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The Channel
A Renaissance Services SAOG Group Newsletter
volume 2 issue 5
Topaz COO awarded prestigious order in Azerbaijan Roy Donaldson has been awarded the FRIENDSHIP ORDER of Azerbaijan by Decree of the President of Azerbaijan for his services to the country’s oil industry.
CSG sponsors 2nd Oman Food Safety Conference The two day of the conference featured a prestigious line-up of renowned speakers and industry experts.
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Also Inside: TMM in Lloyd’s List 2011 Awards Topaz wins at Seatrade Awards 2011 OER prepares for Oman Debate 2011 NTI: Blue Ocean Strategy Workshop October: Breast Cancer Awareness
CSR: Oman Sail launches Women’s Programme Renaissance Services and Oman Sail have enjoyed a collaboration that has extended into its third year in 2011.
Vessel news:Caspian Provider The Provider is pictured in Baku, Azerbaijan, preparing for the commencement of a four year charter contract with BP at a value of US$40m.
The Channel is a digital bi-monthly internal newsletter produced by Renaissance Services which aims to reach every employee in each country of our worldwide operations. Please do forward this to your fellow team members and thank you!
Diwali greetings to all! If you missed this card, please click Diwali: http://www.nibblesoman.com/greeting/Diwali-Greeting/Dewali-Greeting.htm
Renaissance replaced traditional greeting cards with customized e-cards two years ago in a bid to go greener. So far in 2011, 11 e-cards have been produced, five of which in Flash animation.
COO awarded Friendship Order in Azerbaijan
COO Roy Donaldson (centre) with Renaissance CEO Stephen Thomas (right) and BP and SOCAR officials in Baku, Azerbaijan
Renaissance Services’ Chief Operating Officer at Topaz Marine, Mr. Roy Donaldson, was awarded the FRIENDSHIP ORDER of Azerbaijan by Decree of the President of Azerbaijan for merits in development of the country’s oil industry. On the occasion of Azerbaijan’s Oilman's Day on September 19, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev decorated three foreign civilians with the high honor of "Dostlug" or Friendship Order. Under the Decree, three foreign specialists including Mr. Donaldson were presented with the prominent Dostlug Order, in addition to 79 citizens of Azerbaijan receiving commendable medals and titles on the occasion. Stephen Thomas, CEO of Renaissance Services, commented on the distinction saying, “Roy has earned this prestigious award on personal merit. In doing so he has brought great honor and recognition to our company, in particular to BUE Caspian and Topaz Marine.”
Caspian Provider The Caspian Provider is the 4th vessel to join the Topaz Marine Azerbaijan fleet of 20 vessels. The Provider is pictured in Baku, Azerbaijan, preparing for the commencement of a four year charter contract at a value of US$40m. The vessel was ordered in 2010 at a cost of US$32m and was built to exacting Norwegian standards meeting the requirements for client BP Azerbaijan. The Provider is the latest and most advanced of Topaz’s fleet of UT755L’s where in addition and has included the addition of larger main engines, an extra accommodation deck where the vessel can carry up to 50 passengers and a strengthened pedestal to facilitate the installation of a 60 ton crane. The Provider departed Norway on July 19th for Tuzla Shipyard in Turkey where the top two decks were removed to facilitate the 14.5m air draft required for towage and transit through the Volga Don via Rostov. This is the first time that two decks have had to be removed and is due to the increased size of the accommodation block. The UT 755L design was delivered to Topaz from the Simek Yard in Southern Norway. Topaz has built on an exceptional relationship thread with Simek over the past seven years. The Channel - issue 5 - Sept - Oct 2011
Mr. Donaldson joined BUE Caspian in 2004 and the Renaissance’s subsidiary company, Topaz Energy and Marine, with the company’s acquisition of BUE in 2005. During 2005-2007, Roy served as General Manager of the company’s BUE Caspian unit, and in 2008 Roy was promoted to Chief Operating Officer of Topaz Marine.
