NO. 1. 2011. SAFETY & SUPPORT AT SEA
Great interest in the "Esvagt Bergen" The "Esvagt Bergen" is finally home, and it created a great rush on the quay where the vessel was shown to staff and their families. More than 500 participants welcomed the new vessel of the fleet.
It turned out to be a really warm welcome of the "Esvagt Bergen" when the vessel docked at Esbjerg and opened up to staff and members of their families so that they could get on board and see what a ultramodern vessel does look like. Somewhere between 500 and 700 took a survey of the vessel that is the first of the X-Bow-type ESVAGT has had built. And the great interest was a clear demonstration that the "Esvagt Bergen" was an extremely popular vessel to arrive in port.
FACTS: "Esvagt Bergen" Type: Length: Width: Draught: Tonnage: Engine power: Bollard pull: Rescue capacity:
Multi role - AHTS 80 meters 17 meters 6 meters 3676 GT - 1103 NT 2 x MAK 4000 bkW 119.4 tons 370 persons
On board the vessel several staff members guided the visitors around in groups, and there was a long queue that even Legoland would have been proud of, the weather taken into consideration. On the other hand it is now that you have to see the "Esvagt Bergen" for, according to plans, the vessel will not return to Esbjerg for quite a number of years. The vessel has been chartered to Statoil in the Norwegian sector for the next eight years with an option for another three years. Continue page 2
Editorial On 21 February 2011 ”Esvagt Preserver” reached a milestone of 20 years without accidents. This is not only a record in ESVAGT, but it will be hard, if possible at all, to find another shipping company being able to come up with a similar achievement. The fact is that we in ESVAGT focused on safety at a very early stage and that we have the ability to “live” safety. This is also illustrated by the fact, that we have several other vessels in the fleet closing on similar milestone. Furthermore, when we take into consideration that “Esvagt Preserver” has been used as a service vessel for great many years now and has been transferring people every day between offshore installations, then it bears witness to a very strong safety culture on board.
In early March, we took delivery of the new ESVAGT flagship – “Esvagt Bergen”. We will not make a secret of the fact that we were disappointed in the delays we saw because of the financial problems of the shipyard. Nevertheless, having said that we are proud to say that “Esvagt Bergen” does fully live up to our expectations and she demonstrates that our choice of shipping design etc. and other technical solutions were the right ones. As another indication of ESVAGT’s commitment of the ERRV market, we have just ordered another two C-vessels from ASL Shipyard in Singapore for delivery in early 2013. This will bring us to 12 C-vessels built in Singapore.
Once again, we will make various improvements based on our practical experiences with the previous vessels. The principle is quite simple. Every new vessel must be better than the previous one. This year ESVAGT is again participating with a guard vessel and oil spill contingency in Greenland. It is important for us to make some experience in the Artic regions and, at the same time, be present where a quality operator is required, who can work under more challenging conditions. n
and that they can have a dry suit, towels, socks and blankets, all of which is ready and packed.
Or that the various decks have different colors, so that it is easy to find your way around on board. New options So well, "Esvagt Bergen" is ready, says John Mejer: - She is the most modern vessel we have, and an incredible amount of things have been considered. It is indeed a long process to build a vessel, so some of the things that were among the most advanced things at the beginning have since become standard in other places or overtaken by even more recent and more innovative things. But we are extremely happy with what we have got with the "Esvagt Bergen". It gives the opportunity of tendering for a lot of exciting tasks, he says. The "Esvagt Bergen" can operate in all waters with tasks such as recovery of oil spills, as guard vessel with fire fighting, as standby at shipwreck and a multitude of other things. n
Søren Nørgaard Thomsen
"Esvagt Bergen" continued from page 1 Special properties Among others John Mejer, Operations Manager, conducted guided tours on the "Esvagt Bergen", and was able to talk about the many properties that make the vessel quite unique. And there are many examples of that. For example the daughter craft, the garishly yellow FRB, which "Esvagt Bergen" is equipped with, can in full size be sailed directly into the ‘garage’ in the bow even at 7.5 m high waves. From there they have direct access to the first hospital where the patient can be stabilized before he is moved to the next hospital further inside the vessel or to the helideck above. Or the hatches in the side that can be opened 10-12 meters directly up in the air to provide space for crane and oil skimmer in connection with the recovery of oil spills. Or that there is room for 370 survivors on the vessel
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NO. 1. 2011. SAFETY & SUPPORT AT SEA
Water mist replaces CO2 in fire fighting The "Esvagt Bergen" is innovative in so many ways – this also applies to the extinction of a potential fire in the machinery rooms. A misty cloud of water is the latest technological development when it comes to fire fighting. And the new vessel, the "Esvagt Bergen", is, as is well known, equipped with top modern equipment, so the "Esvagt Bergen" is the first vessel in the ESVAGT fleet that has a water mist system installed for fire fighting. - High pressure water mist is a system that replaces the use of CO2 for fire fighting, and it is both an effective and environmentally alternative to other ways of putting fires out on board, says Kristian Ole Jakobsen, Chief Technical Officer in ESVAGT. In order to feed a fire there must be three elements present, as is well known: oxygen, heat and combustible materials. By removing or minimizing one or more of these elements, a fire will be put out.
