WW World 2 2014 by WWgroup

NO. 2 2014 – 28 th YEAR CORPORATE MAGAZINE FOR THE WILH. WILHELMSEN GROUP

SPECIAL JOB FOR MV TAIKO

SPECIAL REPORT:

WW BUSINESS STANDARDS

SINGAPORE:

THE PORT THAT NEVER SLEEPS

LIFE RAFT RENTAL:

A BOOMING NEW BUSINESS

WW PROFILE:

A NEW LIFE IN WW’S SERVICE

CONTENTS NO 2 2014 PUBLISHED BY: Wilh. Wilhelmsen Holding ASA Corporate communications NO-1324 Lysaker, Norway PUBLISHER: Group vice president Benedicte Gude EDITOR: Marius Steen EDITORIAL BOARD: Katrin Berntsen Jørn-Even Hanssen Einar Chr Erlingsen Cecilie A Heavens Benedicte Gude Marius Steen

04 MILESTONES 08 CURRENT AFFAIRS Changes in trades, rates and cargo mix are taking place at a speed never seen before.

10 SPECIAL REPORT WW Business Standards is soon to be rolled out and implemented everywhere we operate; from central to local offices and ships. Main message: I comply!

EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS: Einar Chr Erlingsen Kaia Means Karin T Erlingsen Danny Santos II Rune Thomas Ege Håvard Solerød Ruud de Groot Marianne H Wang David Hopkins Finn K. Harung

20 SPECIAL JOB

DESIGN AND LAYOUT: Redink AS www.redink.no

24 OCEAN-GOING LOCOMOTIVES

PRINTER: TS Trykk Printed on paper approved by The Swan, the official Nordic ecolabel

MV Taiko is on an important and unusual job: bringing chemical weapons out of Syria for their final destruction.

How best to provide a flexible solution for shipping 17 locomotives halfway across the globe? WWL found the answer.

CIRCULATION: 6 500 copies TECHNICAL PUBLISHER: Forlaget Media AS, NO-3110 TØNSBERG, Norway

26 A NEW ARRIVAL The first of our new PostPanamax vessels is on its way. We have toyed with some very impressive facts and figures.

30 WW PROFILE

TIP US! YOU'VE GOT NEWS? Give us a tip! Please

send an email on stories that you might think are interesting in WW World. Please use: marius.steen@wilhelmsen.com. Since our group consists of over 14 000 employees located in over 70 countries worldwide, we are dependent on you telling us in the editorial staff what's going on.

Meet Rajeevan Thamba, who left war behind for a new future as WW project manager – and as drummer in a Bollywood band.

36 NETWORKING IN ROTTERDAM Hans Mout, WSS’ general manager for The Netherlands is focused on continuing to build the Rotterdam office’s impressive reputation.

38 ALWAYS ON CALL The port of Singapore never sleeps, as our WSS port agents know very well!

2 WWWORLD 2 2014

The CEO's letter 45 ALWAYS BE PREPARED!

Dear all,

Sometimes the unthinkable happens. By being prepared negative impact can be minimized.

IN THIS ISSUE OF WW WORLD, we are devoting

substantial space to our compliance project called WW Business Standards. WW Business Standards will require dedicated focus from all our employees and I urge you to give this project the time it deserves; this project is vital and important for all of us. Meanwhile, we also need to maintain a steady focus on our business objectives.

46 LIFE RAFT EXCHANGE Business is soaring for a relatively new business venture.

48 SAFETY TRAINING Hands-on product knowledge is the key to competency at WSS’ Antwerp’s training centre.

50 PEOPLE&PLACES Meet an inventive bus driver and a ship turned TV star.

52 BUSINESS PROFILE

100 000 purchase transactions and invoices from more than 6 000 suppliers are handled by WSM’s Global Procurement Services in Kuala Lumpur.

54 THE ENERGY SAVERS The latest generation of Energy Recovery Wheels from Wilhelmsen Technical Solutions has huge savings potential for cruise operators.

56 YOUNG TALENT Meet Darren Yap, a very happy man in Singapore.

58 THE WORLD AS SEEN BY ROB LORD

The overall group focus for 2014 is efficiency. Much has been done leading up to 2014, especially within our WMS companies, with very satisfactory feedback. In WWASA and WWL we are in the midst of change with restructuring of the organisations towards more efficient solutions. While WWL has come well into their “Taking on the challenge” project, WWASA has had to initiate processes to cut operational costs on vessels and reduce the number of high cost officers at sea. The building of our first Post Panamax vessel to be completed later this year also highlights the drive for efficiency; we never stop dwelling on our merits or stop being dynamic. We change constantly and we always stay in motion. Another measure taken this year is our newly signed letter of intent with the Nordic private equity fund FSN Capital to become 50/50 partners in the HVAC, el and automation and insulation businesses of WTS. This is a new and exciting way of working for us. The structure is proactive and opens up for more growth in that part of our business. FSN Capital is a highly professional company we are very pleased to work with. We have also lifted our stakes in the NorSea Group (NSG) from 35% to 40%. Increasing our shareholding is a natural part of our strategic ambition to broaden our exposure in the energy, offshore and maritime industry. Being efficient makes us a dependable, dynamic and safe partner because we always seek to improve our way of working and our services provided. Let us approach the rest of 2014 with full focus on our WW Business Standards, our progressive business objectives and the efficiency that propels us forwards.

60 HISTORIC CORNER From Lines to Logistics

Thomas Wilhelmsen Group CEO WWWORLD 2 2014 3

WWMILESTONES SUSTAINABILITY: Our friends and families trust that we will return safe from work, and the hundreds of local communities where we operate depend on us to do business the right way.

A NEW GENERATION OF SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING 4 WWWORLD 2 2014

7.3% UP

Overall global sales of cars by Hyundai Motor Company for 2013 amounted to 4 732 366 units, a 7.3% increase from the year before. Source: EUKOR News

GOING FORWARD, IN THE NEXT YEAR WE WILL FOCUS ON FURTHER DEVELOPING STRUCTURES AND PROCESSES FOR TRACING AND MEASURING THE GROUPS’ IMPACT ON OUR EMPLOYEES, OUR PARTNERS, THE ENVIRONMENT AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES. FOR THE FIRST TIME, the WW group has published a sustainability report following the renowned international standard «Global reporting initiative» (GRI).

