OffshoreCrew Magazine
OKTOBER 2014
Front picture courtesy by Ă˜rjan Vaagen Frimannslund Forsyningsskipet Viking Lady, tatt fra riggen Leiv Eiriksson i Barentshavet.
CHALLENGES
JOB MARKET
MARKET NEWS
HSE
For oil extraction in the arctic
New builds and contracts
Start working offshore Beginnersguide part IV.
INTERVIEW
Jan Holst
INTEREST
Ship of the month How to deal with difficult 1 OFFSHORECREW people at work
We would like to thank all the people that makes this Magazine possible, special thanks to all the seafarers that have sent us some incredible pictures from their work places. Please send us more pictures, they will find a good home in the Magazine!
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Contents CHALLENGE S
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For oil extraction in the arctic
INTERVIEW 8 Jan Holst
JOB MARKET 10 Start working offshore part IV
INTEREST
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Ship of the month
HSE
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How to deal with difficult people at work
MARKET NEWS 22 New builds and contracts
OffshoreCrew About us
OffshoreCrew AS is a Recruitment Agency based in the South of Norway that aim to provide a faster recruiting service to all Maritime and Offshore companies within the Oil, Gas and Renewable Energy industry. Our goal is to reduce the time that companies spend looking for a crew member and at the same time provide crew members with the possibility to look for a new job in a faster and easier way. Visit adress: OffshoreCrew AS Gimlemoen19, 4630 Kristiansand Norway
Our recruiting process and system OffshoreCrew recruiting system allow companies to discover your full potential. Our unique system will help you reach your goal and showcase all your knowledge and experience. Our vast net of clients have operations world wide and they are looking for people just like you.
Text by: Javier Zahn, Lene H책land Carl Erik Vethal
Designer: Marie Aasbrenn
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THE REAL ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE working in the Arctic
Photo by Siem Offshore
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TEXT BY: Javier Zahn, Director OffshoreCrew AS
Much has been said about the Arctic exploration and the amount of oil that lies there waiting to be extracted. In this article I will go through the different regions and estimations of the reserves that can be found in this remote area. You may have seen this picture on our website, it is a picture of the Siem Offshore Anchor Handler Vessel (Aquamarine) that was involved in the Greenland project in 2012. My Collegues and I were involved in this project during my time in Siem. The vessel was hired for 5 months by Cairn Energy.
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The exploration of the Arctic for petroleum is considered more technically challenging than any other environment in the world. However, high oil prices and melting of ice due to global warming is allowing for exploration. As a result, the region has been receiving a large amount of interest from the petroleum industry in the past 10 years. In 2008 United States Geological Survey estimates that areas north of the Arctic Circle contain 90 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil (and 44 billion barrels of natural gas liquids) in 25 geologically defined areas with prospective petroleum potential. This represents 13% of the undiscovered oil in the world. More than 70% of the mean undiscovered oil resources is estimated to occur in five provinces: Arctic Alaska, Amerasia Basin, East Greenland Rift Basins, East Barents Basins and West Greenland– East Canada. It is further estimated that approximately 84% of the undiscovered oil and gas occurs offshore. RUSSIA: In June 2007, a group of Russian geologists returned from a six-week voyage on the nuclear icebreaker 50 Let Pobedy. The expedition was called Arktika 2007. The Russian geologists had travelled to the Lomonosov ridge which is an underwater shelf in Russia’s remote and inhospitable eastern Arctic Ocean. The geologists returned with the “sensational news” that the Lomonosov ridge was linked to Russian Federation territory, boosting Russia’s claim over the oil-and-gas rich triangle. The Photo by
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scientists claimed that the territory contained 10bn tons of gas and oil deposits. In the early 2012 Russia started the first commercial offshore oil drilling in the Arctic, on the Prirazlomnaya platform in the Pechora Sea. The platform was the first Arctic-class, ice-resistant oil rig in the world. GREENLAND: Greenland is believed by some geologists to have some of the world’s larg-
contain up to 110 billion barrels of oil. Greenland has offered 8 license blocks for tender along its west coast by Baffin Bay. Currently 7 of those blocks have been bid for by a combination of multinational oil companies and the National Oil Company NUNAOIL. The companies that have participated successfully in the previous license rounds and have formed a partnership for the licenses with NUNAOIL are DONG Energy, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Husky Energy and Cairn Energy. The licensing round for the available area known as the West Disko is of an interest due to its relatively better accessibility compared to other Arctic basins, as the area remains largely free of ice. In addition there is a number of promising geological leads and prospects from the Paleocene era. NORWAY: Rosneft and Statoil struck a Arctic exploration deal in May 2012. It is the third deal Rosneft has signed in the past month, after Arctic exploration agreements with Italy’s ENI and US giant Exxon Mobil. More than 70% of the mean undiscovered oil resources is estimated to occur in five provinces: Arctic Alaska, Amerasia Basin, East Greenland Rift Basins, East Barents Basins and West Greenland–East Canada.