FACTS: Until further the ESVAGT-optimized water mist system has been implemented on the "Esvagt Bergen" and the sister vessel that has not been delivered from the Spanish ship yard yet and in the latest new vessel that has been chartered for the Barents Sea for ENI on the Goliath field in Norway.
Danfoss and Semco have developed the water mist system together, and to put it simply: the system works with water that is atomized into the room at approx. 100 bar pressure as mist that effectively puts out the fire by cooling and absorbing the oxygen on the fire location. Quick and safe According to Kristian Ole Jakobsen, Danfoss Semco promises that an area the size of a football field can be effectively extinguished with as little as 40 liters of water by using their water mist system. But it is other perspectives than football fields in flames that make the new technology technically attractive for ESVAGT. - For a large number of years CO2 has been used as an extinguishing method for fires in machine rooms. But when you release the CO2, the oxygen in the room is suffocated, and therefore it cannot be used to extinguish fire in the machine room till everyone has come out of the machine room, a man count has been made, all fire dampers closed and all ventilation stopped. Only then can the CO2 system be released. It will typically take 15 to 30 minutes, and that is time enough for the fire to spread with unbelievable speed across a machine room, says Kristian Ole Jakobsen.
The water mist system is a high pressure based system that operates at approx. 100 bar and that atomizes the water via specially developed water mist nozzles. As the name indicates, it is ordinary water that is used to extinguish the fire. That means that the water mist system can be released at any time independent of the fact that there might be people in the machine rooms and that engines etc are operative. The equipment in the machine room is in no way damaged by the water because of the tiny amounts that are used. So the fire fighting can start immediately after the fire has been detected, and thus precious time is substantially gained, and the spreading of the fire is limited as quickly as possible. Apart from the class requirements for a water based fire fighting system in its class, ESVAGT has a built-in possibility for changing to sea water if the vessel should run out of fresh water on board. A further safety measure is a built-in independent diesel operated pump with its own water reservoir of about 2 m3, which is enough for another 12-14 minutes’ fire extinguishing capacity in the event of a total blackout on the vessel. n
Great effort made the "Esvagt Bergen" ready for operation Credit to the staff for finishing the "Esvagt Bergen" in record time. It was a long expected main character that sailed into the Esbjerg harbor when the "Esvagt Bergen" docked in town on 9 March. Therefore Ole Ditlev Nielsen, Chief Operations Officer in ESVAGT, was extremely pleased that people had worked themselves to the bone to have the vessel ready on time, so that after the reception on the quay side on Sunday 13 March the vessel could set course towards the Norwegian sector where work for
Statoil will be on the program for the next eight years: - It has been a comprehensive and impressive achievement to make the vessel ready, says Ole Ditlev Nielsen: - From all sides there has been great good will and it is hats off to the crew who in spite of a far from optimal transfer process managed to do it all and handled the job just fine, he says. n 3
Impressive 20 years without accidents on the ”Esvagt Preserver” The “ESVAGT Preserver” can celebrate a milestone jubilee with 20 years of no accidents. Sometimes one has to put a space of time into perspective in order to understand it. Now that the ”Esvagt Preserver” can celebrate 20 years of no accidents, we may have to go back to 1991 in order to see how far away 1991 actually is. That was when Boris Yeltsin and Lech Walesa became presidents in Russia and Poland respectively and when the Internet, the new technology, reached one million users, and when a Danish national football team lost so many matches that they thought
Not routine The achievement does not decrease because the ”Esvagt Preserver” is far from having been a museum vessel on a calm sea during this period. For the past 20 years activities in ESVAGT have constantly been on the increase and thus ”Esvagt Preserver” has had its proper share of the transfer of the 54,000 men, which is the result for the period. In the same way as ”Esvagt Preserver” has had its good share of the 1,600 containers that ESVAGT move every year.