ANTI-TRUST INVESTIGATIONS Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics and EUKOR Car Carriers, owned 50% and 40% respectively by Wilh. Wilhelmsen ASA, are subject to anti-trust investigations of the car carrying industry in several jurisdictions. JAPAN: In March 2014, the Japanese Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) stated that WWL and other companies in the industry, in the years 2008-2012, restrained competition through jointly agreeing on raising or maintaining rates, thereby breaching the Japanese Antimonopoly Act. The surcharge for WWL’s account is estimated to USD 34 million and primarily related to shipments of new cars from Japan to Europe. WWL does not agree with all of the JFTC conclusions, but has decided not to appeal the order and focus on business going forward.

EUKOR was initially included in the Japanese inquiry, but was dropped from the investigation. ‘This is an unfortunate situation, both for the WW group as part owner and in particular for WWL,’ says Thomas Wilhelmsen, group CEO. ‘Although the licence to operate is getting stricter by the day, we must continue to live by our Code of Conduct, conducting our business in a fair and ethical manner, promoting healthy competition and by complying with laws and regulations in all the 125 countries in which we operate.’

OSLO, NORWAY: Succeeding a materiality assessment in the group’s management team last autumn, eight topics were identified as vital for internal and external stakeholders and are reported on; Business ethics & anticorruption, Waste-management, Health & safety, Innovation, Sustainability management, Human rights, Labour relations & standards, and Climate change & emission. WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? First, because it matters to society how we conduct our business, because our friends and families trust that we will return safe from work, and because the hundreds of local communities where we operate depend on us to do business the right way. Second, many stakeholders outside the WW organisation care about how we work. It can be authorities in new markets we want to enter, potential employees considering their next challenge or conscious customers with a strong emphasis on who they conduct business with. Doing the right thing will always remain most important, but with a sustainability report we will also be able to illustrate our practises. Going forward, in the next year we will focus on further developing structures and processes for tracing and measuring the groups’ impact on our employees, our partners, the environment and local communities.

THE FULL REPORT CAN BE FOUND ONLINE HERE:

http://www.wilhelmsen.com/about/invest/reports/Pages/ AnnualandEnvironmentalreports.aspx

DOING GREAT: Participants at the officer’s conference in Stockholm, Sweden.

IMPRESSIVE RESULTS FROM OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN: Wallenius Wil helmsen Logistics’ on-going fuel-saving program is giving impressive results, as presented at an officer’s conference earlier this year. ‘These are huge numbers, and they are hugely significant. It takes a tremendous amount of effort from all parts of our organisation to generate those numbers. You, the officers and crew, have done a great job. When our executives meet the owners they say “look at how well these guys are doing”, said Donal Duggan, WWL’s head of operations performance and tonnage management.

40% 4 % of WWL’s total operating costs are spent on bunker

was saved against the budget through operational excellence in 2013

27.5 1000

percent of the turnover is spent on bunker

extra days are used on slow steaming

WWWORLD 2 2014 5

Wilhelmsen Technical Solutions has seen remarkably improved results so far this year, with yet more exciting prospects ahead.

OSLO, NORWAY: ‘In the first quarter this year, we celebrated the best quarterly performance since 2009. We have had a successful turnaround and see a very healthy order intake,’ says company president Petter Traaholt, adding that the achievements are backed by steadily improving results throughout 2013. ‘The investments made in acquisitions, focus on sales and streamlining the organisation have no doubt given us a stronger position, thus increasing our market shares,’ says Mr Traaholt. WMS recently announced that they have signed a letter of intent with FSN Capital in a joint venture to develop parts of the WTS portfolio in a new company: 6 WWWORLD 2 2014

‘This is great news and shows the attractiveness and the possibilities that others recognize in our segments of the industry. We have a new journey ahead of us and I am convinced that this will be a very good opportunity for everyone.’ Looking ahead, WTS is splitting into two different business enterprises; one with WW and one with WW and FSN Capital as partners. A demerger plan is underway for the split, which will take effect in the autumn. The details are not yet clear, but what we do know is that the headquarters of the new company will be in Gothenburg, Sweden. Most employees will see little change and continue business as usual.

PHOTO: K AIA MEANS

“FULL SCORE” FOR WTS

GOAL GETTERS: WTS president Petter Traaholt (to the right) and vice president Mark Germain celebrate good results and a promising future for their company with a game of floor ball during a break.

PHOTO: K AIA MEANS

WWMILESTONES

EXCITING PROSPECTS: WTS president Petter Traaholt takes pride in the fact that others recognize WTS’ segment of the maritime industry.

AUD 230 000 000

has been raised by Qube Holdings Limited to build a new grain handling facility at Port Kembla, Australia, and to acquire two hau lage companies. WWH is the second largest shareholder in Qube.

+ 2 SHIPS

INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION: The NorSea Group is rapidly expanding its network of bases and services, around the North Sea and elsewhere, like in Australia. This photo is from the group’s Vestbase, or “West base” outside Kristiansund, Norway.

WALLENIUS LINES HAS declared

an option for two more Post Panamax vessels to be built in China for delivery in Q2 and Q4 2016. This order follows the previously announced orders from Wilh. Wilhelmsen ASA, of four Post Panamax vessels to be built by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries, Korea. Each vessel will have a car carrying capacity equivalent of 8 000.

POLAR SAFETY PHOTO: K AIA MEANS

RUSSIA: Wilhelmsen Technical Solutions

OSLO, NORWAY: WW has raised its shareholding in the NorSea Group AS from 35.4% to 40%, following a share issue in the company whereby NSG buys Danbor AS from AP Møller Mærsk AS. ‘Increasing our shareholding in NSG is a natural part of our strategic ambition to broaden our exposure in the energy, offshore and maritime industry,’ says Nils P Dyvik, group CFO in Wilh. Wilhelmsen Holding ASA. Danborg is a one-stop-shop for companies operating in the oil and gas sector, and the largest service provider of oil and gas logistics in the Danish part of the North Sea with an estimated market share of 80%.

GRY BRANDSNES from WW HR received the award.