est remaining oil resources. Prospecting is taking place under the auspices of NUNAOIL, a partnership between the Greenland Home Rule Government and the Danish state. In 2001 U.S. Geological Survey found that the waters off the coast of northeastern Greenland (north and south of the arctic circle) could
As you can see, plenty has been done when it comes to exploration, but not much in regards to extraction. The average time to work in this area is very limited, no more than 5 months from July to early November. The extreme conditions don’t allow for proper work during the hard winter months, from November until late April. So the companies operating in the area have to be 200% more productive while they can, with almost no margin for errors or delays.
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INTERVIEW Age: 40++ Position: Chief Engineer since 1979. Second generation Chief Engineer. Interests: My job, decorative painting, gardening, house renovation, my two dogs Dexter German Shepard, and junior New Foundland Favourite television series: Burn notice. A word you use a lot: : I like quotes, and try to live after them. “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” “A day without learning is a lost day” If you could bring one thing to a deserted island, what would it be? A toolbox for woodwork.
Jan Holst A great thanks to Jan who took his time to participate in this interview. TEXT BY: Lene Håland, Jr. Recruiter
1. What are your duties at work? Working as a Chief Engineer, I have overall responsibility for the vessel’s technical department. A vessel without an engine is nothing. In addition, safety is very important. It can be a lot of pressure on fixing prob8 OFFSHORECREW
lems very quickly. That is why I like to say that it is better with an hour fixing the problem, instead of a month. 2. How would you describe a day at work? A mix of vessel operation, maintenance, administration, spare part order, work planning, contact with service
engineers, fault finding, vibration test, ME performance test, marking, spare part inventory etcetera and if there is time cleaning and painting. 3. How are the cooperation between the different professions on-board? The cooperation between technical department and deck, works good most of the time. If not, the vessel safe operation is still the most important and overrides the issues. It is very important for me to have a good dialogue with the Company’s Technical Department, and vessels Superintendent. If I call him, he knows what I am talking about. We have more or less always a great cooperation. 4 Why did you choose to be a Chief Engineer? When I was 6 years old, I travelled with my father and mother on Wallenius Lines SS Boheme. On this trip, I formed into a seaman. From the age of 13 to 16, I worked for a company working with Evaporators and freshwater generators. Working with service on steamers in Stockholm harbour. I worked in holidays, and in my free time. At the age of 16, I went to my first job at sea, as a Deck boy and second trip as an Engine boy.
5. What are the future challenges for Chief Engineers? Keep up the good job, and keep up a good engine culture with good quality of maintenance and repairing. It is important that we Chief Engineers, who has a long working experience in the Shipping Industry, can pass on our experience to the younger generation. 6. What is it that makes you thrive so well in your job? I really like my job, and I have been working as a Chief Engineer since 1979. Mostly on Container vessels/RORO/ Paperproduct vessels/Bulk vessels / and since 1997 most on Seismic and PSV. It is always a challenge on each vessel to reach optimal safety and optimal operation of all technical equipment. And ALWAYS leave it better and cleaner as it was. 7. What type of vessel do you work on now? Lately I have been working for Siem Offshore, and now for Eidesvik. Carl Eric, Recruiter at OffshoreCrew, deserve to have his name here. We have had a great cooperation the past 7 years. It is a win win situation. I have also recommended god workers, and the outcome has been very good. OFFSHORECREW
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Photo by News Wire
JOB MARKET
Start working offshore. Beginnersguide part IV. Easy and difficult: The catering assistant TEXT BY: Carl Eric B. Vethal, Recruitment Manager
Qualifications One of the easiest way to work offshore with little qualifications in terms of courses, certifications, school and college degrees, not to talk about experience offshore, is to work as a catering assistant. The requirements are simple. All you need is a valid medical certificate for offshore, safety training OPITO or OLF approved and HUET for platform jobs. For jobs on vessels the 10 OFFSHORECREW
requirements are a valid seafarers medical certificate, the STCW safety training and the “security awareness� course. The rest does look like a mix of normal housework, catering and tasks of a room maid. The work Cleaning the cabins and public areas, assisting the cook in their daily work and serving food are the main tasks.