Focus on behavior The credit from Ole Ditlev Nielsen, Chief Operations Officer in ESVAGT is no less: - 20 years is an impressive achievement. It is fantastic that they have managed to keep the momentum and focus over such a long period of time. It is proof that the spirit and culture have remained on board even if the crews have changed, and there have been different crews and a high turnover of staff to and from the vessel, says Ole Ditlev Nielsen. He attributes the achievement to constant focus on the work task, and a large part of the credit on a philosophy that all Lost Time Injuries can be avoided:
they were going to have a summer vacation in 1992 in stead of playing for the European championship in Sweden. Well – it is as long as that since ”Esvagt Preserver” last had an accident. And what is more: We have registered accidents over the past 20 years, but the “Esvagt Preserver” has not had a single one. We actually do not remember if they even had one before the registration, says Steffen Rudbech Nielsen, HSEQ-Manager in ESVAGT.
FACTS: The ”Esvagt Preserver” will be rewarded with 20,000 Danish kroner for the ‘vessel treasury’ for the jubilee. Five other vessels have achieved a safety milestone during the Q1 of 2011. That is: ”Esvagt Echo” 19 years ”Esvagt Charlie" 19 years ”Esvagt Dee” 11 years ”Esvagt Alpha” 10 years all very impressive results. 4
- This period has seen an enormously busy activity level in the company. And it does not reduce the respect for the achievement that ”Esvagt Preserver” has solved its primary task: that everyone returns home every day over that period, says Steffen Rudbech Nielsen. He attributes a large part of the achievement and the impressive jubilee to good training of the crew and people who are to be transferred: - For 20 years they might have fallen back on routine but they have managed to keep up the high standards. This is very impressive, he says.
- The crew comply with the common rules and procedures, and they also manage to pick up what they have learnt so that they can pass it on to new people. This attitude and behavior are important, and it will be held in even higher esteem in ESVAGT in 2011 where many activities will be moved around somewhat. We are to observe behavior and attitudes much more closely when we are to improve safety rather than focusing unilaterally on technology and materials, says Ole Ditlev Nielsen. n
NO. 1. 2011. SAFETY & SUPPORT AT SEA
Naming of the ”Esvagt Bergen” The newbuilding H-159 also known as the ”Esvagt Bergen” was named in Bergen after delivery from Factoria Naval Marin in Spain and a week’s stopover in Esbjerg. In spite of the tight time schedule there was time for the naming of the vessel as well. The ”Esvagt Bergen”, which the vessel was named, docked at Bergen early in the morning on 6 April. Godmother was Ms Randi Kallevik, the administrative advisor of Volve and the flower girl was Ane Davidsen, daughter of the administrative advisor Ms Marit Davidsen from Statoil. ”Esvagt Bergen” departed the same evening towards Mongstad for various drills and tests in order to being finally chartered by Statoil. n
From left to right: Chief Engineer Bjarni Jensen Master Vidar Nielsen Chief Engineer Pauli Kristensen Flower girl Ane Davidsen Master Jesper Møhring Madsen Godmother Randi Kallevik Managing Director Søren Nørgaard Thomsen
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Three vessels contracted in the Barents Sea ”Esvagt Castor”, ”Esvagt Capella” and” Esvagt Contender” working in the Barents Sea – will provide us with important experience from work in artic regions. There can be no mistaking of the symbolism of the large, detailed map of the North Sea. The map hangs on the wall behind Thomas Fauerby, Chartering Assistant Manager in ESVAGT. The various positions of the ESVAGT vessels are shown here with small stickers. So it is very precisely marked that the sticker for the ”Esvagt Capella” is not only placed as high up as Thomas Faurby could reach – but that it has been stuck on to the office air-con system is just the finishing touch: - It is really a long way up there, and it is really cold there as well, so it is very appropriate that the ”Esvagt Capella” has got its sticker on the highest and coldest place in the office, says Thomas Fauerby. Very far away The ”Esvagt Capella” is one of three vessels that are working in the Barents Sea this year. Here Total, Det Norske and Statoil are looking for oil, and ”Esvagt Contender” works for Total, ”Esvagt