PHOTO: EIRIK FØRDE

WW INCREASES SHARE IN NORSEA GROUP

10 000 STUDENTS

WWL AWARDED BY LIUGONG CHINA: For several years now, Walle-

nius Wilhelmsen Logistics’ team in China has been building a strong relationship with construction equipment manufacturer LiuGong. Recently, WWL received LiuGong’s “Best Logistics Company of the year” award for the second year. We congratulate WWL with a job well done!.

HAVE SPOKEN: Wilh. Wilhelmsen is the No. 1 ideal

employer within shipping in Norway, according to a recent survey conducted amongst Norwegian students. (Source: Universum)

FIRST BIG BATCH OF NEW BMWs

NEW CUSTOMER

GERMANY/KOREA: The BMW

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA:

EN ROUTE: 164 pure electric cars from BMWs new i3 model on voyage from Bremerhaven to Chiba, Japan earlier this year.

PHOTO: EUKOR CAR CARRIERS

i3 is the first mass-produced pure electric vehicle from the German manufacturer. EUKOR recently carried the first big batch of this new car from Bremerhaven to Japan. Although EUKOR have shipped electric cars before, the volume of 164 units represents a milestone as the first significant batch of electric vehicles loaded on a EUKOR vessel.

Safety has signed contracts for the delivery of a comprehensive safety package for the Russian Federation’s new special vessel designed to explore the potential opportunities for commercial shipping to transit the North Sea route through the Arctic ice pack. The ship is to be built at the Baltiysky Zavod Shipyard in St Petersburg. The Russian government already plans to build two more vessels of the same type.

Wilhelmsen Ship Management proudly announces that they have concluded a contract with Frontline2012 for the management of their new Cape Size segment after stiff competition. The initial contract is for the management of two newbuilt bulk carriers, MV Front Sapporo and MV Front Salvador. We congratulate everyone involved in securing the contract with this prestigious customer.

WWWORLD 2 2014 7

CURRENT AFFAIRS

ADAPTING TO A CHANGING WORLD Changes in trades, rates and cargo mix are taking place at a pace never seen before. Owner Wilh. Wilhelmsen ASA and operator Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics are both adapting to a constantly changing business environment. TEXT EINAR CHR ERLINGSEN PHOTO K AIA MEANS

TAKING ON THE CHALLENGE: Customers and markets are changing at an unprecedented speed. To stay in business we need to adapt, according to Christopher Connor, president and CEO Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (to the left) and Jan-Eyvin Wang, president and CEO Wilh. Wilhelmsen ASA.

8 WWWORLD 2 2014

THE FACT THAT WE’RE LIVING WITH CONSTANT CHANGE DOES NOT MAKE US UNIQUE, EVERYONE HAS TO. IT’S HOW WE DEAL WITH IT THAT WILL MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE. CHRIS CONNOR, PRESIDENT AND CEO, WALLENIUS WILHELMSEN LOGISTICS

SLO, NORWAY: Change is nothing new in shipping, but the present pace is. Good supply of cargo is no longer a guarantee for a profitable result - if the cargo and trade mix is unfavourable or severe competition is putting rates under pressure. This is very much a fact today. In order to improve the financial results, WWASA has introduced several cost saving initiatives. Cost-cutting and efficiency measures have also been introduced in other WW companies, like Wilhelmsen Technical Solutions, Wilhelmsen Ships Service and Wilhelmsen Ship Management. Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics, Wilh. Wilhelmsen’s joint venture with Wallenius Lines, has also initiated a major initiative. The initiative is driven by a combination of how customers have changed their strategies and ways of working, as well as changes in the competitive market and in cost levels. The initiative, called “Taking on The Challenge”, involves deeper structural changes in how WWL runs its business, in order to work more effectively and make sure the company has the right people in the right places to meet customers future needs. ‘We’ve also had to look at how we can make our business more cost-efficient,’ says JanEyvin Wang, president and CEO of WWASA. ‘In 2013, we reduced the number of full-time employees by 10% in WWASA. In addition, we are looking into how we can improve profitability by reducing vessel operating costs and not least our manning expenses.’ In February, WWASA announced that Scandinavian seafarers sailing on WW-owned vessels will receive an offer of severance pay. Scandinavian positions on older vessels that

have been recycled have already been terminated. In the next two years, the downsizing of Scandinavian positions will continue. ‘This was not an easy decision to make, but a necessary one,’ says Wang, underlining that the company will do its best to offer redundant employees other positions. Nor does this decision represent the only change taking place. CHRIS CONNOR, HEAD OF WWL: ‘Change will be part of who we are, and embracing it is the way to improve our position for the future. Our customers are changing dramatically; their markets, how they produce and where they do it. In order to keep up we have to refocus and restructure. This is the way that we can become more cost efficient on every level. Changes are already taking place within products, services, technology, operations, controlling, fleet renewal, fuel efficiency etc. However, what we are seeing is evolution, not a revolution. Many former in-house services have already been outsourced. More will probably follow. Our sole aim is to become more competitive. This is what our customers expect, and what we have to deliver in order to remain a leader in our business.’ JAN-EYVIN WANG, HEAD OF WWASA: ‘Adapt ability is the key word. We must have the right tools to deliver first class service wherever required. We must be both the most efficient and the most cost effective supplier. While Scandinavian seafarers are among the very best, we are competing for them in a high cost market with the offshore industry driving up salaries. With very few exceptions, our clients are all based elsewhere, and are not prepared to pay according to a Norwegian cost level.’

‘Is Norway as you see it still competitive as a base for global shipping activities?’ JAN-EYVIN WANG: ‘The Norwegian shipping cluster, including brokers, stock exchange, banks and insurance companies, is important to cost efficient operations, and represents a competitive edge. The cluster is also easier to find here than elsewhere. Executive wages are for example lower in Norway than in several parts of the world. In addition to our historical roots, Norway is a natural place for WWASA to operate from.’ CHRIS CONNOR: ‘The general operating level is definitely competitive. We expect to see some jobs shift to lower cost areas, but a number of key jobs will remain. WWL will have less than 80 Oslo based employees out of a total of 6 500, so the over-all costs of operating from Norway are not a big issue. And promoting WWL as a Scandinavian brand is important and has an enormous impact and reputation.’