Cleaning does not mean just cleaning, but all has to be “shipshape� and Bristol fashioned. Having an eye on details is very important, as dirt is very annoying to many people and the crew should have clean cabins and public areas. There is much psychology involved. People being herded in a steel construction for two to six weeks away from home deserve a clean environment. Filthy public and living areas have a direct influence on the crews moods and their attitude. Cleaning the kitchen is another important task. The kitchen is the working place for the ships or platforms cook and usually they want to have their working area tidy and no one should mess with their order in the kitchen. Being a catering assistant requires
therefore a great deal of submission and simply serving. Some personalities lack these traits. Getting along with the cook is utterly important, as food has to be prepared after schedule and diner has to be served on time. Serving diner is not supposed to take place like in American prison movies, where apathetic inmates or caterers throw food at the plates of the prisoner, not caring at all. A certain attitude is needed and it is all about service. The diners should be served with a smile. The ship or rig is the workers home and when not working they should feel a little like at home, though it can never compete with the real homes on land. Altogether the right candidate must take a lot of heat, has to be very service OFFSHORECREW
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minded, does need a strong stomach, and should like cleaning. In the unwritten hierarchies on board the catering assistant is often seen as the lowest person in the system. Self confidence and the awareness that without catering assistant effective working would not be possible offshore is needed. Though traditionally this work was done by ship boys long time ago, it was the one of the first places for women to enter the ÂŤmans worldÂť of shipping and offshore. As in all men dominated areas, sexism can be a problem. The answer to sexism is self confidence and to draw the lines. Sometimes courage is needed to report incidents and women interested in working in offshore catering should keep this in mind. The same goes for racism. Though seafaring has been international and people of all races have been sailing together for over 500 years, there are cases of racism and against people of different nationality, color or religion and the victims are the assumed weakest. Reporting is usually a good way to handle this problem as like with sexism harassers usually are cowards and submit easily to authorities like the chief officer or captain. Applying for work as a catering assistant The equation is simple. The work can be done by everybody (in theory!), salaries are high especially for unskilled workers and being offshore can be fun. Therefore the number of applicants is much larger than the number of vacancies. So even without any extra education, the chances get much better for
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job seekers with experience in related field. Having worked in a hotel, in catering before and having good references helps. It is even better to any professional qualifications. Restaurant managers, qualified catering assistant, hotel and leisure professionals, persons with courses in facility management stand in the first rows of the queue. Even better is if you have experience from cruise or yachts. Usually catering personnel is hired by manning agencies for offshore companies. Finding out which these agencies are and how to contact them is a good starting point. Catering assistants who want to work on ships, can often apply at the shipping company directly. I would recommend to contact shipping companies directly and ask how they handle catering, where and how to apply and take it from there on. Be aware that it can take a long time before a job comes up. Experience from previous offshore work is a great advantage. Any experience counts. If you have not been able to get a permanent job, try short term vacancies. If you don`t get a job on a platform try the offshore fleet. If you this doesn`t work out you could try ferries, but the question is how far will you go. Be anyway prepared to travel within 24 hours. After one trip offshore your chances are much better, but prepare yourself to take three or four of these trips before you get a permanent job offer. And be prepared to be waiting... If you are very sure that you want to work as a catering assistant, it is worth it. It is a difficult market. So good luck everyone! To be continued...
