M aritime Maritime Danmark
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Magazine 5 - 2012
LNG: New fuel, new market Copenhagen: Capital of the Oceans Thrane: Forced away from the work of his life
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M ARITIME MARITIME DANMARK
DANISH
ISSN: 1903-5888 Editor Martin Uhlenfeldt mu@maritimedanmark.dk Phone (+45) 2366 2899 Ads René Wittendorff, CEO rw@maritimedanmark.dk Phone: (+45) 7020 4155 Fax: (+45) 7020 4156 Publisher Maritime Danmark ApS Esplanaden 30.4 1263 Copenhagen K Phone (+45) 2366 2899 Printing: PE offset A/S Layout: Michael Storm, Designunivers Next issue: 20th of February 2013
5-2012
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5 - 2012
4 Maritime growth in Copenhagen: An international maritime focal point 8 Built in China – But with many danish sub-suppliers 10 Danish Maritime Fund: LNG: New fuel, new market Copenhagen: Capital of the Oceans Horsepower for new blue development Thrane: Forced away from the work of his life 14 New fuel, new market 16 Forced to give up his life’s work 18 Somali piracy slowing down: Counter-piracy at sea is working 20 Scandlines has a vision of green ferry services 22 FOB newbuilding sets new standards Advisory Board: Klaus Kjærulf, Chairman SeaMall (Chairman) Jenny Braat. CEO Danish Maritime Jan Fritz Hansen, EVP Danish Shipowners’ Association Per Jørgensen, Chairman MMF and Federation Internationale des Cadres des Transport Bjarne Mathiesen, CEO Port of Aarhus Steen Sabinsky, CEO Maritime Development Center of Europe / EMUC Kurt Skov, CEO Blue Water Shipping Lars Thrane, Founder of Thrane & Thrane
Danish shipping creates value
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Photo: Ty Stange / www.copenhagenmediacenter.com
Maritime growth in Copenhagen:
An international maritime focal point By Finn Bruun
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Maritime growth in Copenhagen: An international maritime focal point
Daily news on www.maritimedanmark.dk
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5 percent of world tonnage is operated from Copenhagen You should never miss the benefit of a good crisis, an old saying goes. The whole world has felt the impact of the financial downturn. So has shipping. But the question is: who will be best prepared when the tide turns once again. Danish shipping declares itself ready – and is even heading for a title: Capital of the Oceans. National consensus brings this goal in touch with reality. The Blue Denmark – as Danish shipping and all its industry is often named – has for quite some time been earmarked as a growth area by the government – today shipping is Denmark’s largest export sector – and by engaging the industry directly through a growth team, the government has obtained a realistic input and overview of opportunities. The final official growth strategy is still in development but expectations are that it will be close to the recommendations of the growth team.
Already an ocean capital But the claim for the title “Capital of the Oceans” may already be redundant. Associate Professor at Copenhagen Business School, CBS, Martin Jes Iversen, who closely monitors Danish shipping development, finds that Copenhagen has already earned this position in many respects. This is reflected in the many major international shipping companies already present, the numerous ships they own and the significant number of chartered foreign vessels relying on them for operations
Recently the current Danish minister for Business and Growth, Annette Wilhelmsen, stated that the government shares the vision of the growth team, which sees Denmark at the heart of maritime Europe, through an ambitious and realistic growth strategy for the Blue Denmark? as a whole. Also in the Copenhagen metropolitan area, the idea of “Capital of the Oceans” is a welcome one. As Lord Mayor Frank Jensen says: “Copenhagen has all it takes to meet this maritime challenge. Shipping is extremely important for Copenhagen. The administration will go to great lengths to secure easy access to the city for international companies who wish to establish operations here, as well as for their employees and guests. Copenhagen has a lot to offer, and our strategy of creating new business and jobs supports the development of the city as a center for shipping and gateway for all related activities.”
Frank Jensen
“The “Capital of the Oceans” initiative corresponds well with Copenhagen’s strategy to attract new businesses and create new jobs. The City of Copenhagen will therefore do what we can to help the maritime cluster to attract new international shipping companies. I believe that Copenhagen has a lot to offer, among many other things a great business environment and a high quality of life,” Frank Jensen says.
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Maritime growth in Copenhagen: An international maritime focal point
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and pool management. Indeed, today 5 percent of world tonnage is operated from Copenhagen. And Martin Jes Iversen sees continuing strong potential. However, to further strengthen Copenhagen’s position Iversen says it is crucial that knowledge and research be improved by stronger interaction between public and private resources, between the academic world and company developers – including economic studies. He therefore calls for a new platform combining the various strong knowledge disciplines to meet these challenges. CBS itself has established new forms of Blue research areas as well as studies and education and more is underway. He is optimistic but expresses slight concern about the new A.P. Møller – Maersk strategy whereby Maersk Line signals a slightly reduces focus on the shipping leg.
