cargo import and, in cooperation with the Schiphol office, customs clearance as well. Nowadays, the import is mainly reefer cargo from Brazil, Thailand, Mexico, and Morocco, for which Serge arranges customs clearance and veterinary control. In his free time, Serge enjoys going on trips and watching football games with his two young sons. And he is also a reliable participant in Blue Water’s football tournaments, no matter whether they are arranged by himself or others. Now and then, Serge can also be talked into going out with his younger colleagues to have a drink or two. In 1994, Jette L. Jessen entered the door to Blue Water’s office for the first time when she started in an apprenticeship in the accounts department on 1.7. The little girl, with plenty of guts and blue blood running through her veins, soon felt at home and can now look forward to her 20th anniversary. Jette is energetic and diligent and acquired from the start a professional high standard. In addition to performing her duties at the office in Esbjerg, Jette has also been seconded to our offices abroad for training or as relief. Over the years, Jette has trained many of her colleagues and she has been involved in various segments of accountancy. 20
In 2005, we established a joint venture with Smyril Line – Smyril Blue Water – for which Jette was appointed accounts manager. A job she is still performing today. Jette is married to Per and they have two children: Andreas, 9 years old, and Camilla, 6 years old. On the home front, Jette is the logistics manager when Per is away on business. Once a week, however, dinner is ready when Jette comes home. Then Camilla and Andreas have prepared the dinner. The family makes frequent use of their caravan and mountain bike. In the spring time, they often go camping at weekends, even when there is snow. Then the snowmen just stay in the awning. Jette’s most recent hobby is running, and she has signed up for a new challenge: The Little Belt Half Marathon. Her training was briefly interrupted by a “concert injury”, but Jette’s willpower stood her in good stead. If Jette has set herself to do something, she will do it. Francis Pegado/Blue Water Dubai will be celebrating his 20th anniversary with Blue Water on 1.7. Francis, who today performs the function of transport manager, originally started as a heavy duty truck driver. He was for many years a wellknown face at the UAE/Oman border as he was carrying food products from Jebel Ali mainly to Muscat. It was during the time when Lauritzen Reefers had a regular liner service to the Middle East. Later on, the activities changed to container haulage to the dairy farms in the UAE. However, Francis had a wish to take up a position at the office and became deputy in the trucking department with focus on service and maintenance of the trucks. Today Francis is head of the trucking department. Francis lives in Pune with his wife, who is a teacher, and two daughters, who are both in college. Francis’ leisure activities include cooking, karaoke and angling. Claus Christian Andersen/Blue Water Odense will be celebrating his 20th anniversary with Blue Water on 1.8. Claus served his apprenticeship in the road department in Odense where he gained a reputation for being hard-working, conscientious and goal-oriented. Since the start, Claus has been involved in our Italian traffic and is today responsible for the development of the traffic and for our partner agreements in Italy. Claus acts decisively and is capable of seeing the big picture. He always shows a positive spirit and a good mood, which make
him very popular among his colleagues. Claus is an enthusiastic athlete, who rides his bike to work regardless of the weather. He also plays football on Rolfsted’s old boys’ team. Claus is married to Karin and they have two sons. One of them is, to Claus’ great displeasure, a Manchester City fan. Claus and his family enjoy spending time in their summer house, together with friends and relatives, relaxing from everyday life.