Castor” for MLS/Det Norske and ”Esvagt Capella” for Statoil. - It is a stand-by task and support as we know them, but it is particularly challenging when it takes place so far to the north as is the case here. It is a very long way back home, says Thomas Fauerby. Therefore the vessels have to be provided with extra supplies of everything. The vessel must be self-sufficient to a much higher degree than usual, and repairs must be manageable on board. - The base is Hammerfest, and that is not an area within easy reach. It is a small fishermen society where the hotel is overbooked in no time. It takes five days to get there by ship from Stavanger and another day or so to get to the field. So this is a very clear indication that we are really far away from home, says Thomas Fauerby. Experience from the Navy As far as the climate is concerned, the challenges are completely different from what we are used to. - It does affect one that one has to be away for six months without dark or without light.
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At the same time it is very cold, and that leaves its mark on things. But there are many indications that these regions will be working areas that we will see much more frequently in the years ahead, and with more operations in these regions we will gain important experience from what we are doing just now, says Thomas Fauerby.
ESVAGT has been in contact with e.g. the Navy about how they are handling work in these climates, and this experience together with ESVAGT’s own experience is to be used targeting the new tasks in the farthest north. n
Put on the air con system is an appropriate place for the position in the Barents Sea where the ”Esvagt Capella” is working for Statoil.
NO. 1. 2011. SAFETY & SUPPORT AT SEA
More work waiting in Greenland
”Esvagt Don” and” Esvagt Capella” are to work in Greenlandic fields as stand-by vessels for drilling rigs. The continued search for commercial findings of oil in Greenland means “Esvagt Don” and ”Esvagt Capella” have been chartered to assist in Capricorn drilling activities. The drilling will be done by drilling vessel "Ocean Rig Corcovado" and the drilling rig "Leiv Eiriksson". - Previous investigations in the area gave findings although not commercial findings. Capricorn is expecting to drill four to six wells this year, says Thomas Fauerby, Chartering Assistant Manager in ESVAGT. The ”Esvagt Don” and ”Esvagt Capella” will be based in Nuuk and Aassiat and are to assist with the drillings on Lady Franklin fields around Atammik, Sigguk and Eqqua. On the 1 May the “Esvagt Don” set out towards the north, and the work is to be carried out from May till October-November, dependent on weather conditions.
For the purpose ESVAGT is trying to find locally based staff for Capricorn: - There is great focus on getting locally based people on the job and we are pleased to assist with that.
We estimate that we will be working quite a lot in this area in future, so it is important to us as well to hire local people who can strengthen our activities in the area in the coming years, says Thomas Fauerby. n
Contract with Talisman on Norwegian fields Three years for ”Esvagt Don” and ”Esvagt Dee” on Varg and Yme fields. ”Esvagt Dee” to be converted prior to contract start. ”Esvagt Don” is presently working in Greenland, but already there is call for her in the norwegian sector, where ”Esvagt Don” and ”Esvagt Dee” has been contracted for Talisman.
-The contract with Talisman for ”Esvagt Don” and ”Esvagt Dee” is for standby duties and minor supply and transfer duties for the next three years with further two years option,
says Thomas Fauerby, Chartering Assistant Manager in ESVAGT. This will be the first long term contract between Talisman and ESVAGT. The southern parts of the Norwegian sector, such as Varg and Yme fields is close to the Danish sector and therefore natural for us to be in, says Thomas Fauerby. Contract commencement is in July and as Talisman has requested a vessel equipped with fire fighting and oilspill equipment, “Esvagt Dee” is to be converted prior to contract start. - It suits us fine to have “Esvagt Dee” converted, as it is part of our strategy to enhance our competences especially around oil spill contingency further. That makes us capable of managing more tasks, says Thomas Fauerby. n
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”Learning cards” increases the near miss reporting
The introduction of ”learning cards” has made the near misslevel increase.