other,” he stresses, mentioning the importance of one-stopshopping and smooth handling of documents. “It is important that we look at the whole package – both when it comes to setting up operations in the city and to visits. It must be simple to get permission to stay during work periods and simple to have your family with you. One-stop procedures should apply to both the Maritime Authority and the softer social issues at the Town Hall. We are going to attract competent people the same way we station Danes around the globe to strengthen the Blue Denmark. Business center “When it come to business, we would like to have new events in Copenhagen to attract foreign visitors – these might be related to shipping activities, like security or green challenges, but we may also focus on the capital market to encourage investors to come. Therefore we are considering events next year which will be of interest to international decision-makers,” he says, mentioning a ‘maritime week’ during which the Danish shipping world could design an agenda making Copenhagen the focal point for political decisions about shipping regulation and the environment, while promoting the city as a center for business and development. At the same time we could make use of our conference facilities and related activities, creating a win-win situation for all parties, he suggests. Small and big “Today all of our member companies – both small and big – are global, with worldwide operations. And many offshore companies, also have a regional agenda,” Jan Fritz Hansen points out. “So their interest is that we in Copenhagen – as a global focal point –
Martin Jes Iversen, Associate Professor at Copenhagen Business School Denmark is the capital The imminent governmental growth team report is not just about Copenhagen, but the whole country. Yet the capital is ultimately at the center of Denmark’s position as a world maritime stronghold. As Jan Fritz Hansen, Deputy Director of the Danish Shipowners’ Association puts it, no one will feel insulted if the term “Copenhagen – Capital of the Oceans” is used to describe the country as a whole. “Denmark is so small that in reality it constitutes only one maritime cluster – with some regional sub-clusters,” he points out. “To meet the international challenge and make Copenhagen globally attractive, quite a number of initiatives are needed. It must be made easier for foreign companies to establish themselves and to invest here, in one way or an-
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Maritime growth in Copenhagen: An international maritime focal point
engage in questions of shipping regulation. Of course, only the big shipping companies have the resources to participate directly in the debate. The smaller ones typically leave this to their associations. But they are equally dependent on a satisfactory outcome for the political discussions.” Commercially, all are interested in, let’s say, ship management and technical counseling. Even though visits by investors and discussions with international bankers are not to everyone’s taste, Copenhagen will also be able to attract regional investors – perhaps with a Baltic focus. Short sea shipping might be able attract events and visitors, Jan Fritz Hansen says, expressing the hope that all this could lead to some form of international discussion forum resulting in something like the “Copenhagen Accord”, which came out of the UN Cop15 climate summit in Copenhagen I 2009.
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Built in China – But with many danish sub-suppliers Danish or Danish-owned maritime enterprises are ranking high in the world league when it comes to the production of hundreds of components which make up today’s modern product tankers. They are therefore well represented on the supplier list which Norden has delivered to the GSI Yard in China, where Norden’s two new product tankers are being built. When a shipping company negotiates a contract for a newbuilding with a yard, it is not only price and specifications, which are being negotiated. The yard and company must also agree on which suppliers will be delivering the hundreds of components which make up the vessel. The yard has its suggestions, and so does the shipping company, and these suggestions will result in a supplier list, which both yard and company can agree upon.
“We have a very clearly defined starting point when we present our suggestions for sub-suppliers: quality and price are the decisive factors. We will not compromise quality or spend away the shareholders’ money just to get a Danish flag on the box of components. This would be unprofessional and irresponsible”, says head of Norden’s Technical Department, Lars Lundegaard.
The Blue Denmark is ranking high in the world league
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Built in China – But with many danish sub-suppliers
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“This is yet another example that the Blue Denmark is ranking high in the world league also when it comes to production of vessel components – from engines to lifeboats, from kettles to tank measurement equipment, from ventilators to firefighting equipment, etc. Since we have decided not to attach importance to national preferences in our supplier list, we as a Danish shipping company can only be delighted that Danish or Danish-owned enterprises can compete on both quality and price”. His guess is that the 2 new product tankers will have approximately 25 Danish sub-suppliers, and this is a high number and more than usual, he says. This is not saying that the components from the Danish subsuppliers will be “made in Denmark”. The same applies for the Danish maritime business as in any other business. Even though the head offices and development departments are situated in Denmark, the production is carried out in many different locations – in Denmark, but also in e.g. China, where the 2 product tankers are being built.
sistency of supply and high reliability. We always get what we pay for, and the products deliver as promised – also after the guarantee has expired”, says Lars Lundegaard. By and large, Norden benefits from the fact that the newbuildings will have so many Danish sub-suppliers. “We are already familiar with these enterprises, we have great experience with them and we know that they have a great track record. It is also easier to be in close contact with a business which is based “just around the corner” rather than thousands of kilometres away. At the same time, the Danish sub-suppliers to the yard industry are also very good at keeping us updated on the latest technological advances on a regular basis, just as it is very natural for them to adjust their products to match Norden’s specific needs and standards”, says Lars Lundegaard. Courtesy of Norden Norden News Autumn 2012
“But this does not change the fact that the Danish enterprises within the maritime business deliver high quality, high con-
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Built in China – But with many danish sub-suppliers
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Danish Maritime Fund:
Horsepower for new blue development Who wouldn’t dream of a rich uncle who perfectly understands your situation – and hands out money without delay. Well, the Danish shipping world actually has a unique institution like that: The Danish Maritime Fund, who actively supports the development of the sector. And as chairman of the fund, Knud Pontoppidan, puts it: - We are flexible and not bureaucratic. We prefer to give money instead of keeping it. We have a positive view. By Finn Bruun
The all including name for the Danish maritime industry, shipping and supporting business and administration of all kinds is “The Blue Denmark”, counting around 100.000 employees engaged in global enterprise. They are – as well as a significant number of new MBA-students with-in the sector – the target of the well to do fund’s engagement. The list of supported – and often successful – initiatives is long, and hardly any important “blue” conference or event runs without the foundation’s name on the list of sponsors. That’s why the Danish Martime Fund is a visible factor in the whole industry. Project creators have a place to go with their new and focused ideas.