10 years Thomas Jeppesen/Blue Water Fort Lauderdale will be celebrating his 10th anniversary on 1.6. Thomas has his roots in Hjerting close to Esbjerg, where he also served his apprenticeship with an external freight forwarding company. 10 years ago, Thomas joined the Scan-Euro group at Blue Water’s Aarhus office where he was involved in LCL Far East import. A couple of years later, Thomas moved on to new challenges, in the form of Far East import and cruise activities, at our Copenhagen office. During a holiday in Florida, Thomas felt a sudden urge for living and working under warmer skies and put in an application for a transfer to Fort Lauderdale in 2011. Today, Thomas is a valued member and part of our cruise team. In addition to the daily activities, with ocean export for cruise line key accounts, Thomas is also our local IT wizard and go-to-person for IT matters. One might easily get the impression that Thomas has some gypsy blood in his veins, as he has been moving address several times during his first three years in Fort Lauderdale. Thomas is not one to miss a good party, and his is often the centre of the party and the one who keeps it going. In fact, he is also acting as our event manager arranging Happy Hour, on Friday afternoon after office hours, and other social events. Thomas enjoys music while driving his Mustang Convertible with the top open along the beach. Gilles Tocquet /Blue Water Brest will be celebrating his 10th anniversary with Blue Water on 28.6. Gilles is one of the latest newcomers at Blue Water Brest and he has had the pleasure to be involved in all the four different activities of the office. Gilles was just recently recruited when he was requested to help in the agency department and go on his own to the port
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Jubilees of Lorient to take care of his (almost) first ship’s call. Unfortunately, for reasons not related to Blue Water, the ship was arrested during the operation and became news of the day in the local media. This made a very tough start and a big pressure on our new man on the job. A few weeks later, however, Gilles was back in Brest involved in the activities in connection with the Old Sailing Boat Show, which takes place every fourth years in Brest. After six intensive months in the agency department, another urgency resulted in Gilles being transferred to the chartering department where he soon learned how to calculate vessels’ demurrage in the fastest possible way. Next step on the ladder, Gilles joined what he was initially employed for; the container department. Also in this department, he was doing everything from the groupage export and import, customs brokerage to the import management, which he has now been doing for 3 years. Nowadays, Gilles is very busy with the development and handling of import traffics of meat, fruit as well as fish. On the home front, his two young kids, Jade, three years old, and Brieuc, one year old, keep him in shape. Fortunately, he is well supported by Delphine, his wife, from whom he, among other things, have learned that the birthday cake to his colleagues tastes better if he bakes it himself instead of buying it at the last moment in the closest supermarket. If you are lucky, you will now and then be able to catch a glimpse of Gilles practising his surf talents in one of many spots near Brest. On 1.7.04, Pia Kreutzfeldt/Blue Water Copenhagen was employed as the first new colleague at the newly built office in Greve (Copenhagen). Pia’s first role at the office was as secretary for the sales group. Since then, Pia has increased her field of activity to include other areas such as HR, client events and she is also superuser as well as teacher in SMS, Notes and Compass. In her last-mentioned role, Pia also supports many of her colleagues from the other Scandinavian offices. We all know Pia as an incredibly happy and positive colleague with a contagious laughter which can be heard a long way off. In her free time, Pia enjoys swimming, zumba and cultural activities. The ladder include both theatre plays and camping. Like many other people, Pia is a collector. But she does not collect fine chinaware or money, she collects HAPPY AND MEMORABLE EXPERIENCES. We are sure that on
her anniversary day, Pia’s colleagues will contribute to adding new “items” to her collection. On 1.8, Jacob Thomsen/oil, gas & industrial projects, Esbjerg will be celebrating his 10th anniversary with Blue Water. Jacob started as a trainee in 2004 and has over the years been around various departments at the Esbjerg office. In recent years, however, he “unfolded his wings” in our wind group, before he in 2013 moved on to our oil & energy department. In his daily work, Jacob is involved in many exciting projects. Transports to the Caspian Sea is one of Jacob’s main fields. Usually, you will find Jacob at his desk in the office, but he also loves to visit the different ports, where the operations are carried out, and likes to give a helping hand whenever necessary. Jacob is a confirmed sports freak. However, he is having a hard time right now as he is a fanatic Manchester United fan. On 1.8, Morten Eskildsen/Short sea, Esbjerg will be celebrating his 10th anniversary with Blue Water. Morten served his apprenticeship at Blue Water Padborg before Claus Bæk took him under his wing in the exhibition department in Esbjerg. After another transfer, this time to the French department where he was handling import, Morten was ready for new challenges. In September 2011, Morten started at our office in Busto Arsizio (Milan), where he and Anders M. Knudsen were responsible for the planning of trucks in Italy, both via rail and road. However, in order to fill the post 100%, he needed to be able to communicate with his colleagues, clients, hauliers etc. in Italian. When Morten had been in Milan for approx. one month, we heard from his colleagues that he was doing well. He was able to understand quite a bit, but could not speak much Italian – only order red wine and beer – which was indeed important. However, he did manage to gradually improve his linguistic skills. Morten is now back at the Esbjerg office where he is involved in our short sea activities. He is a very sociable and friendly guy, who is nearly always ready for a night on the town. The only exception is when he is training for a special event. Then he is deeply serious, lives healthily, almost fanatically. In Italy, he ran a marathon with a 2:59:57 clocking. His goal was to do it within three hours. Morten always achieves his goals. At present, Morten is training for a half ironman this sommer in Aalborg.