The level of the reporting of near miss incidents has reached a scope where it, at its best, shows a picture of the work at ESVAGT. As you will probably know, the near miss reports are the reporting of “incidents that might have resulted in, if…” incidents – and therefore the HSEQ department had anticipated that the “learning card” concept could cost a little on the reporting of near misses:
- We thought that it would be perfectly logical if there were fewer near miss reports as people would write a “learning card” instead, says Steffen Rudbech Nielsen: - But the fact is that the tendency has been just the opposite. The implementation of “learning cards” has given a renewed discussion and awareness of safety and this year to date we have doubled the number of near miss incidents, he says.
This could worry someone or be seen as a positive development – for either it is an expression of the fact that things are going badly or that attention is at its optimum. - It can be alarming when the number increases. But in the reports we can see that it is good reports about things that previously were often not reported and therefore we were unable to learn. It shows that the awareness and the will to report has increased, says Steffen Rudbech Nielsen. n
Land based readiness in action Oil spill in the North Sea was handled with a quick turn-out by the land based oil spill contingency of Maersk Oil. - The mobilization of the Maersk Oil equipment took place in less than three hours as specified. Furthermore the ”Esvagt Carpatia” arrived as an ROV vessel for inspection of the pipeline, says Ole Ditlev Nielsen, Chief Operations Officer in ESVAGT: - A dedicated, motivated and quick effort meant that the job was carried out to the full satisfaction of the customer and in the fastest possible time, he says. n
The land based oil spill contingency of Maersk Oil was mobilized when an oil spill had been observed in the North Sea between the oil fields Gorm and Rolf at the beginning of March this year. The ”Havila Herøy” and ”Havila Fanø” were sent to the area each with a crew of 13 people and each bringing seven oil spill operators, a high-capacity skimmer, 1,200 m containment boom and service containers:
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NO. 1. 2011. SAFETY & SUPPORT AT SEA
”Learning cards” to increase the level of observations Accident preventing operational readiness is to be gingered up somewhat. HSEQ has introduced ”learning cards” to increase the awareness of the observation of wrong behavior that later might result in incidents. convince them that it serves a purpose. We believe that if a person shows intensified attention on the lamp, then this person will also discover the oil on the floor that could become a potential accident. And it is the increased focus on sensible behavior that we are looking for. Behavior is often the cause when accidents and incidents are later explained. The key issue is the oil spill on the floor that was not dried up or the high speed on the stairs. This is what we want to stamp out, says Steffen Rudbech Nielsen. Polar bear to the ”Esvagt Carina” The use of ”learning cards” was introduced in January, and as an incentive to give impetus to the use of the cards with focus on behavior, a contest was launched where staff could win a crystal polar bear for the most completed cards in the category “behavior”.
When the HSEQ department carry out planned inspections, everything is gone through with a fine-tooth comb. This level of observation is much wanted in all everyday activities, and therefore the HSEQ has now introduced ”learning cards”. ”Learning cards” are notes that one can fill in when one observes something that might be a good source of wisdom:
FACTS: The safety pyramid is to help ESVAGT would like to catch incidents as early as it is possible. The safety pyramid divides incidents into 5 categories according to consequences in fatalities, personal injuries without absence, near misses and observations. Every time an incident can be moved downwards in the system, safety has increased. And the other way round, if you read the pyramid bottom up it will be a reminder of what lack of awareness may lead to.