Photo by News Wire
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INTEREST
Our ship of the month!
Photo by Helge Brandal
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She is new, she is young and she has that certain Latin thing men love. She is sexy, her loveliness made her become nominated for a beauty price and her name is “Juanita”. TEXT BY: Carl Eric B. Vethal, Recruitment Manager
Though everyone could think otherwise, I am not writing about some unknown Mexican beauty, but about Ugland Offshore new supply vessel Juanita and she a nominee for the “Ship of the Year” award 2014. Ugland Offshore is part of the Ugland Group, a larger ship owner in Grimstad, a small town in Southern Norway. The Ugland Group has been with the shipping world for nearly 85 years now and is a family owned company. PSV Juanita is a Kleven built vessel has a SALT 100 PSV design, and the first SALT 100 PSV ship delivered. Kleven shipyard in Ulsteinvik, North of Bergen, Norway, has a long experience in building offshore vessels. The advantages of the type 100 PSV shall be a lower fuel consumption and emissions, flexible cargo handling and higher capacities for safe carriage of noxious liquid chemicals. Besides a great design, Juantias propulsion system makes her very special. The propulsion system is a result of a cooperation between Salt Ship Design and Scana Propulsion. Juanita is powered by a pair of contra-rotating propellers with 2,300kW and 1,700kW. These are
controlled by two magnet motors. The propellers rotate in the same shaft line. Efficiency is the keyword. Contra rotating propellers are more capable than similar single propellers. Motors directly connected to the propellers have less components and this all results in an improved energy conversion, which is the great gain of the SALT 100. Fuel saving up to 25 percent is possible with this solution.
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MS “Juanita” has been operational since April. According to the news crew and captain are happy with their working place. The ship is secured a two years contract with Statoil. A few days ago Juanita was spotted at the Western coast of Norway, North of Bergen.
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MS Juanita
- the technical specifications: • Flag: Norway (NOR)
• NT: 1469
• Length overall: 88,90 m
• Cargo deck area: 1035m2
• Width: 20,00 m
• Deck load capacity: VCG 1m above deck 3000t
• Depth: 8,80 m • Gross tonnage: 4839 t
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• Main propulsion: 3x Wartsila 9L20 4,995kW and 2 xWartsila 4L20 1,500kW
• Speed: 15,0 kts • Fuel consumption: 12,0 kts / 1500 dwt 7,1 t/24h • Tunnel trusters, forward: 2 x 1200 kW
• Tunnel trusters, rear: 2 x 1400 kW • Retractable azimuth thrusters, forward: 880 kW • Main generator set: 6160 kW • Accommodation: 24 persons
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HEALTH & ENVIRO
How to deal with diffi TEXT BY: Lene Håland, Jr. Recruiter
Difficult people do exist at work. How difficult a person is for you to deal with depends on your self-esteem, your self-confidence, and your professional courage. We are all different in different ways. We have all our perception of how things should be, how we should behave, and what is right to do. It is important to respect other people. Everything is based on what we have been taught throughout our childhood until now. Different backgrounds, different childhoods, different rules, different values, and different opinions have affected us and it makes everyone’s model of the world different. That is why it is important to respect other people. You can disagree with a person’s model of the world, but at the same time respect it. Even though this may not always be easy, as it can conflict with your own values. When it comes to rules that have been set at work, for example, the company sets their own values, and rules. If you cannot accept the company’s values and rules, then it will be difficult for you to work there (you will end up always disagreeing and using a lot of energy doing so). It will also be difficult for the company you are working for to have you working there. 18 OFFSHORECREW
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SAFETY ONMENT
ficult people at work