Morten is in every sense a complete material freak. Therefore, he must be tired of his C1 instead of his Italian Mini Cooper Cabriolet. On 1.8.04, Kim Thue Andersen started his career with Blue Water Esbjerg as a sales executive and became soon very popular with his colleagues and not least the clients. As Kim has lived in the USA before and is very fond of everything that is American, he welcomed the challenge when it presented itself and shaped course for Fort Lauderdale in May 2011. For a good two and a half years, Kim was with great success responsible for sales and development of the reefer traffic from the USA. Kim has now returned to our Esbjerg office and is still 100 % concentrated on sales of the reefer activities with primary focus on the US market. Kim’s enthusiasm for the USA often results in funny and good discussions, where we have to remind him that he is now back in Western Jutland. When Kim does not spend his free time together with his wife, Gitte, and their children, Josefine and Jacob, he likes to play volleyball. Even a sports injury that needs a couple of weeks’ relaxation with his legs up, cannot stop Kim from appearing at his job, jumping up and down the stairs using crutches (maybe trying to arouse pity in the girls). He is very energetic and diligent and enjoys being busy and almost never sits on his chair while he is working. Kim juts out above his colleagues in the open-plan office, when standing at his desk. That is when he is not on the road calling on clients. Kim attends 110% to his clients and makes sure everything is up-to-date in our IT systems. He is very meticulous and dedicated, but in between he also finds time to party. On 1.8, Kenneth Lykke Lauritsen/ HSSEQ, Esbjerg & Copenhagen will be celebrating his 10th anniversary with Blue Water. Kenneth originally served his freight forwarding apprenticeship at the Esbjerg office, partly in the key account department under Lisette’s wings and partly in Henrik Miche’s department for road transport Poland and Western Europe. Having completed his apprenticeship, Kenneth took up the challenge when it presented itself in the form of a posting in Warsaw. When he returned from Poland, Kenneth moved to Copenhagen to a freight forwarding job at the Copenhagen office. After two years in two different departments, Kenneth took on the position of assistant manager for the North Atlantic sea freight 21
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Jubilees department, also at the Copenhagen office. One and a half years ago, Kenneth threw himself into new challenges in a new position as group quality specialist with base in Esbjerg and Copenhagen respectively. Kenneth originally comes from Western Jutland (Varde), but has his permanent residence in Copenhagen. Kenneth loves travelling and visiting new places, but confesses that he had never tasted sushi until he reached the age of 30. Kenneth Skovbjerg Pedersen/Blue Water Aalborg was employed to our air freight department in Aalborg on 1.8.04. It soon became obvious that Kenneth’s strength lay more in the project-oriented activities than in the production-oriented and consequently he got successfully involved in special projects. Through one of Kenneth’s contacts in the USA, we were offered the possibility of organising the transport of Dolly Parton’s equipment for no less than two concerts in Denmark. Since then, Dolly Parton has been one of Kenneth’s idols – not least due to her “outstanding points” as a great musician and singer. Kenneth has for many years been very US-oriented – both in respect of expertise and his wish for a posting “over there”. When Kenneth in 2008 was offered a management position at our office in Sisimiut, Greenland, it therefore needed careful consideration before he accepted the offer. Kenneth moved to Greenland in the late summer of 2008 and did a great job up there – both in connection with the daily operation and in terms of sales. In February 2010, we needed a new general manager in Nuuk and after one and a half years in Sisimiut, Kenneth was ready for this challenge. Kenneth returned to Aalborg in November 2011 to a newly created position as sales executive for North Atlantic cross trade with base in Aalborg. This has been Kenneth’s field of responsibility since then, only interrupted by a substitute job in Nuuk from the summer of 2013 to February 2014, while Lisbeth Borg was on maternity leave. Kenneth has never been afraid of accepting new challenges and has always taken pride in handling them satisfactorily. Kenneth lives together with his girlfriend, Anne, and his primary interest is football. On 1.8, Mette Nielsen/Blue Water Aarhus will be celebrating her 10th anniversary with Blue Water. Mette served her apprenticeship as a freight forwarder 22