‘What will be your main focus in the near future?’ CHRIS CONNOR: ‘There are several. The largestcost component to address is undoubtedly fuel. How we deal with it will have a great impact. We are already achieving results through a number of measures. Another area is management of fleet and trade operations, where we are literally tightening the screw as to how we use our assets as part of the “Taking on the challenge” initiatives. Finally, and perhaps most importantly is our focus on winning new and profitable b usiness in the marketplace through selective targeting. WWWORLD 2 2014 9

! S I N E S S S TA N

Special Report: WW BUSINESS STANDARDS

WALK THE TALK WW Business Standards is soon to be rolled out and implemented in our world-wide organisation, from central to local offices and ships. The main message from Group CEO Thomas Wilhelmsen is clear: Walk the talk! TEXT EINAR CHR. ERLINGSEN

10 WWWORLD 2 2014

WWWORLD 2 2014 11

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Special Report: WW BUSINESS STANDARDS

I’M THOMAS WILHELMSEN AND I COMPLY!

SLO, NORWAY: In 2010, we learned how to do business the right way when we rolled out our governing elements. Now we are continuing that work with a follow up project called WW Business Standards. This is an awareness campaign that will help you make the right choices focusing on our revised Code of Conduct and how to comply with it. ‘Following legal requirements and regulations is a given. It is equally important to comply with our Code of Conduct. Our stakeholders all over the world expect us to and require that we comply. It is a matter of whether or not we will survive in the future. It is just the way of doing business in the WW group,’ says Thomas Wilhelmsen, group CEO. Included in WW Business Standards is a revised Code of Conduct, a new whistleblowing procedure, a revised theft and fraud policy, a new anti-corruption policy and revisions related to competition law.

Another reason: we want to be a shaper of the maritime industry. Being a shaper means being a forerunner. I believe that a company known for its high ethics and good business standards will have a competitive edge in the long run. Our customers expect it, regardless of where in the world they meet us. I know that ethics and morale differ depending on where we operate, but as a global company we must depend on a common approach to these issues. Simply put, high business standards today will secure our future existence. Last but not least: The WW group has been built up through more than 150 years of hard work by thousands of employees and not least a dedicated family. We use our family name as the main brand of the WW group. The contamination effect of non-compliance would be enormous, with consequences beyond the actual crime. Personally, I do not wish to see the Wilhelmsen name being tainted in this way.’

Q: ‘Exactly why is WW Business Standards important?’ A: ‘There are several reasons. One has to do with how the world is developing. Focus on good business standards and ethics has increased significantly in the past decade. No serious international company can afford to tolerate shady business practices if they want to be competitive and stay in business.

Q: ‘Which are the main focus areas of WW Business Standards?’ A: ‘The main focus is on ensuring we all know what is expected of us to make the right choices and ensuring we achieve the right results, the right way. The awareness campaign will be clear on what to do should we face difficult business situations. Transparency throughout our whole value

12 WWWORLD 2 2014

chain is becoming more and more common, so the choices and decisions we make must “stand up to scrutiny” irrespective of where in the world we are.’ Q: ‘One way to uncover potential breaches to the Code of Conduct is by introducing a so-called whistleblowing channel. What is your message to anyone who might feel it necessary to “blow the whistle”?’ A: ‘Personally, I don’t like the word “whistle blower”, as it is often interpreted as containing an element of slander. This is not our intention. What we want is an internal culture where people are free to report unwanted behaviour knowing that it won’t backfire on them. The procedures strengthen transparency and safeguard that the business standards are applied the way they are intended. By knowing where we have potential breaches, we can implement additional procedures or policies if necessary – proactively react to our weak links. By having an open culture, we will continuously improve. I would, however, like to underline that there are guidelines on what to report and how to do so, which we all should follow. Q: ‘Laws and regulations are not the same in every country. How is this reflected in our business standards?’ A: ‘We operate in more than 70 countries, each with its own laws, cultures and norms

for what is acceptable behaviour. There are, however, also international law and regulations, applicable to all the countries in which we operate. Anti-corruption law is one such example. In some countries facilitation payments are regrettably an unavoidable means of securing routine, low-level action and/or approvals, but such payments are a type of bribery and are a breach of existing laws. Knowing that the practice of facilitation payments is a challenge in several countries, we understand that a common approach is difficult. However, it should be crystal clear that we are committed to work towards eliminating such practices. We do not accept money “under the table” or kickbacks. Paying someone for a licence or a contract is a breach of our business standards. Q: ‘Isn’t it correct that a certain “greasing of palms” seems to be a necessary part of operating in some communities?’ A: ‘We realise that culture and customs vary all over the world. Exchanging gifts between the yard and owner when a new ship is delivered is a tradition, and completely acceptable. However, receiving or giving gifts to obtain something for own or the company’s benefit is not. We’ve seen many examples of people approaching us offering a contract, provided that we sponsor activity charity organisation. This is not acceptable. Likewise, it is

not acceptable to receive a private trip or private favours in exchange for signing a contract or making a business deal. If you’re in doubt about receiving or giving a gift, you should always consult your manager. I expect all our employees to familiarise themselves with our Code of Conduct and related policies and act accordingly. Q: ‘Without exception, even in parts of the world where operations might become very difficult if you don’t comply with “local tradition?” A: ‘We decide where we want to get involved, and choose to operate in areas where we can control our governance, based on our values and WW Business Standards. So the answer is yes. Our Code of Conduct and way of doing business is not something we can turn on or off at will. It is just how we do business.’ Q: ‘WW Business Standards is to be launched globally in August. In what way does this project differ from former practice?’

A: ‘The WW Business Standards initiative is building on a culture we already have established and should be operating according to. The world is however changing fast and law requirements and customers’ expectations are becoming stricter by the day. The revised documents are aligned with new laws and regulations. We will continuously update our governing documents to ensure we operate in an ethical and compliant way and not least to make sure we all know what is expected of us to operate in a compliant and ethical way. Q: ‘So if a GM somewhere was to approach you and say that “I can’t do business here unless I can spend a certain amount on “easing our way?” What would your answer be?’ A: ‘My answer would be no. We will take good care of our customers and walk the extra mile for them if necessary. But we do that by delivering the best possible product or service. Simply put – we achieve the right results the right way at a business standard that can stand any news front page in the world!’