- It could be observations of correct behavior, good safety handling, unsafe use of machinery or wrong environmental behavior. It could be anything, whether it is good or bad, says Steffen Rudbech Nielsen, HSEQ Manager in ESVAGT: - The most important thing is that one gets the feeling that it is necessary to keep an eye on and increase the level of observations, he says. Behavior is the cause ”Learning cards” are quick to fill in, and as a staff member you are supposed to use them as often as is necessary. If one passes a line of offices where all the lights are switched on while people are in the canteen, then a ”learning card” should be filled in. If one sees a staff member draw a colleague’s attention to inappropriate behavior, one could complete a ”learning card” on the situation. - Of course you can ask yourself if it is not somewhat exaggerated filling in a positive ”learning card” on a burning lamp during lunch break. And there will be skeptics who think that this is nonsense. But we have to
The prize was awarded to the ”Esvagt Carina”, which had 20 behavior-related cards (out of a total of 52 cards) and was thus a hair’s breadth in front of the ”Esvagt Echo”, which had 19 cards targeting behavior (out of a total of 89 completed cards). The ”Esvagt Observer” came third with 17 behavior-related cards out of 37 completed ones. Randi MacPherson, the shipping company contact person in Statoil, responded immediately with a greeting for the ”Esvagt Carina” chartered by Statoil: ”Wonderful to see that one of our vessels is doing so well”, she wrote. In Q1 a total of 1,036 ”learning cards” were filled in, and every single card has been discussed at safety meetings on- and offshore. n 9
”You do not take in the spirit by mail!” Master Karsten Lund Madsen, sees it as his finest task to improve the confidence of his staff, so that they will wish to get-up and take on more tasks. It is part of the ESVAGT spirit to be able to think for oneself as well. Master and herdsman – this could be the formulation of Karsten Lund Madsen’s job in ESVAGT For the ”Esvagt Connector” Master has been ‘feeding’ a lot of other vessels with colleagues for the past ten years or so. Not that they have got tired of Karsten Lund Madsen, but because people learn a lot from him on the ”Esvagt Connector”, which makes his people attractive to get on board new vessels. Thus, the X-bow vessels have a number of Karsten’s former staff on board, and the staff office had a look at the ”Esvagt Connector” when they had to find people for both the ”Esvagt Dee” and ”Esvagt Observer”.
People’s professional pride must be constantly nourished – and we do that by letting them solve the tasks themselves, says Karsten Lund Madsen, master on the ”Esvagt Connector”. Varied work As the most natural thing, the 44-year-old man from Esbjerg originally began work in the main trade of the town: the fisheries. He trained to become a fishing captain and shipped on board a vessel, but after a number of years with heavy taxation and the view of ending with a sore back like so many colleagues became too worrying. So the fishing career had to stop. Instead Karsten Lund Madsen trained to become a navigator, after which he applied for a job with ESVAGT in 1991.
In fact, Karsten Lund Madsen sees this part of his work as the most important that the nine to twelve colleagues who are working on the ”Esvagt Connector” at a time learn something and get the ESVAGT spirit under their skin while they are there. And they do: - I think they should get hold of things themselves and gain some experience, and that I am very pleased to pass on. You do not take in the spirit by mail! So I do all I can to let people get all the experience that is possible when they are away with the ”Esvagt Connector”, he says. 10
- The first ten years I was a ‘flyer’ and sailed on board all the vessels that ESVAGT had in its fleet. That was a fine way of working for there was something new all the time, and I moved around the entire shipping company. Since 2001 I have been on the permanent staff on ”Esvagt Connector” where there is still a lot of variation due to our profound knowledge of the work in the spot market. It does appeal to me that I do not know what I will have to do next summer, says Karsten Lund Madsen. He has helped to perform various tasks on ”Esvagt Connector”. The vessel has been on a lot of varied tasks – this year it came directly from Greenland to Egypt, and that was a change in temperature in more than one way: - We could not dock in the harbor and crew change as there was a good deal of violence in the area. So we made the crew change by helicopter, but this was a new experience for us as well, he says. Other tasks has been to sail around in French Guyana to collect parts from the booster rockets from the Arianne 5 when that satellite was launched, and Karsten Lund Madsen has been on a job in the Baltic Sea as well to map mines and bombs prior to establishing the oil connection North Stream.
NO. 1. 2011. SAFETY & SUPPORT AT SEA
FACTS: In private Karsten Lund Madsen is a divorcé father of two children (now 16 and 20). He is a keen golfer and plays preferably in Thailand, where he goes several times a year to play golf – together with other ESVAGT colleagues, if possible. He still lives in his native town Esbjerg where he has recently moved into an apartment in Kongensgade.