in our air freight department in Aarhus. Afterwards followed a number of years at our office in Dublin. Mette returned to Blue Water Aarhus, to a job in the Norwegian department in October 2009. Here they profitted by and valued in particular Mette’s precision in the documentation department as well as her flexibility in connection with work outside normal office hours. For the air freight department, which Mette forms part of today, it is a pleasure to see the enthusiasm Mette shows in her job. She is the type of person who identify herself with pulling together and is therefore immensely valued by her colleagues. Mette spends a great deal of her spare time on her horse. The horse also benefits from Mette’s job with Blue Water as Mette every Friday empties the fruit baskets for the fruit that has not been consumed during the week. On 1.8, Nanna Juul Andersen/Blue Water Miami will be celebrating her 10th anniversary with Blue Water. Nanna originally comes from Jutland, more precisely from the little town of Holstebro. Therefore it might have been a big step for her to move to the capital city of Copenhagen to start her freight forwarding career as a trainee at Blue Water’s office. A desire to live abroad made her accept the challenge when it presented itself in 2007 in the form of a transfer to Blue Water’s office in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She was our third employee at the office and became extremely all-round as she was cross trained in both import, export and foreign to foreign in all modes of transport and with the entire world as her playground, which she managed very well. At the end of 2013, Nanna moved on to our Miami office where she is primarily looking after cruise line key accounts and working with ocean export. She is very well-liked by the clients, colleagues and vendors and always ready to lend a helping hand. Nanna spends her private time with her husband Ryan, whom she married recently, and their little son Aksel. Nanna’s leisure activities include reading, swimming, horseback riding and even to go flying with her husband . Our carpenter, Blue Water’s handyman in Esbjerg, Niels Løjborg, will be celebrating his 10th anniversary with Blue Water on 16.8. Niels has been far and wide in his past career. He has worked as a carpenter at the Thule Air Base in Greenland and before he joined Blue Water, he was a caretaker
at Mou Supper looking after all their buildings. From day one at Blue Water, Niels had many irons in the fire and he still has. In connection with Blue Water’s many expansions in the port of Esbjerg, he is deeply involved in the renovation and is also responsible for the maintenance of all our buildings (more than 60,000 m2). He is also the creator of various prototypes, when our Port Service team develops equipment, or when our rafting team needs a new raft for the annual Rafting Cup which takes place in the Fishing Port during the festival week. Niels is a real fighter, he goes all in and never spares himself no matter whether he participates on Blue Water’s team cycling with Team Rynkeby to Paris or he helps his colleagues. Niels has a heart of gold, he never lets you down when you need help. Niels is married to Helga and they have two nearly grown-up children, Emil and Signe. He is also a handyman when not at work. Niels has renovated a vintage car which is now in the same condition as when it left the factory. Furthermore Niels is a spinning coach and he also enjoys riding his racing bike or sailing in the family’s boat. On 23.8, Jesper Heinze/Blue Water Manchester started his career with Blue Water as freight forwarding trainee at Blue Water Copenhagen. For the daily ride from his home town, Roskilde, to the office, Jesper used his bicycle, as he did not have a driver’s licence – a distance of 14 kilometres each way. Jesper started in road transport Europe and later on, he got involved in the UK traffic. As Jesper is a solution-oriented and very helpful person, he was offered a six-month stationing in the Czech Republic when one of our clients needed a right-hand man. Jesper tells many interesting and amusing stories from his time there, but none of them are printable. After his adventure in the Czech Republic, Jesper was transferred to our Manchester office, where he is still based looking after exports to Denmark. Jesper is an extremely keen football fan and can often be seen and heard watching his favourite football team Manchester United at Old Trafford, and offering friendly advice to players who think they are injured and recommending a good optician to referees and linesmen. Jesper is a cheerful guy, who always has a ready answer and at parties, he is also a keen dancer, even if he has to dance alone.