WE CAN ALL DO OUR PART TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE LIVING UP TO OUR WW BUSINESS STANDARDS. GROUP CEO THOMAS WILHELMSEN WWWORLD 2 2014 13

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Special Report: WW BUSINESS STANDARDS

14 WWWORLD 2 2014

What is WW Business Standards? WW Business Standards is a project that focuses on implementing the Code of Conduct we have in the WW Group and on how to comply with our ways of handling anti-corruption, theft & fraud, whistleblowing and competition law. EVERY EMPLOYEE in the WW group will be invited to do eLearnings from a PC, alone or in a group. There will also be a handbook to use and all WW companies, departments, offices etc. will arrange workshops. In sum, all employees will in some way participate in this project. The overall goal is to educate 100% of our employees on important compliance issues. WHY ARE WE DOING THIS? Because excellent governance enhances our brand, our reputation, our ability to meet customer requirements and our compliance with legal requirements. Beyond the pure business perspective, our commitment to a strong governance culture will help us to make a difference in the world we live in. A sound culture of compliance is

vital and good for our business. It’s important for our company to follow all rules and regulations in the market we operate in. Not being diligent and not complying means putting our business at risk. Our stakeholders all over the world also demand that we comply. It is just the way of doing business. WHEN ARE WE DOING THIS? At the Lysaker office in Norway, the roll out started on June 11. 2014. The rest of the Group will commence project start in August/September 2014. Remember, it‘s not acceptable to breach the law, and it’s not acceptable to breach our Code of Conduct. Let us all make sure we do business according to WW Business Standards and comply with our Code of Conduct.

The new Compliance Contacts

WSS: Mr Christian Høifødt

WTS: Ms Jennifer Xu

WITHIN EVERY business area (BA) there will be an

appointed BA Compliance Contact. The main role of a BA Compliance Contact is to be someone you can contact in case your manager or your managers’ manager cannot respond to questions, or you need advice in a matter that

WSM: Mr Espen Sending

WW ASA: Mr Michael Colebourn

your m anager cannot be contacted upon. Make sure you contact your BA Compliance Contact in person if in doubt. Your discussion and the fact that you sought advice will be kept confidential. You will find each person’s email in your address book.

WWWORLD 2 2014 15

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Special Report: WW BUSINESS STANDARDS

4 QUESTIONS FOR 4 GMS

We have asked five GMs from different parts of the world their opinions on the following questions: 1: What are your expectations of WW Business Standards? 2: How will it influence the way you do business? 3: How do you plan to communicate WW Business Standards to your employees? 4: Are bribery and corruption a problem where you operate? Any examples – and how did you solve them? TEXT MARIUS STEEN

ERIC WILSON, WSS BRAZIL

Newly appointed temporary GM Brazil explained‘I expect very clear standardised governing rules with little flexibility. In Brazil, clear borders and concrete rules are the only measures that work.’

Eric explains that there is strong governance already in Brazil – a new law enforces this. On January 29th this year, the Brazilian government passed a law “extension” to further combat corruption and bribery: ‘The government is heavily enforcing this law, and it is truly for the better for all industries. WSS in Brazil have already trained mana gers toward the law implications and consequences,’ he says. Procurement and Finance are already aligned with governance processes. WSS Brazil has strict cash and money systems in place to prevent any kind of fraud. ‘So in many ways the change has already begun to happen, but WW Business Standards will take compliance one step further,’ he says.

‘Our team has made some excellent experiences and harvested good learnings since January because of the new law. To communicate our new Business Standards we will gather all employees and arrange so-called town hall meetings. Everyone will get the message. Alongside initiatives from Oslo, we will utilise our own local initiatives to highlight this new project. All communication will focus on awareness of the campaign, and demonstrate the seriousness of the topic and what the compliance requirements are.’ 16 WWWORLD 2 2014

‘Corruption has always been illegal in Brazil. However, the new law brings new power for the government towards striking down upon corruption cases. The liability question is for example broader now, which causes more roles to be exposed. Worst case, your business can be shut down and you be sent to jail.’ Eric says the government has introduced a new big brother system, which watches out for non-compliance, called eSocial. This system increases transparency for Brazilian businesses and individuals, and is a very good step in the right direction to rid the country of poor conduct: ‘Brazil needs to be more competitive, cleaner and more transparent to become a more respected country and business partner. Clear rules are the only way to go.’ ‘Customers demand that we have procedures in place and information on our processes, and that we comply. Also, our revised contracts with vendors have clauses where we can audit them, run due diligence, spot checks and when we demand training for partners they have to participate. This way we can document our partner’s knowledge of our Code of Conduct and Anti-Corruption legislation. We follow rules and we demand that everyone we work with do the same – we have the law on our side.’ ‘Any examples of corruption? Our Santos Safety Station could have been finished in 4-5 months. However, we have a strong focus on compliance and because of that it took almost two years to get the approvals done and the station built. We simply worked the right way. Our process was stalled by third parties. Unfortunately, some individuals may still be corrupt. Examples happen here and there. We stand fast against this behaviour.’ ‘This is a never-ending process. We permanently seek improvements and corrections. However, so far partners and authorities enjoy the new standards set by WSS in Brazil.’

BRAZIL NEEDS TO BE MORE COMPETITIVE, CLEANER AND MORE TRANSPARENT TO BECOME A MORE RESPECTED COUNTRY AND BUSINESS PARTNER. CLEAR RULES IS THE ONLY WAY TO GO. ERIC WILSON, WSS BRAZIL

THE MORE BIG OPERATORS THAT PUT ANTI-CORRUPTION ON THEIR AGENDA, THE SMALLER THE PROBLEM WILL BECOME. ESPEN SENDING, WSM KUALA LUMPUR

HARALD LUNDESTAD, WSS SINGAPORE

ESPEN SENDING, WSM KUALA LUMPUR

PETER STOCKLEY, WTS OSLO

‘That they will make all our employees aware of the revised Code of Conduct. I also hope that employer expectations are clear; what do we expect each person to be aware of and capable of after the rollout is complete. This drive will be a very important tool in our dealings with big clients. In general, they all expect that we have programs like WW Business Standards in place, with employees well aware of what good compliance really is – both everything related to anti-corruption, but also to safety,’ says Harald.