Dominates his work Work is frequently carried out for new customers with new rules and new ways of doing things. - The variation is really good. It means that we are kept on our toes all the time, and it also means that we try a lot of different things. With the ROV, doing wind mill tasks – all the changes are welcome, says Karsten Lund Madsen.
We are e.g. ordered to always wear a full suit when we enter the FRB’s. But when we were cruising in French Guyana where the water temperature was 22 degrees, a full suit was impossible. So we completed a risk assessment – life vests would be a good solution as full suits would dehydrate us – we got it cleared with the office and found a solution. This is a good way of working, says Karsten.
My
The many varied jobs with the ”Esvagt Connector” and new people to cooperate with are an advantage in the job. The opportunity of dominating the work is completely different: - We have great influence on the everyday activities and are able to control decisions. That is part of the pioneer spirit that is still here and that I love. There are so many procedures in the offshore industry – and for good reasons. But in a company such as ESVAGT it is fortunately possible to get around the rules if there are good reasons for it.
To think for oneself and solve any issues in the best possible way are good qualities on a vessel like the ”Esvagt Connector” that rarely docks and consequently does not have service contracts in the same way as other vessels in the fleet. - Therefore we solve several tasks ourselves. And if there is anything that gives professional pride it is to exchange the turbo at sea – that is something that makes one grow, and it is really good to see that the job is doable. And then it is part of the pioneer and the ESVAGT spirit that we are able to do most things on our own, says Karsten Lund Madsen. n
– and yours! ESVAGT is a workplace where many people with different backgrounds and education have their daily lives. But do we all know what each of us really work with? And how we got there? ESVAGT News gives us a possibility of saying hallo to each other. With the series of articles “My ESVAGT”, we want to portray your colleagues – and maybe you, too! 11
NO. 1. 2011. SAFETY & SUPPORT AT SEA
Staff get to work on their fitness Since January ESVAGT staff have cycled round the world, rowed three times from the West Coast of Jutland to Boston and run the marathon distance 328 times. Contests only have one winner, but in the ESVAGT Fitness Challenge 2011 it will be difficult to spot the losers. For since the contest was launched on the first of January, the staff of 26 out of the 36 departments that are participating in the challenge have been exercising and keeping very active. Thus jogging and walking count for 13,787 km, cycling 39,952 km and rowing 23,775 km – and Nick Vejlgaard Ørskov, HR Manger in ESVAGT is particularly pleased with these figures:
- The basic idea is that we are supposed to keep people in good health and fresh spirits. And the figures mentioned demonstrate that there really is some backing for this, he says. All departments in the house have had the offer of participating in the contest where cycled, walked/jogged or rowed kilometers are converted into points. The teams consist of four onshore-based – one for each in the operation, finance department and the technical department and one in common for HR, HSEQ, chartering and
management – and the individual vessels – a total of 26 departments. 10,000 Danish kroner for the winner The contenders earn points that are calculated per staff member participating. The point system is that four km on the bicycle, one km jogging/walking or rowing is converted into 1 point. - And it counts whether you do the kilometers offshore or at home. So points are obtainable from exercising in one’s spare time, says, Nick Vejlgaard Ørskov. For the moment it is the mixed onshore team that is leading by 227 points – the nearest pursuer is ”Esvagt Charlie” with 192 point. The contest will run till 31st May, and there are some fine prizes to be won: 10,000 Danish kroner for the winning team, 5,000 for the runners up and 3,000 for third place. Besides that, all participants have been rewarded with a fitness challenge shirt 2011. n
FACTS: We can inform you that at the moment ”Esvagt Charlie” is leading the bicycle contest of the Danish Government Seamen's Service for all vessels registered for the contest – it can be seen on the Danish Government Seamen's Service's website.
ESVAGT-NEWS PUBLISHED BY: ESVAGT A/S Adgangsvejen 1 DK-6700 Esbjerg Tlf.: +45 33 98 77 00 Fax: +45 33 98 77 05 E-mail: mail@esvagt.dk Website: www.esvagt.dk 12
EDITOR: Anette Sørensen
LAYOUT: Webservice
TEXT: Sune Falther
PRINT: Tarm Bogtryk A/S