Focus on food safety
Renaissance Services subsidiary Contract Services Group (CSG) and Tawoos Agriculture were among sponsors of the two-day Oman Food Safety Conference 2011 (OFSC) of which served as an important venue for regulators, food industry corporates, food safety professionals, food distributors, academia, and consumers to discuss issues and concerns over food safety and quality. According to World Health Organisation studies, unsafe food causes many acute and life-long diseases, and estimates that foodborne and waterborne diseases taken together kill about 2.2 million people annually, 1.9 million of them children. Robert Maclean (pictured above), Principal of Renaissance subsidiary National Hospitality Institute, chaired a panel discussion on advancing food safety through collaboration, while panelists included industry experts from several government bodies.
Other papers and panel discussions highlighted initiatives and developments in food safety in Australia, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi, and initiatives from various industry regulators on advancing food safety standards and specifications through controls like HACCP. The conference was held under the patronage of the Ministry of Regional Municipalities, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Muscat Municipality, while sponsors included Nestle Middle East and the Highfield Awarding Body for Compliance.
Peter James, QA and HSE Advisor at the Contract Services Group, said, “CSG is a sponsor at the OFSC for the second year running because we find a great opportunity in sharing the experiences and challenges that industry regulators and providers face of the job. There is a distinctive gathering of experts here at OFSC sharing best practices and latest breakthroughs in food safety. We have a programme for safety meetings at our PACs and kitchens on a daily basis where a safety incident from one location is shared and discussed at all other locations. Through this shared knowledge our people are equipped with meaningful insight and reinforcement of our Safety First culture.� The Channel - issue 5 - Sept - Oct 2011
Topaz wins at Seatrade Awards 2011 Safety and Quality Award – Topaz's commitment to safety permeates all levels of the organization and the company always strives for an incident-free workplace through an uncompromising approach to safety. A systematic training and empowerment program ensures that all staff actively participates in the development of ongoing improvements to an already wellestablished safety system. Workboats Award – Operating a diverse fleet of 100+ vessels, Topaz Marine offers a wide range of offshore support services including towage, rig moves, pipelay support, survey, subsea development, installation maintenance and repair, production and development supply, cable laying, ice breakers etc. With our modern and dynamically positioned fleet, Topaz Marine is well-placed to offer a quality, safe and reliable service to its customers. Topaz Marine won two awards out of four nominations at the annual Seatrade Middle East & Indian Subcontinent Awards 2011 held in Dubai recently. Stephen R Thomas, CEO of Renaissance Services, commented on the awards saying, “The Seatrade Awards are a benchmark for excellence in our industry. We are very honoured to have won these two awards amongst other first class finalists. We shall treat the Safety & Quality Award as a charge of responsibility to maintain the highest standards of safety in all that we do.”
Receiving the awards on behalf of the division was Roy Donaldson, COO of Topaz Marine, who said, “Our people work tirelessly to maintain a spotless safety record, and winning the Safety & Quality and Workboat Awards demonstrates the unwavering commitment and serious attention we place on safety and efficiency across our businesses. This has brought great honour to our company and we could not be more pleased by the outstanding effort of all those in Topaz Marine to qualify in four major categories.”
Topaz Marine MENA shortlisted in Lloyd’s List 2011 Awards The Lloyd’s List Awards – Middle East and Indian Subcontinent 2011, which will take place in November, has shortlisted Topaz Marine MENA in six separate categories – Maritime Services, Environment, Innovation, Safety, Training and Ship Operator of the Year Awards. Lloyd's List is a leading resource and reference of information specific to the maritime industry that was founded in 1734. The Channel - issue 5 - Sept - Oct 2011
Blue Ocean Strategy – Visual Awakening Workshop
National Training Institute (NTI), a Renaissance Services subsidiary within the company’s Education and Training Group, is an acknowledged market leader in Oman for business and technical fields such as Leadership & Management Development, Information Technology, Financial Studies, Technical Studies and HSE. NTI is presenting the first workshop in Oman on the Blue Ocean Strategy (BOS), which is a business strategy formulated in 2005, in association with the Blue Ocean Strategy Initiative Center (BOSIC) based in the United Kingdom. The BOS Workshop is the result of over 20 years of research and effort by Professors W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne, who published the first book on the subject. Professors Kim and Mauborgne developed a new set of analytical tools and frameworks to make the
pursuit of ‘blue oceans’, which was the term they gave to an uncontested market space. Their tools help managers see beyond market boundaries and the traditional competitive landscape in a methodical and codified way to generate high-growth and high-profit. The Value Curve, Strategy Canvas, Buyer Utility Map and Six Paths Framework are some of the core tools offered in the BOS Workshop, which takes place 21–22 November at the Grand Hyatt in Muscat. The workshop will be led by John Riker, Managing Director of the BOSIC. Riker has led numerous BOS initiatives and transformation programmes for clients in the US, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, with particular emphasis on telecommunications and media. To attend the BOS Workshop, please contact Ms. Poonam Sonakia, Training & Operations Manager at NTI, at psonakia@nhoman.com.