‘In Singapore the level of corruption is much lower that in surrounding countries. But we still need a moral compass to help guide us towards correct decisions when dilemmas occur. WW Business Standards are important tools for us when selling our services to large clients.’

‘We will arrange workshops and different activities for all our employees. It would create enormous negative consequences should we not follow rules and regulations related to compliance.’

‘Singapore officials in general are not corrupt. Our challenge lies in some suppliers trying to bribe our employees into giving them advantages that they normally would not get. I have myself experienced offers of kickbacks. Singapore is a country that values compliance. However, there are unfortunately always cases of bad practice from time to time.’

‘I expect our employees to better educated on best practice relating to anti-corruption. WW Business Standards is expected to provide real tools for real situations. There will be difficult decisions to make, and under great pressure. So it’s good to know that you can discuss a problem with someone close to you.’

‘The more big operators that put anti-corruption on their agenda, the smaller the problem will become. We operate with crew from all over the world, with ships on all oceans and ports. Some countries are more demanding than others. Our biggest challenge is our own operational structure. 11 000 people must know our Code of Conduct and how to be compliant. I hope that WW Business Standards will give an overview of our challenges, and provide solutions on how to include all employees. It will take time to get this in place, but it is also of the utmost importance.’

‘ WSM will focus on all office personnel to conduct eLearning in combination with initiatives from WW. The manning offices will require special resources, as they are our keys for reaching and educating our crews. WSM will also use our Officers’ Conferences.’

‘Corruption may occur in many countries. WW Business Standards grabs the bull by its horns by dealing with these issues,’ says Mr Sending. He expects proper backing from everyone, from managers to every single employee.

‘I expect WW Business Standards to help create greater conformity in the way we act and deal with dilemmas that we face in our daily business life. This is important for how we are perceived by our stakeholders. If that perception is improved, then we have a success. ‘From a bribery perspective, it is becoming trickier out there, especially outside Europe. The real issue is to implement WW Business Standards so that the organisation does not regard them as restrictions on how we do business, but rather that they will help us to conduct business in line with our values.’

‘Contracts have not been won because we insist on compliance. External agents will always create a challenge, some do not feel a strong connection to our core values. We need to be practical, but always stay within the law. Risk management and enhancing our reputation are definitely key factors.’

‘Every manager has to confirm in writing, that they have delivered the message and performed the tasks required. In short, relay the message in the right language and the right way, to every individual and all parts of WTS.

‘One example: fronting European values in different cultures can be difficult. A shipyard demanded a kickback on a contract. We refused, and someone else got the order. Some markets are challenging when it comes to corruption. Protecting and strengthening our reput ation is vital for our business. Therefore we must stick to it,’ says Peter Stockley. WWWORLD 2 2014 17

! S I N E S S S TA N

Special Report: WW BUSINESS STANDARDS

HOW DO YOU KEEP YOUR HANDS CLEAN? How do you secure a good clean practice when you have 8 000 suppliers and vendors, and with the world working the way it does? Carl Jansma, VP Global Procurement Services (GPS) at Wilhelmsen Ship Management provides some of the answers. TEXT AND PHOTOS MARIUS STEEN

UALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: To prepare the company’s 100 000 and more purchase-to-pay transactions against unethical and corruptive behaviour can be challenging. Carl Jansma has worked in procurement for over 20 years, and has high expectations and ambitions for how to conduct the organisation’s procurement activities: ‘To say that we only need to keep our hands clean is not doing our job justice. This is a minimum and must be backed by ethical processes, eliminating all opportunity for unethical practices to creep into our business dealings. It‘s more a question of how we conduct our business.’ A cornerstone for GPS is how WW expects its employees to conduct business: “Doing the right business in the right way”, based on moral principles and company values with an obligation to obey. Mr. Jansma and his team are proud of how they comply, and welcome the new project WW Business Standards.

FIVE MAIN PILLARS IN PROCUREMENT: behaviour, governing standards, legislations, systems and audits shall ensure correct conduct regardless of culture. ‘Then we have WW’s governing elements. (These can be found on GIMS). Equally important are legislations and laws, for example the UK Bribery Act. We also maintain proper systems and controls for reliable purchase and approval processes. Finally, 18 WWWORLD 2 2014

BUSINESS STANDARDS: ‘Keeping our hands clean is not doing our job justice. This is a minimum and must be backed by ethical processes, eliminating all opportunity for unethical practices to creep into our business dealings,’ says Carl Jansma, VP Global Procurement Services (GPS) at Wilhelmsen Ship Management.

we focus on continuous improvement, ‘health checks’ and audits to benchmark GPS against industry best practice and to ensure value for money for our customers in the most ethical manner. Combined, these measures when followed will make you an ethical trading partner. It is however critical to adhere to them all, as all are equally important. A company can have the best policies but still end up with poor and unethical practices,’ says Mr. Jansma. Introducing rigour and maintaining compliance in the “five pillars” requires holistic organisation commitment and executive support. Companies will always prioritise their focus on procurement differently, and therefore there are frontrunners and late runners in the compliance field. Carl is clear that we have to be in front: ‘The frontrunners get huge reputation and efficiency benefits that lagging companies simply can’t compete with. In my view, we should always push for the extra effort. There is so much to gain. In my previous role we experienced the enormous advantage of being compliant when the UK Bribery Act was put into effect in 2010. Our tendering/contracting policy processes and systems were already compliant with the new legislation, whereas many competitors had to invest resources and rush initiatives to mitigate their risks and exposure. This is just one example that solid preparation, commitment and work over time prevent unforeseen and costly expenses and allow us to focus on the business instead.’ Mr. Jansma has experienced how customers, suppliers and colleagues all recognise that good compliance makes for a better business practise. ‘They know that they are dealing with an open and reliant partner, and employees appreciate working for a well-organised company.’