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Birthdays May Anica Henningsen, Odense - 30 years old old Jeyhun Zali, Baku – 40 years old Shahul Hameed, Dubai – 40 years old Rene van der Spek, Amsterdam – 50 years old Lise Handberg Pedersen, Odense – 40 years old Anette Svarrer Teilmann, Esbjerg – 50 years old Manoj Kumar Ramesh, Dubai – 40 years old Ken Poulsen, Aarhus – 40 years old
11.5 12.5 16.5 17.5 22.5 27.5 30.5 31.5
June Lee Jian Shien, Singapore – 30 years old Joel Sotelo, Fort Lauderdale – 30 years old Pia Kreutzfeldt, Copenhagen – 50 years old Lis Parker, Esbjerg – 60 years old Jette Rotvig, Billund – 50 years old André Wurmehl, Bremen – 40 years old Annabel Marie Jensen, Gothenburg – 40 years old Daniel Elias Pioli, Sao Paulo – 30 years old Toi Manh Tran, Oslo – 50 years old Niels Mikkelsen, Odense – 40 years old Søren Bønning, Esbjerg 50 years old
3.6 5.6 6.6 10.6 12.6 13.6 14.6 14.6 15.6 18.6 23.6
Danny Toth, Rotterdam – 30 years old Kim Thue Andersen, Esbjerg – 40 years old
29.6 30.6
July Kristian M. Rasmussen, Esbjerg – 50 years old Richard Lui, Miami – 30 years old Paw Borup Dahlgaard, Aalborg – 40 years old Peter Fromsejer, Esbjerg – 40 years old Nadia Abdiche, Odense – 30 years old Olaf Fridheim, Torshavn – 50 years old
2.7 16.7 18.7 18.7 23.7 29.7
August Robyn Briand, Brest – 50 years old Alban Bianchi, Marseille – 30 years old Søren Svennum, Aalborg – 40 years old Susanne K. Hansen, Esbjerg – 50 years old Anders Maul, Esbjerg – 30 years old Seppo Rautanen, Vantaa – 50 years old Janne Tapio Koivisto, Helsinki – 40 years old Andrey Sles, Baku – 30 years old Dorte Scheel, Aalborg – 40 years old
13.8 16.8 17.8 17.8 20.8 20.8 26.8 27.8 27.8
Births On 6.12.13, Kimberley Runcie/Blue Water Aberdeen gave birth to a big baby girl, Phoebe Elizabeth (3.8 kgs). On 13.12.13, Niels Bolding Hygom/ Western Europe department, Esbjerg became a father, for the second time, of a baby boy, Carl (3.6 kgs). On 20.12.13, Mathias Kipker/Siemens Projects, Esbjerg and his wife, Majbritt, became parents of a baby boy (3.6 kgs/53 cm). On 2.1, Jeppe Stæhr Lohse/Blue Water Herning and her partner, Gitte, became parents of a baby boy, Frederik (3.2 kgs/52 cm). On 3.1, Florens van Tiggelen/Blue Water Rotterdam and his wife, Karin, increased their family by a baby boy, Luuk (4.1 kgs/51 cm). The family also include the very proud big sister Noor. On 12.1, Joy Sørensen/Blue Water Billund gave birth to a lovely baby girl (3 kgs/51 cm). On 15.1, Sara Vendelbo Matthiesen/ canteen, Esbjerg gave birth to a baby girl (3.8 kgs/53 cm). Sara has already three sons, who will no doubt help mum take good care of their little sister. On 17.1, Roelof van der Geest/Blue Water Amsterdam and his partner, Tamara, announced the birth of their baby girl, Mila Noa (3 kgs/49 cm).
On 3.2, Suzan Kaas Karabulut/Blue Water Aarhus gave birth to a tiny baby girl, My, (1.1 kgs/37 cm). Though little My was two and a half months premature, she and her mother are both fine. On 9.2, Janni Nielsen/accounts department, Esbjerg became a mother for the first time when she gave birth to a fine baby boy, Oliver (3.4 kgs/55 cm). On 10.3, Kenneth Tambo/Blue Water Kolding proudly announced the birth of his first child – a fine baby boy, Silas (4.5 kgs/57 cm).
Blue Water Aalborg retained their Shroveltide traditions of tilting at a barrel and eating Shroveltide buns. The winners of the traditional game, Lasse Lauth and Tina Vinfeld, were both awarded a small prize.