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Techniques In order to handle difficult people at work you can use a visualization technique , before the situation escalates into a conflict. This technique can be used in many different settings. Take for an example a person who is powerful and takes a lot of space. You are dreading to work with this person, but you need to for your job. This technique is best if you are able to visualize, and you are able to imagine pictures in your head. What you should do: Visualise the difficult person in a picture, shrink the person to into a small figure, and then put the person down in the corner of the picture. Here the person can sit and be less powerful and does not take so much space. It will be like a small comic, and you will feel better. It is only your imagination, and creativity, that stops this visualisation. Some people actually say they feel sorry for the person when they visualize them sitting there in the corner. Another thing you can do is to visualise the person in a picture and put a clown nose on the person. Then send the person far away out in the horizon, so that the person is distant from you. The person can stay there with his clown nose, and this will be more comfortable for you. Visualising a difficult person like this will give you power. No one can control the way you want to visualise, and thus OFFSHORECREW
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you will feel less uncomfortable. Categories Difficult people come in every conceivable variety, and it is not always easy to find the courage to talk to the person you find difficult. In this case you may want to find out the type of person and how to deal with this person. Different people need different kinds of approaches. Difficult people fall into four categories -The nosey person. -The people who will not talk when they are annoyed. -People who are vague and indecisive. -Manipulators. The nosey person This one is self-explanatory. The nosey person is someone who always asks questions that are extremely personal. Of course it depends on how close you are to your colleagues, but the questions are like: How much do you earn, how much do you weigh, how much did that jacket cost, who did you vote for in elections, why did you go to the doctor’s office? How much are you in debt? Sexual questions, money questions, health questions and religious questions may step way over the line, especially if you hardly know the person. What you should do: It can be a bit of a shock when someone asks you these type questions so you should be prepared for how you are going to react. First, set your own boundaries of what type of questions you would like to answer. Do not be aggressive. Telling them 20 OFFSHORECREW
to mind their own business (This was the response I got from my colleague when I tested this out) can go down pretty badly at work. Even though this is a normal reaction to a personal question, apparently is not the best solution. Asking the person why they want to know can help. That way you can decide if it is a good enough reason for you to tell them. If you do not want to answer the question just politely say that answering that question would make you feel uncomfortable. Tell them that it is not about them; rather it is just a rule that you have. Do not ask personal questions back just to give them a taste of their own medicine. I know it is tempting, but you are better than that! The people who will not talk when they are annoyed. Although many find this childish and unprofessional, people, surprisingly, still do this. Some people just cannot find the words to tell you how they are feeling, or are too emotional to talk about it. Other people do it just to make you feel bad. This can be a tricky situation at work, especially if you are working on a project together. What should you do? First, try to be understanding. Show them that you are willing to listen when they are ready to talk. If that does not work, tell them that their silent treatment actually makes you feel a bit uncomfortable, and that you would like to sort it out. Try persuading them to talk. Do not bother giving them the silent treatment back. Even though this may be tempting, you will just end up playing a long, long game of who will speak first.
The indecisive person These are the people who can never choose which part of the project they want to work with and have problems deciding. It can be extremely frustrating, especially when you end up having to make all their decisions for them. When they leave the decision to you and your approach fails, then the blame falls on you, which is of course not fair. What should you do: Do what you can to get the person to make a decision. Present them with a scenario, for example “We could do it like this or this, or this, which would you prefer?” If you ask them a direct question, then they will have to give you a direct answer. If they reply with the classic “I’ll leave it to you”, then let them know that if they really cannot decide, then you will take their response to mean they agree with you. That way the responsibility falls on both of you if it goes wrong!