WSM MUST HAVE THE HIGHEST ETHICAL STANDARDS, BECAUSE GPS IS WHOLLY RESPONSIBLE FOR SPENDING OTHER PEOPLE’S MONEY. CARL JANSMA

WSM’S STRENGTHS: The Chartered Institute for Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) is globally recognised as the governing body of the procurement profession. CIPS’ more than 150 000 members are committed to promote and develop high standards of professional skills, ability and integrity in purchasing and supply chain management. ‘This puts us in a strong position, as we are updated on current best practises and global standards for our profession,’ explains Mr. Jansma. ‘In every procurement activity – from purchase orders to contract agreements or tender offers – best practice processes and standards must be maintained. These include openness, fairness, probity, transparency, accountability and ethics. Ethics in a procurement context relates to how we treat our suppliers, and how we achieve results.’ GPS has highly specialised people, processes and systems to mitigate the common types of procurement risks (fraud, financial, legal, operational, legislative etc.) to pick up any non-compliance and/or poor governance practices that WSM might be exposed to. Included in these processes is our rigorous focus on segregation of duties: ‘This means that one person cannot do multiple tasks within a purchasing process, thus reducing the opportunity for errors, inconsistency or abuse. This is just one example

of mandatory best practice compliance to prevent fraud and loss of value to the company and our customers,’ says Mr. Jansma. ‘Moving forward, we must not only strive to make our actions or decisions right, but also make them look right and become their advocates. Perception is everything…’ CHALLENGES: Multinational corporations are always exposed to external and internal forms or corruptive practices. One current challenge for WSM is the process to change from a highly decentralised purchasing model to a centrally run one. ‘The standards set by our WW Governing Elements, CIPS and the hard work done by GPS are best maintained by running a central procurement model,’ says Mr Jansma. ‘Conducting tendering, contracting and purchase-to-pay transactions, whilst managing the supplier base and supply chain logistics can be challenging processes in a compliance context. The risks, if not done ethically are just too high!’ says Mr Jansma. ‘WSM must have the highest ethical standards, because GPS is wholly responsible for spending other people’s money. Our processes must be beyond reproach in order to maintain and attract future customers. GPS will ensure that all our future procurement activities will remain squeaky clean,’ he concludes. WWWORLD 2 2014 19

WW SHIPPING

SYRIA

20 WWWORLD 2 2014

MV TAIKO PARTICIPATES IN UN MISSION IN SYRIA Since the beginning of this year the WW ASA’s Ro/Ro vessel MV Taiko has been part of the Norwegian government’s contribution to implement the UN Security Council’s resolution regarding the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons. TEXT MARIUS STEEN PHOTO FORSVARET (THE NORWEGIAN MINISTRY OF DEFENCE)

WWWORLD 2 2014 21

CLOSELY WATCHED:A soldier on board the Norwegian navy vessel KNM Helge Ingstad follows MV Taiko from a distance.

JAN-EYVIN WANG

THE MEDITERRANEAN: ‘We received a request from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), and were pleased that one of our vessels suited their needs,’ says JanEyvin Wang, president and CEO of WWASA. MV Taiko has transported chemical weapons from Syria to a place where proper destruction has taken place. ‘We have worked for some time with several Norwegian ministries including the armed forces to prepare ourselves for participating in the operation. However, our contribution to the UN mission would not have been possible at such short notice without us being part of the larger WW group, where we can draw on expertise and services from all necessary parties to prepare Taiko’s mission,’ says Mr Wang. WWASA has handled the request from MFA and heads the project. In addition, the WW group’s in-house legal, insurance and security experts are involved. Furthermore, the vessel is managed by Wilhelmsen Ship Management, which has supplied the highly qualified crew and proper training, and also ensured that the transports have been performed in a safe and secure manner. Last, but not least, several Wilhelmsen Ships Service offices have been engaged in ensuring that the needs of crew and vessel are taken care of and that port calls are timely and efficient. Taiko has contributed to the UN Security Council’s process since the beginning of this year. The end date for Taiko’s contribution is yet to be determined at the time of writing. 22 WWWORLD 2 2014

THE MASTER: Captain Espen Derbakk on board MV Taiko during Operation RECSYR (Removal of chemical agents from Syria). The photo was taken at sea, between Cyprus and the Syrian coast.

PHOTO: RUNE THOMAS EGE/ VG

OUR CONTRI BUTION TO THE UN MISSION WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE AT SUCH SHORT NOTICE WITHOUT US BEING PART OF THE LARGER WW GROUP.

PHOTO: THE NORWEGIAN MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

WW SHIPPING

PHOTO: ALEX KNOTT/CROWN

COLLABORATING WITH THE NAVY WAS A TRULY EXCEPTIONAL EXPERIENCE. VERY PROFESSIONAL, VERY FRIENDLY AND EAGER TO LEARN ABOUT OUR WAY OF OPERATING. THE NAVY BOTH FROM NORWAY AND DENMARK WERE A JOY TO WORK WITH. ESPEN DERBAKK

WW SHIPPING

LOCOMOTIVES ON THE OCEAN US locomotive manufacturer Progress Rail Services (PRS) needed a flexible solution to ship 17 locomotives, each weighing more than 100 tonnes, from the US to Australia. WWL’s frequent and regular sailing schedule proved a valuable solution for PRS. TEXT ISABELLE KLIGER PHOTO BAILEY DAVIDSON

THE UNITED STATES: Jeff Wright, project manager at PRS, explains that the principal reason why Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics was chosen for this assignment was the flexibility of its service. ‘Having access to a weekly sailing schedule allowed us to change the shipment size or date up to a month or two in advance. This was without question the most important factor when choosing this solution,’ says Wright. ‘The other option would’ve been to charter a vessel, but required us to hit a specific shipping date – which is hard when manufacturing complex products such as these.’ EACH LOCOMOTIVE weighs 105 metric tonnes and takes up 221 cubic metres. Overland transport is made more complicated as these narrow-gauge locomotives cannot be transported by rail on their own wheels within the USA. WWL’s Port of Savannah site, located less than 150 kilometres from 24 WWWORLD 2 2014

PRS’ plant in Patterson, Georgia, made the journey a little easier. The first two locomotives left Savannah in October 2013, with a further four shipments being rolled onto WWL’s vessels bound for Australia during the spring of 2014. In Tasmania, the locomotives will be used in both freight and mining operations by PRS’ customer TasRail. PRS’ specifications for the assignment were clear: it required an ocean carrier that could ship its locomotives with the bogies attached, due to the fact that disconnecting and re-connecting the units upon arrival, as well as building cradles and cribbing to hold them on board would be complicated, time-consuming and costly. JEFF WRIGHT ADMITS that he was impressed by the proactive way in which WWL dealt with the assignment.