On 14.3, Kasper Junge/project sales & development, Esbjerg and his partner, Jeanet, became parents of a baby girl (3.9 kgs/52 cm). The little girl’s name is Philippa Christiane Vahlun Junge.
Published by: Blue Water Trafikhavnskaj 9 DK-6701 Esbjerg Tel.: +45 79 13 41 44 Fax +45 79 13 46 77
On 18.3, Ann Rasmussen/Blue Water Odense gave birth to a fine and healthy baby boy (2,8 kgs/48 cm).
Layout: Claus Simony
On 31.3, a genuine Blue Water baby saw the light of day when Karina Hansen/air freight department, Esbjerg and Nicolai Nørgaard/GDL, Billund became parent of a baby girl (3.1 kgs/51 cm). On 3.4, Dejan Brajkovic/Blue Water Aarhus got the best birthday present he could ever wish for. At 20:23 his partner, Rikke, gave birth to a fine and healthy baby boy (3.4 kgs/52 cm) who will be named Lucca.
Editors: Jan Hjortlund Hansen: jah@bws.dk Carsten Lindegaard Iversen Kurt Skov Published in 13.000 copies Email: bwsebj@bws.dk www.bws.dk Print: Jørn Thomsen Elbo A/S 23
Growth, development and an eventful tour of the USA Kurt Skov has just returned from a tour of Blue Water’s American offices Blue has been represented with its own offices in the USA since August 2002, when the first office was established in New York with Lisette Trap Munk among others. In May 2003, the office in Houston opened under the management of Thomas Bek. Later on, branch offices were established in Fort Lauderdale, with Rasmus Øllgaard and Zaida Pena, and in Miami with Roy Applegate. In connection with the annual cruise exhibition, Seatrade, in Miami in March, Blue Water’s Founder and Executive Chairman Kurt Skov and his wife Gyrithe seized the opportunity to call on our American offices to meet the people there and see the development. “It was nice to meet old colleagues as well as new faces and to
get to know them better - both at the offices and socially. It was a long but very interesting tour filled with impressions and a tremendous experience”. The offices are each active within their own area of business. New York is mainly involved in transport of traditional cargo by sea and air as well as special transport assignments in connection with the national defence in Denmark and Norway. Houston is the world capital for oil and gas activities and here we provide services to the oil industry. In Florida - the state with the world’s largest cruise ports - we offer logistic services to the cruise industry as well as worldwide shipments of reefer cargo. On the tour, Gyrtihe and Kurt also had
From our booth at the Cruise Exhibition in Miami: Kurt talks with Niels-Erik Lund, CEO of SunStone Ships, Miami (formerly ISP) – and our partner from ”Comfort at Sea”, who offers accommodation vessels – especially targeted for the offshore industry.
Dinner with the employees from Blue Water Houston.
Brent Patterson/BWS Houston and Kurt went to Tucson in Arizona to visit the mining corporation Rosemont Copper. It was a very interesting trip and a good meeting and lunch with the Management from Rosemont Copper. Kurt is sitting between Vice President Lance Newman and Mitch Early, Director of Procurement.
the pleasure of meeting a number of our good clients and business partners. The tour finished with two weeks’ holiday in the Caribbean and Florida. Blue Water has intensified its strengths on activities and development in the USA, where we last year employed Hans Christian Mikkelsen as overall responsible for the four offices with a total staff of 50. During recent months, we have strengthened our offices with the employment of new colleagues and the cooperation between the offices, both inside the USA and in the rest of the world, is developing satisfactorily and we have great expectations to the future.
In connection with the Cruise exhibition, the Danish Export Association invited to Happy Hour with hot dogs and beer. It was very popular and Halldor Halldorsson of the Export Association and Gyrithe had some busy hours.
Meeting with the staff in New York. Our new Country Manager in the USA, Hans Christian Mikkelsen, is standing to the left.
We arrived in Houston on the final day of their rodeo show, which is the big thing in Texas and goes on for 20 days. At the impressive Reliant Stadium, we saw many different competitions, along with 80,000 spectators, including of course horseback riding and bull riding. In the end, there was a concert with Zac Brown Band and fireworks. It was an amazing experience which we shared with Brent Patterson and his wife Laurene.