Ensuring roads of progress for Oman’s women sailors Renaissance Services and Oman Sail have enjoyed a collaboration that has extended into its third year in 2011 as part of Renaissance’s Corporate Social Responsibility Programme. The purpose of the partnership is to ensure young Omanis are empowered to fulfill their potential and to showcase Oman’s local sporting talent. To enable young Omani’s to experience sailing and learn new skills, Renaissance Services sponsored Oman Sail’s Try Sailing and Summer Sailing Programmes, which saw hundreds of Omani’s youth take to the water. This month, Oman Sail has launched a sailing programme aimed directly at the female population of Oman, to encourage young women to participate at this sport’s professional level. The Women’s Sailing Programme at Oman Sail envisions to not only train, coach and qualify a team of Omani women capable of competing at an Olympic level by the year 2020, but to nurture the community programme towards employment and development of women at Oman Sail schools and centers. A squad of 20 female sailors was recently selected
to undergo a six-month training which will equip them with the sailing skills required to qualify as professional instructors. These ladies are being assessed for their commitment and competency as they compete for a handful of openings to compete alongside some of the world’s most talented female sailors in a GCC-wide race, Sailing Arabia – The Tour, due to take place in February 2012. Much of the focus will be on the first all women crew entry into the competition.
Two schools participated in the Renaissance’s Try Sailing event this year, with 150 female students from Al Zahra School and 150 male students from Rashid bin Nadhar School.
The Channel - issue 5 - Sept - Oct 2011
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The Channel - issue 5 - Sept - Oct 2011
The Channel - issue 5 - Sept - Oct 2011
The Channel - issue 5 - Sept - Oct 2011
The Channel - issue 5 - Sept - Oct 2011
OER-UMS prepares for grand debate for Oman Oman Debate 2011, the third annual national debate organized by Oman Economic Review will be anchored by renowned television host Tim Sebastian, the founder and chairman of ‘The Doha Debates’ and former BBC Hard Talk presenter. The annual debate encompassing key themes that form the business environment of today and tomorrow in Oman will be held on November 2 at Al Bustan Palace Ritz Carlton Hotel. Key questions that will be raised by Oman Debate 2011 will be based on issues like job creation, raising salaries, sops and benefits and Omanisation. The Oman Debate 2011 will also discuss whether the Sultanate is at the crossroads of a watershed moment in Oman’s socio-economic history where everything that was held as sacred needs to be questioned and redefined. As in the previous two editions, Oman Debate 2011 is highly anticipated for its interactions between government representatives and leading executives of Oman’s corporate world. The hot topic of discussion for Oman Debate 2011 is how to cope up with the developments of the Arab Spring.
Health is Wealth: Raising Awareness With a mission to mark Breast Cancer Awareness Day on October 25, Ms. Sue Fisher, Training Manager at Contract Services Group, found herself in Oman’s interior South Nimr Camp, over 600 km away from where the National Association for Cancer Awareness awareness walk was taking place in Muscat. The male-dominated environment of the accommodation camps were met with Ms. Fisher (pictured) who decided to walk around the site in a pink uniform, instead!, to distribute caps and raise the issue with curious Omani and non-Omani staff, contractors and clients, who then pledged to spread the word to their families and communities. The positive response has motivated Fisher to plan for a larger site-walk in the next year. Congratulations Sue, for your grassroots awareness-spreading of this noteworthy issue. According to the Breast Cancer Society, breast cancer is the second most common form of cancer in the world affecting women and men following lung cancer.
Al Mar’a magazine featured breast cancer awareness in its October issue. To read online please click: English: http://www.oeronline.com/almara_emagazine_oct2011.php Arabic: http://www.oeronline.com/almara_emagazine_arabic_oct11.php
The Channel - issue 5 - Sept - Oct 2011