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Danish Maritime Fund: Horsepower for new blue development
The Danish Maritime Fund has existed for seven years, and gets its means from the revenue of a law established share of the capital of the now private owned Danish Ship Finance A/S. This construction followed the politicians’ closing down of Danmarks Skibskreditfond. Its trust funds are 33.3 million Danish kroner in shares in Danish Ship Finance A/S. The fund clearly prefers to support project initiatives rather than ordinary operation. One strong field of focus is the environment, and quite a lot of the projects have a green approach much in concert with the general commitment in Danish shipping and maritime industry to seriously meet climate and environmental challenges.
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Carsten Melchiors Administrator, The Danish Maritime Fund
This goes for issues like for instance ballast water treatment systems and eco island ferries. Immediate use As the Fund’s administrator Carsten Melchiors, puts it: - Our fund very much prefers to do something that benefits the environment, and it is extremely important that we work with issues that are immediately useful and addresses a real challenge, so shipping can benefit from them, he says underlining the importance of bringing business together with the academic community supporting cluster cooperation within the Blue Denmark. Chairman Knud Pontoppidan especially welcomes applications for activities that are innovative, forward-looking and
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business oriented: - This means projects that develop the skills and competitiveness of the Danish maritime sector. The Fund’s board wants to strengthen the industry’s growth and contribute to job creation. The flexibility has much to do with the fact that it is at the board’s discretion to decide as to how the fund’s purpose is best served. No one has legal claims to be funded. There are no detailed criteria for the types of activities that the Fund wants to support, but innovation and forward orientation means that new competences and ingenuity for the Blue Denmark are valued.
Danish Maritime Fund: Horsepower for new blue development
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Five themes The Fund’s distributions can be divided into five thematic areas: Environment, recruitment, training, performance optimization and promotion of the Blue Denmark. There are two kinds of portions: Business oriented and nonprofit work. In business a project is typically funded by up to 50 percent as a loan at very special conditions. Repayment must be made if a project evolves into a profitable product. For non-profit donations, the Fund may cover up to 100 percent of the activity and there is no requirement for repayment. The Danish Martime Fund’s activities are appreciated within the industry. Handing out money always tends to add to ones popularity, but in a study last year this was confirmed in numbers: An impact analysis carried out by consultants among recipients and applicants on their experience with the Fund found it easy to work with being non-bureaucratic and quick acting - and not less important – quick to pay.
Guard, Bawat, Atlas Denmark and the DHI around a demoplant in the port of Hundested, Zealand. - We have invested a lot of resources and money in developing a credible system for ballast water treatment, Carsten Melchiors says. One of them is the Bawat system, an “in-tank” ballast water treatment system that removes oxygen in ballast water, combined with pasteurization. This combination can effectively reduce the microorganisms according to IMO Convention requirements. All tests have out so far been positive and the land based procedures are soon completed. The inventor, Jan Hummer, describes the system as unique and explains that ballast water is re-circulated over the ballast tank inert gasses are dosed into a circulation system where “intank” rotary jet heads secures a fast stripping of oxygen from the ballast water.
Carsten Melchiors is convinced that the Fund’s work is well received by as well shipowners, industrial companies and operators as organizations like Danish Shipowners’ Association, Danish Maritime, development funds and EMUC, European Maritime Development Center.
- The project would have been almost impossible to start up without the Danish Maritime Fund, who has supported the initial stage and helped create the Danish Hydraulic Institute’s test facility at Hundested, where large scale tests can be conducted.
The fund has been involved in more than 500 projects where more than half have received current support from the Fund. Around 250 million DKK have so far been distributed. And there is no finish line. As long as the Fund has its income the contributions continue. - We hope to see still more business oriented projects enabling us to support new products. Our goal is to put things in motion and not holding back the money, Knud Pontoppidan says.
- The DHI facility is one of only seven such plants in the world. Having it here makes a big difference for us. Things are much easier now, he says adding that the seaward testing will start next spring and DNV certification can be expected in 3rd quarter 2013. Jan Hummer’s project has met great interest as well as skepticism. Some find it hard to believe, that it can actually be that simple. – But it is. The more complicated a ships ballast tank is, the better our system works, he underlines.