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I am thankful for all those difficult people in my life; they have shown me exactly who I do not want to be. Unknown
The manipulator When dealing with the manipulator it is best to be direct. That way they will realise you are not a push over. Manipulators use all kinds of tricks such as sarcasm, false praise, and being indirect in order to get you to do what they want you to do. What do you do: The key is to (calmly!) question what they say, for example asking, “Who says that?” In addition, you can acknowledge their point of view, but then tell them what you think. Let the person know that “instead of hinting about what you want me to do, you can just tell me directly”
Photo by Kenneth Wenngren, Saipem 7000 i Stavanger
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MARKET NEWS TEXT BY: Javier Zahn, Director OffshoreCrew AS
DOF awarded new contract Norskan Offshore Ltda., a subsidiary of DOF ASA, has been awarded a 4 years contract with Petrobras for the vessel Skandi Hav. The new contract is expected to commence in November after completion of the current contract with Petrobras. www.dof.no
SEVAN MARINE Premier Oil Norway AS has awarded Sevan Marine a FEED (Front End Engineering and Design) contract for the hull and marine systems of a Sevan type cylindrical FPSO for operation on the Premier Oil operated Bream field in the Norwegian Central North Sea. CEO Carl Lieungh comments: “We are both proud and pleased to receive this FEED contract, demonstrating Premier Oil’s continued confidence in our technology.” www.sevanmarine.com 22 OFFSHORECREW
SOLSTAD OFFSHORE New contract by a major subsea contractor for hire of 3 Platform Supply Vessels for pipe transportation The firm contract duration represents a total of 730 vessel days plus mobilisation, demobilisation and options. The contract will be executed by Normand Carrier, Normand Flipper and Normand Corona. Commencement will be in November 2014. The contractual value is confidential between the parties. Solstad Offshore ASA is among the largest offshore-shipping companies in Norway, providing advanced vessels and extensive maritime competence for operations related to the offshore petroleum industry. The company has about 1,800 employees, and operates 47 vessels all over the world. In addition the company has 1 large subsea vessel under construction. Solstad Offshore is headquartered in Skudeneshavn, Norway and has branch offices in Brazil, Singapore, the Philippines, the United Kingdom and Australia. www.solstad.no
SUBSEA7 Subsea 7 S.A. awarded contract in the Ivory Coast Luxembourg – 2 October 2014 - Subsea 7 S.A. (Oslo Børs: SUBC; the Company) has been awarded a contract in the Ivory Coast by CNR International (Côte d’Ivoire) SARL (CNR International) in support of its Baobab Field Phase III development. The scope of work covers the installation of spools and umbilicals. The effective date of the contract is 25 September 2014, with the main offshore installation phase expected to be executed by the Subsea 7 vessel the Seven Pacific in the second quarter of 2015. Onshore project management and engineering will be carried out from the Company’s Paris office. www.subsea7.com
Photo by Knut Fredrik Olsen
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WINTERSHALL AWARDS SUBSEA CONTRACTS FOR MARIA FIELD Wintershall, Germany’s largest internationally active oil and gas producer announces the award of its first significant subsea contract for its Norwegian activities. Worth approximately NOK 1.8 billion (US$280 million), the contract for Wintershall’s Maria development goes to FMC Technologies’ Norwegian subsidiary FMC Kongsberg Subsea AS. It has been assigned after a thorough selection process and in alignment with the other license partners. The award positions Wintershall as a growth operator in the subsea arena, and puts the company in a position to move forward with existing and new developments on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
Photo by Antti Lahdenpera
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“Maria is our first subsea development in Norway and we are consequently building our expertise in this field. Wintershall sees future potential for more developments of this kind on the Norwegian Continental Shelf and Norway is becoming a center of excellence for this kind of work,” says Bernd Schrimpf, Managing Director of Wintershall Norge. “I am proud that this is our first major subsea contract. It shows how committed Wintershall is to Norway and further establishes our position as one of the country’s leading oil and gas producers. www.wintershall.no
EMAS AMC
Photo by Knut Fredrik Olsen
EMAS AMC finalises triple contract signings with Noble Energy for subsea tie-back projects in the US Gulf Of Mexico. Combined contracts valued in excess of US$300 million* First Deepwater Pipelay project for flagship vessel Lewek Constellation Total scope includes over 80 miles (130 km) of Pipe-in-Pipe (PiP) flowlines and over 56 miles (100 km) of umbilicals in water depths up to 7,200 ft (2,200 m) Offshore work will commence in 2015 using five EMAS AMC offshore construction vessels EMAS AMC, the subsea division of EMAS, a leading global offshore contractor and provider of integrated offshore solutions to the oil and gas (O&G) industry, today announced that it has finalised three contracts with Noble Energy worth a combined total of over US$300 million. The scope of work includes engineering, procurement, construction and installation of subsea tie-backs for the Big Bend, Dantzler and Gunflint (announcement dated April 11, 2014, “Ezra Scores Award From Noble Energy For The Gunflint Project In The Gulf Of Mexico�) field developments in the US Gulf of Mexico. www.emas.com OFFSHORECREW
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Photo by News Wire
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