On education the Fund has taken a remarkable step by establishing as much as 100 new scholarships in Maritime MBA over the next five years. The process is going on right now with 20 applicants for 2012 from the Blue Denmark, creating fine opportunities for them. The applicants are supposed to have potential within management and business development and represent a broad spectrum of the sector. They are typically aged between 30 and 40 years. So far two women are among the supported. A case in progress One of the huge challenges – and opportunities – for Danish shipping and maritime industry is treatment of ballast water due to coming strict IMO regulations creating a worldwide multi-billion dollar task. The Danish Maritime Fund has worked with and supported several projects on ballast water systems: Desmi Ocean
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Danish Maritime Fund: Horsepower for new blue development
Knud Pontoppidan
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Port of frederikshavn service towards new- horizons Port of Frederikshavn Service Towards New Horizons
Port of Frederikshavn Service Towards New Horizons
For more details visit: www.maritime-network.dk and www.fhhavn.dk
ort of Frederikshavn ce Towards New Horizons
Port of Frederikshavn Service Towards New Horiz
For more details visit: www.maritime-network.dk and www.fhhavn.dk
New fuel, new market Lauritzen Kosan joins other industry stakeholders to outline an infrastructure for using liquefied natural gas (LNG) as an alternative to oil-based fuels. New regulations on the sulphur content of fuel for shipping in the Baltic Sea, the North Sea and the English Channel - Sulphur Emission Control Areas (SECA) - will come in force on 1 January 2015. The mandate to decrease sulphur content from 1.0 per cent to 0.1 per cent has intensified interest in the possibility of using LNG - which has significant environmental and climate advantages over oilbased fuels as an alternative fuel moreover, Lauritzen Kosan is looking at LNG not only as an alternative fuel solution, but also as a new business opportunity in LNG transportation. Both of these considerations spurred Lauritzen Kosan to join other industry stakeholders representing the LNG supply chain - including states and ports, as well as gas and LNG terminal companies - in working on the North European LNG Infrastructure project, which recently concluded with a report titled, “A feasibility study for an LNG filling station infrastructure and test of recommendations”. The project forms part of
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New fuel, new market
a larger initiative co-financed by the EU on LNG infrastructure and deployment in ships, which includes two full-scale pilot LNG cruise ferries serving the southwestern part of Norway and the European continent through the Port of Hirtshals, Denmark. An open question For more than a year, Peter Justesen, vice president and head of fleet management for Lauritzen Kosan and Søren Berg, project manager, with the assistance of Lauritzen Kosan technical specialists, represented Lauritzen Kosan at project meetings around Northern Europe and in the UK. “Our basic mission was to try to map out what is needed for LNG to become a viable alternative to heavy fuel within the North European area”, says Søren Berg. “The benefits and technology are proven: LNG is a much cleaner fuel, which emits virtually no particles, no NOx and
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SOx, and considerably less CO2. The main obstacle is the almost total lack of infrastructure for storage and distribution. Ship owners are hesitant to convert to LNG before infrastructure is available”. Peter Justesen concurs: “At this point it’s an open question”, he says. “If the infrastructure is available, people will invest in LNG-powered ships, it’s as simple as that. The key to making it happen is to determine infrastructure requirements and many related questions, and that was the focus of the project”. Although natural gas is in some regards easier to handle than heavy fuel, it presents storage challenges. If natural gas is cooled down to minus 162 degrees Celsius, it becomes a liquid (LNG – liquefied natural gas). Through liquefaction, 600 cubic metres of natural gas are condensed to one cubic metre, which makes natural gas suitable for storage, transport, and bunkering. Even so, it still takes nearly double the space of heavy fuel and needs purpose-built cryogenic tanks - existing fuel oil tanks cannot be used. Compliance options “Vessels such as coasters, ferries, and ro/ro ships trading exclusively within Northern Europe are more likely to convert to LNG if the infrastructure is in place”, says Søren Berg. “For ships operating outside this area, one answer with huge potential may be dual fuel vessels that still burn heavy fuel on open seas but have the ability to use LNG in emission control areas once it is available”. In any case, use of LNG will demand considerable investments - in new vessels or converting existing ones - on the part of ship owners, for whom it’s a question of whether they can bring costs down and get a better margin. It is a complex question: theoretically, if the cost of compliance with the new regulations, including investing in conversion to LNG, goes up too much, the effect could be to create more overland truck transport within SECA, which is not environmentally desirable. For the time being, ship owners have three possible compliance strategies: 1) continue as today but comply by switching to low-sulphur Marine Gas Oil (MGO); 2) continue o operate on high-sulphur fuel oil, but install scrubbers to wash the sulphur from the exhaust gas; or 3) consider LNG engines. The investment cost for the marine gas oil strategy is limited, but the oil is expensive, while the last two alternatives demand large investments, but with the benefit of cheaper fuels. “LNG is definitely an attractive alternative if the price is right”, says Søren Berg.
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“Like much else at this stage, the future price is market driven and uncertain, but our best estimates - including a large addon for infrastructure development - show numbers that still justify building ships for LNG or dual fuel, and even some retrofits as well”. Twofold interest “As far as we’re concerned at Lauritzen Kosan”, says Peter Justesen, “the answer is either scrubbers or LNG, if we want to make a real change. we’re also looking at the potential market for smaller LNG distribution ships, as the ships bringing LNG to Europe are very large and can’t handle local distribution. So If LNG development goes forward there will be a huge demand for distribution ships and for bunker ships - presently nobody knows how big the potential is, and we can’t build ships on pure speculation. This uncertainty is also why at the moment, as a shipowner, we favour the dual-fuel option of building ships that have LNG capability, but are not solely LNG dedicated. Whereas if we knew there was a market and an infrastructure, we could build completely different types of ships”. The project’s final report ends with 19 detailed infrastructure recommendations encompassing the full LNG supply chain, from LNG import terminals and liquefaction of natural gas in Europe to ships as end-users. The recommendations also cover “soft” areas such as the need for regulatory bodies to formulate rules for LNG bunkering, crew training for LNG-powered vessels, and public communication. “The challenge is what makes it interesting”, says Peter Justesen. “It’s not a small task, but the report recommendations clearly outline the requirements for setting up an LNG infrastructure, what must be done to solve each problem, and who has to do it. Taking part in the project also certainly gave us a better understanding of decisions Lauritzen Kosan will be faced with in the near future”. Courtesy of J. Lauritzen Lauritzen News - Issue17 - October 2012
KALUNDBORG LINESMEN APS Kalundborg Linesmen wish our customers and business partners a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year KALUNDBORG LINESMEN APS DK-4400 Kalundborg Phone: +45 20 32 93 11 E-mail: kalundborglinesmen@mail.dk WWW.KALUNDORGLINESMEN.DK
New fuel, new market
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Forced to give up his life’s work Lars Thrane was this spring forced away from the work of his life, the electronics company Thrane & Thrane, when the British giant Cobham carried through a hostile takeover of the Danish company. In this interview, Lars Thrane for the first time tells the story about what happened to him in the turbulent course of events. By Martin Uhlenfeldt
“When you are the object of a hostile takeover, you have all the possibilities to defend yourself against it, as long as the stock market price is not too high. If the stock market price gets very high, you don’t really have any defense – there is nothing you can do”, Lars Thrane states. “But I still think it is somewhat strange to take possession of the control in a company against the will of the main shareholder, the founder and other shareholders. I have spent 30 years of my life developing the company to the size it has today. To be thrown out of the company as it is the case here – that’s a strange feeling”, Lars Thrane says.
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Forced to give up his life’s work
The radio and satellite communication company Thrane & Thrane is one of the crown jewels in the Danish maritime industry. Known in the entire shipping world for the company’s advanced equipment for satellite and radio communication. The company, which has its head quarter in Lundtofte north of Copenhagen, employs more than 600 people, of which 200 are in the development department. “To run a company at the level, on which we have run Thrane & Thrane is not something that you just do. It is a very, very difficult task. It is no coincidence that we are the only company within the satellite communication sector, which has earned
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money in all the years. No one else has done that. And this is obviously because we are better at running the company than they are”, Lars Thrane says.
Trouble in the wind During autumn 2011 the British private equity fund Jupiter Asset Management begins to buy up shares in Thrane & Thrane.
Thrane & Thrane’s success has not passed unnoticed. The big British supplier of electronic equipment for the defense and air transport industry, Cobham, is one of the companies, which has taken a keen interest in what has happened in Lundtofte.
One and a half month after Lars Thrane had said no to sell, Jupiter announces that they own 9.5 per cent of the shares in Thrane & Thrane. Five days later the portfolio is 10.8 per cent.
Cobham shows interest “I knew Cobham beforehand. They own a company, Chelton, which has acquired a lot of companies – among others a company in South Africa, with which we cooperated for many years”, Lars Thrane says. “I was once to a meeting in Chelton, it is several years ago, I don’t really remember when it was. During the lunch the general manager mentioned that they would also be interested in acquiring us sometime”.
“Of course it sets the alarm bells ringing. A British private equity fund is not just rushing in like that buying 10 per cent of the shares in Thrane & Thrane. Then I realized that there was trouble in the wind”, Lars Thrane says. During winter Cobham gradually raises the rhetoric towards Thrane & Thrane. From being interested in buying to announcing to the board that they would make an offer regardless the position of the main shareholder.
How did you react? “I said the company was not for sale”, Lars Thrane states. But that did not make Thrane & Thrane less interesting in the eyes of Cobham. “In August 2011 our chairman of the board, Waldemar Schmidt, is approached by Cobham, who say that they are interested in acquiring us. They ask me to find out whether I can accept it or not. I spend two to three weeks considering and then return to them saying I am not interested in selling, Lars Thrane tells. “It has nothing to do with money – I simply do not think that Cobham is qualified to run the company”. “The problem with Cobham is, from my point of view, that a totally dominating part of their sales is military production. If you have a company that works with military production, you make contract development. Then you get a contract with some specifications, and then you develop that product”, Lars Thrane says. “In contrast to that, in civil production, like in Thrane & Thrane, you are at a competitive market. Here you develop products for a group of customers, which is not defined beforehand. In many cases neither you nor the customers know exactly what needs they have. It is a question of having a gut feeling for what will become a big seller”, Lars Thrane says. “Experience also shows that companies that are working with military production and try to make civil products fail. And vice versa. Here I think Cobham has a problem. It is not really their fault. They are just operating at a different market”. The fact that Lars Thrane does not want to sell, does not change Cobham’s wish to takeover Thrane & Thrane.
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On the 27 February 2012 an offer came down on the board’s table. It has the form of a so-called non-binding undertaking regarding making a bid on the company, provided that some conditions are fulfilled. Among these that the board has to support the sale. In return, Cobham is prepared to pay a price which is significantly higher than the latest stock market price of the shares. So in order to watch the company’s and its stakeholders interests in the best way, the board of Thrane & Thrane decided to get an external consultancy company to work out a strategic review. A survey of what possibilities exist for developing the company.
Forced to give up his life’s work
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The work with the strategic review has hardly begun, when Cobham on the 12 March withdraws its offer to buy. It happens with reference to the fact that the board of Thrane & Thrane does not support the bid. “To run a business is not just a question of satisfying the shareholders. You have to take a lot into consideration. You have your employees, your customers, your shareholders, and then you have the society. Together they make up your stakeholders. You cannot just show consideration for a single group. You have to follow a more holistic view”, Lars Thrane says.
“I think the board behaved professionally as well as correctly. There was nothing to do. They were not just sitting on the edge of their chairs to collect the money. The review, we had started, showed that good possibilities existed so as to develop the company forward-looking. However, – we could not match the price that Cobham offered”, Lars Thrane tells. On the 3 May Cobham raised the bid even further. This time to the price 435 – corresponding to a total price for Thrane & Thrane of 2.6 billion DKK. Hostile takeover or not, the price was now so high that it was meaningless to resist. The board therefore recommended a sale, and Lars Thrane sold his shares to Cobham.
PIRA Cobham strikes During Easter, Cobham purchased 25.6 per cent of the shares in Thrane & Thrane – a block of shares, which was bigger than Lars Thrane’s holding of well over 24 per cent – after which Cobham on the 10 April resubmitted the offer of 420 DKK per share, which they had withdrawn one month earlier.
Why did you sell? “I didn’t have any choice. They expected to be able to gather a majority at an extraordinary general assembly and thereafter remove the board. After that they would make life difficult for the remaining shareholders. Sending out such threats is what
Somali piracy slowing down:
Counter-piracy at sea is working Piracy experts are holding their breaths at the moment: can it be true that the problem is diminishing? So far, the European Union’s Naval Force, Operation Atalanta, has reported the lowest number of attacks and hijackings in years – and even if the problem is relocating to West Africa, the nature of the attacks – cruel as they may sometimes be – is not one of Somali style hijacking. By Finn Bruun
The European shipowner’s anti-piracy comittee headed by deputy director of The Danish Shipowners Association, Jan Fritz Hansen, is cautiously optimistic: “At the moment we see very few incidents. We are keeping our fingers crossed that this is going to last as a result of our symptom treatment. Shipping companies are sticking to the recommendations in IMO’s Best Management Practice and armed guards protect ships – often without even having to fire a single shot. On Danish vessels, we make sure we show from a long distance that the ship carries armed guards, thus deterring the pirates,” he says, adding “If we can keep up this cadence, combined with the strong naval engagement, we will be able to get control of the problem at sea. But we must hold on for quite a while. If we stop treating the patient with antibiotics too early, the disease might pop up again. The much needed efforts on land in Somalia are going to be a long term commitment,
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Somali piracy slowing down: Counter-piracy at sea is working
building capacity and security. The main problem is that criminals have a clear field on land. This must be countered,” he stresses. Significant drop In November 2012, a total number of 10 vessels with altogether 141 crew were being held hostage by Somali pirates. So far in 2012, 35 pirate attacks have been reported (compared to 176 in 2011). Five vessels were hijacked this year while 13 attacks were intercepted. The pirates’ success rate is now 15%, according to EUNAVFOR, the European Union’s Naval Force Operation Atalanta. Tough conditions Some crew members from merchant ships have been held hostages for more than two years and several for more than one year.
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you do when you want to force people to sell. It was a hostile takeover, and they behaved hostile”, Lars Thrane says.
maritime sector is my darling. I think it is one of the most important sectors we have at home”, Lars Thrane says.
You could have stayed and waited to see what would happen? “Yes, but the problem is that they would no longer have any obligation to buy my shares. I would then sit with my 24 per cent of the shares, I would get no dividend, I would get no salary, I would get nothing”, Lars Thrane points out. “Socially I think it is totally wrong to replace a high technological company with a bag of cold money. Perhaps there are some happy shareholders here and there, but socially it is a disaster. That the first to sell to Cobham were the pension funds, where accountants were managing, was not a surprise. Not any of the minor shareholders sold their shares until at the end”, Lars Thrane says.
How will that be reflected? Will you start a Thrane II? “Yes – I probably will. But I don’t want to start from scratch again. I don’t have time for that. Next time it will be a more flying start”, Lars Thrane says. “I will be part of something, where I can make a difference, where I can see growth opportunities. Where it is possible to make a healthy and reasonable business”, Lars Thrane says without wishing to go into details with his plans. “It should be something maritime, but not necessarily something to do with communications. But – I like communications”.
Lars Thrane will make a start again “I have been a nerd my whole life, and I will continue being that. I will continue being engaged in communication, and the
Will it be at home or abroad? “I prefer to run a business in Denmark. I am a bit of a stay-athome type. I live here. Here I have my children and my grandchildren, family, and friends. So I stay here”.
ACY The Danish film director Tobias Lindholm’s new movie “A Hijacking” convincingly shows the tremendous stress that both the crew members facing pirates’ MK47 rifles and the CEO and his co-workers are under. A professional and experienced consultant shows that it’s a game that – however potentially deadly it might be – has to be played with the pirates and their interpreter. With your own eyes The movie has received international recognition and has just won the Golden Alexander prize at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival. And Jan Fritz Hansen tells us that the movie will now be presented to the European Parliament and the Commission in Brussels.
“Anyone who has seen this film agrees that something must be done to stop piracy and to prevent hijackings and hostage-
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takings. We hope to create more awareness about the problem so that the international community will maintain its efforts,” he says. In Denmark the shipping companies are working with the Ministry and the seafarers organizations to ensure that everything is done to take care of the families of the hijacked crew members, so they can maintain their living-standards.
Five steps “We focus on two issues in case things go wrong: firstly, the hostages should feel assured that someone is constantly working on their behalf and that things are being taken care at home. And secondly, upon their release we provide counseling enabling them to get back on their feet through a supportive network. We are working on a five-point plan which is now almost completed,” he says.
Somali piracy slowing down: Counter-piracy at sea is working
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CO2 Scandlines has a vision of green ferry services
The thought of having ferry services absolutely free of CO2 emissions as well as other kinds of emissions is not just a futuristic dream. The ferry operator Scandlines knows how it can become reality right here and now.
By Tina Altenburg
The ferry operator Scandlines plans to build four new and larger ferries for the ferry service between Rødby in Denmark and Puttgarden in Germany. The ferries should be absolutely emission free, and the ferry operator has therefore in cooperation with Future Ships, which is a subsidiary of Germanischer Lloyd, worked out a project, which they call “Project Zero”. The project was recently presented by Claus Nikolajsen, Vice President in Scandlines, at the conference “Environmental demands on shipping”, which was held in Copenhagen.
-I will make no secret of the fact that the project has very much to do with politics. At a hearing regarding the Fehmern Belt connection we heard an expert saying that the construction of a tunnel under the Fehmern Belt would cause the emission of 5-6 million tonnes of CO2. This is quite a lot. It made us think: what if we made the assumption that there should be no emissions from the ferry service, Claus Nikolajsen tells about the background for the project.
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Scandlines has a vision of green ferry services
Scandlines’ Kinder egg The ferry operator will reach that goal by using new energy sources and by reducing the energy consumption. Scandlines imagines itself using a combination of fuel cells, solar cells as well as the so-called Flettner System. Scandlines plans to install solar cells at the top deck on an area, which is not already used for something else.
-The solar cells will pay themselves back, if they are installed in a long enough number of years, and if the area is not already used for something reasonable, Claus Nikolajsen says. Scandlines especially plans to use the surplus of power from the many wind energy farms, located in the area, which is produced by night. The wind energy from these farms should be used to charge the fuel cells onboard the ferry.
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-We will convert the wind energy into hydrogen for our fuel cells. It will be a combination of energy, produced directly, and a reserve in the form of a battery, Claus Nikolajsen says.
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Moreover, Scandlines plans to install the Flettner System, which consists of four rotating turbines on the top deck that use the wind energy to propel the vessel. The Flettner System can replace up to 25 per cent of the ferry’s energy consumption. Reduced energy consumption The energy consumption should, however, also be lower. By designing hull, propellers, and other systems more optimally the ferry operator will reduce the energy consumption, and the department plan will be optimized also. -Today we handle 700 cars in and out in 15 minutes, but the new concept operates with 850 cars in 10 minutes. It demands that we no longer use two lanes from each deck at the ferry, but four lanes, Claus Nikolajsen explains. The difficult financing Scandlines will invest 500 million Euros in the project, if the politicians on the other hand promise to delay the use of the new permanent connection under Fehmern Belt until 2030. And then, the
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The Flettner System can replace up to 25 per cent Simple and clear goal Zero emission of -
CO2
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NOx
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SOx
By exploring new pathways -
new energy sources
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new energy carriers
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new energy converters
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consumption reduction
project still needs further financial support from for example the EU, Germany, and Denmark as well as from strategic partners. - We don’t think that the business case of the permanent connection is good enough. The traffic will not develop as fast as expected, and the tunnel is already delayed from 2018 to 2021, and one or two more delays are probably to expect, Claus Nikolajsen says.
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Scandlines has a vision of green ferry services
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Photo: Skagen Havn
FOB newbuilding sets new standards By Bent Mikkelsen The newbuilding FOB SWATH 2, which has just been delivered from the shipyard Danish Yachts in Skagen, will set new standards within the fast-growing market for transportation of staff to and from installations off shore. It is primarily to and from wind farms, but work is also done to find other business areas off shore. The concept and the construction of the vessel secure a much better safety and comfort for the servicemen and craftsmen, who are being moved to and from the wind farms, primarily in and around England, Germany, and Denmark. Seasickness and similar discomfort have been a growing problem, because the servicemen most often are not seafarers, who are used to sailing with small vessels at the ocean, and the FOB-SWATH newbuilding to a larger extent solves this problem. It does not eliminate rough sea onboard; the movements are, however, via the Swath principle (Small Waterplace Area Twin Hull) and a special patented trimming system, reduced significantly on FOB SWATH 2 and it thereby gives better comfort for the people onboard. Gert Laisbo, Laisbo Marine, who is representative for the 73 year old Norwegian shipowner Fredrik Odfjell, who has contracted the vessel – and several sister vessels – via the company FOB SWATH AS, says: “There is no doubt; FOB SWATH 2 will move the barrier for the standard of this type of transportation at sea, especially for the passengers, who will get very fine surroundings onboard. Actually, we have reached the point where we have considered using a slogan such as: Business Class only. Meaning: Only first class transports onboard our new vessel”.
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FOB newbuilding sets new standards
FOB SWATH 2, which has been designed by Hauschildt Marine in cooperation with the shipowner, is equipped to the class notation COMF-V (3) of Det Norske Veritas (DNV), which secures that the vessel fulfills specific criteria for noise and vibrations that influence the comfort for the passengers and staff, just as it addresses the safety and operationality of the vessel. In the passenger saloon with room for 24 people, each person has an airplane seat with leather cover like an airplane seat on business class, which is equipped with tapping for headphones, so not everyone has to listen to the sound track to the film, which is being shown on the large TV screen that everyone can see. The seats can be laid down in an angle of 45 degrees and they have built-in footstool. Further the saloon is equipped with pantry for smaller refreshments. Emphasize has been put to the fact that the windows in the saloon are so large that the passengers have a view even when they sit down. On the way to the saloon the passengers will pass a changing room, where survival suits are being put out to dry (if they are wet by rain or spindrift) and are being equipped with drying tubes inside. “With thought of the vessel’s working area we have done much to think of large scale operation, when we designed FOB SWATH 2 in cooperation with Hauschildt Marine”, Gert Laisbo tells. That is, to think the features, which are known from the larger ocean-going vessels into this much smaller vessels, and this fact clearly improves the quality of the newbuilding.
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FOB SWATH 2 will move the barrier for the standard of this type of transportation at sea FOB SWATH 2 is built as a passenger vessel and therefore fulfills the same security demands as other large passenger vessels (such as Queen Mary 2)”, Gert Laisbo says. The maximum staff at the newbuilding is up to five people, of whom 3 have separate cabins and a double cabin, all with own toilet and bath. And thereby FOB SWATH 2 can stay at sea in up to a week (the amount of provisions and fuel that can be onboard corresponds to this period) and thereby it is an advantage for a charter. If for example servicemen and craftsmen live onboard a hotel vessel near the wind farm, then FOB SWATH 2 can stay in the neighborhood instead of sailing to the base port, which is the case with a number of the existing units that are used in the same service. They have, moreover, own galley/mess with full facilities. The hull for FOB SWATH 2 is built by composites – carbon fibers on each side of a core material. It is done at Danish Yachts. The choice fell on composites so as to reduce weight in the construction, and by using composites the weight has been significantly reduced, and it can be measured directly at the fuel consumption and at the speed. With the design of FOB SWATH 2 thought has been given to reduce the vessel’s environmental influence, and the vessel is equipped with a Clean Sea notation, among other things because the vessel’s fuel tanks are not placed directly to the side, but are placed between the two hulls, as emphasize has also been laid on safe bunkering with a closed bunker system, with overflow alarm tank and overflow tank through a central connecting piece with pipe connection to all the tanks. “The system with the SWATH hull works at FOB SWATH 2 sailing with the two lowest pontoons in the surface of the water in so-called catamaran mode during sailing to and from the hotel vessel or port to the wind farm, and safely arrived at the wind farm, the vessel is trimmed down in SWATH by adding seawater in the pontoons, which thereby will come under water, and the stability is increased significantly. This system in combination with the patented trimming system, where air is used to suck up/press water in and out of four trim tanks (up to 1500 litres of water in three seconds) secures further reduced movements in higher significant wave height and reduces the critical situations, where the passengers must leave the vessel to the wind turbine and/or other vessels. A further special feature is that the composites hull
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is slightly ice-strengthened in certain areas. It is not because we are going to sail in ice or are going to be an icebreaker, we want, however, to give a charter the possibility of working during winter periods, where for example ice is broken in a port or there is mild ice at the ocean, and we have therefore chosen to strengthen the hull”, Gert Laisbo says. Emphasize is also laid on the safety by having separate engine rooms with main engines and auxiliary engines in each room, which is coupled on with full redundancy, which again means that the vessel can be self-supporting even if an engine should drop out of service. “With FOB SWATH 1, which already sails in charter for Siemens and is of the same type, it is already proven that the vessels can sail and operate safely in up to 2.5 metres of significant wave height, and it is also proven that this can be done with one engine in up to 2 metres of significant wave height”, Gert Laisbo says. FOB SWATH 2 and the following 3 sister vessels are already from the delivery secured work for the next five years, as they are taken in on bareboat charter by A2SEA A/S, which is owned by Siemens Windpower and DONG Energy. The current order is four units, at the moment, but the shipowner has secured himself options for further newbuildings from Danish Yachts, as there is an increasing awareness and demand for these vessels, which day after day prove that they continue, where other vessels in the sector must give up. FOB SWATH 2 is, as mentioned, owned by FOB SWAT AS, which operates the vessel via Offshore Windservice A/S, a Danish company with address in Hvide Sande, which also is the home port for the newbuilding. Fredrik Odfjell has since the first pioneer days in the servicing of the wind energy sector chosen to operate his company under Danish flag and from Denmark. It started in 2003 with the catamaran FOB Jr, a small vessel, which turned out to be interesting with a cardanic suspensioned working deck. It gave the servicemen a stable platform. Frederik Odfjell in 2007 was in charge for the first trimaran ever built for commercial use. It was FOB TRIM, which is a newbuilding from the shipyard Hvide Sande Skibs& Bådebyggeri. It works for the moment in the German part of the North Sea. The name FOB is composed by Fredrik Odfjell and the wife Berit.
FOB newbuilding sets new standards
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