HAVING ACCESS TO A WEEKLY SAILING SCHEDULE ALLOWED US TO CHANGE THE SHIP MENT UP TO A MONTH OR TWO IN ADVANCE JEFF WRIGHT, PROJECT MANAGER AT PRS

About the shipment By May 2014 WWL had transported a total of 17 locomotives from the US to Australia in five separate shipments. For this assignment, WWL adjusted its 100-tonne rolltrailers, fitting them with extra steel to handle the locomotives, each of which weighs 107 tonnes with the bogie attached. In total, eight rolltrailers have been re-modelled, enabling WWL to deliver a complete, customised solution that complies with the customer’s demand not to detach the bogies prior to shipping – allowing the locomotives to be rolled onto the vessel in Georgia and rolled off again in Tasmania.

‘Before our first shipment, WWL representatives visited our plant in Patterson to inspect the locomotives. As a result, they re-adjusted their Ro/Ro equipment, adding additional steel crossbeams to the rolltrailers, in order to support the cargo,’ he says. Although Bell Bay Port in Tasmania is not on the standard route for WWL’s vessels, WWL account manager Angela Gonzalez explains that adding an extra port call was not as complicated as one might think. ‘A Bell Bay call adds only one extra day for the vessel’s port rotation, plus another day for discharge, so it was possible for us to do this on a vessel that was not time constrained,’ she says. ‘This allowed the customer to pick a vessel to determine a call – giving them added flexibility.’ WHILE A RO/RO SOLUTION was not Progress Rail’s initial preference, Wright admits that this

choice has resulted in unexpected benefits. ‘It turned out that the track at Bell Bay Port was not adapted to receive the locomotives directly adjacent to the vessel berth,’ he explains. ‘If they’d been coming off a Lo/Lo vessel, we would have had to lift them onto another vehicle to move them further into the port. In this case, they were already on WWL’s rolltrailers so we could simply roll the locomotives to the track.’ ‘Progress Rail initially chose our service for its frequency,’ says Gonzalez. ‘Our weekly sailings made potential production delays far less costly, as missing a sailing just meant there would be another one the following week, enabling them to avoid high detention and storage costs. Ultimately, we were also able to add value with our customised Ro/ Ro solution.’ (Printed with the courtesy of Venture magazine/Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics)

About Progress Rail Progress Rail Services Corporation (Progress Rail), a wholly owned subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc., is a leading supplier of remanufactured locomotives and railcar products and services to the railroad industry, operating one of the most extensive rail services and supply networks in North America. More than 8 000 employees serve customers in a network of more than 165 locations across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom. Progress Rail is headquartered in Albertville, Atlanta. For more information, visit www.progressrail.com.

WWWORLD 2 2014 25

WW SHIPPING

KOREA

A HEROIC LADY IS TAKING SHAPE To fully maximize the new and extended Panama Canal locks WW ASA has ordered a new generation of PCTCs (Pure Car/Truck Carrier). The first of the new Post-Panamax vessels is now taking shape at Hyundai Heavy Industries’ Samho shipyard. TEXT MARIUS STEEN PHOTO ALEX ANDER MARESCA

KOREA: The extended Panama Canal locks will be able to accommodate vessels up to 366 metres long. The new Post-Panamax vessels will have a car carrying capacity equivalent to 7 930 CEUs, approximately 1 500 more than today’s Mark V series. The Post-Panamax ships will be 200 metres long with a beam of 36.7 metres, approximately 4.3 metres wider than Mark V. The new ships represent a new way of thinking, where the optimization process is based on an operational profile derived from experience from existing vessels and realistic conditions. Delivery of the first vessel is scheduled for November this year, and is already starting to take shape. Vessel number two will be deliveredin 2015.

Read more about the new Post-Panamax vessels on the following two pages.

THE STERN BLOCK: This is where the main engine and propeller are housed.

WW SHIPPING

TALL TALES FROM A NEW DESIGN With construction now underway on the first of Post-Panamax vessels for WW we take a closer and rather untraditional look at the numbers behind the next generation of Pure Car/Truck Carrier (PCTC) vessels. TEXT EINAR CHR ERLINGSEN/DAVID HOPKINS ILLUSTRATION BØRGE BREDENBEKK /BYHANDS

OSLO, NORWAY: The new HERO ships, also called Post-Panamax vessels are designed in direct response to the soon to be completed enlargement of the world famous canal. The new ships will be 36.7 meters wide, (beam) which is just four meters wider than the current generation of PCTCs and featuring 13 decks. Their length will be 200 meters, dictated by existing restrictions in some Japanese ports. The cargo capacity of Ro/Ro Carriers is measured in Car Equivalent Units (CEU), which are actually based on the dimensions of a 1966 Toyota Corona RT43. A CEU, RT43, or just RT for short, is: 4125 mm × 1550 mm × 1400 mm. The ground slot, or footprint, including sufficient space in-between vehicles, of an RT is: 7.4m2.

So, let’s play a little with these facts and figures.

33 km

BUMPER-TO-BUMPER: 8 000

cars would cover a 33 kilometres’ long stretch of road.

CARGO VALUE: Average

retail value for new cars in the United States was USD 32 890 (December, 2013). 8 000 cars thus equals USD 263 million). The 1 500 extra cars: USD 49 million. TO COMPARE: USD 263 mil-

× 8

EIGHT FOOTBALL FIELDS: 8 000 cars

parked bumper to bumper will cover slightly more than eight standard football (soccer fields), each measuring 7 140 square meters.

34 km BUMPER-TO-BUMPER TO COMPARE:

The narrowest stretch of The English Channel at The Straits of Dover is 34 kilometres wide. 1 500 cars: 6.2 kilometres – or the length of 61 football pitches.

28 WWWORLD 2 2014

lion equals the estimated value of trade between Kuwait and Jordan (2012). While USD 49 million was the record-breaking price asked for a luxury compound in Boston, New Hampshire in February 2014, including gated entrances, a grass helicopter pad, infinity pool and grotto and 63000 square feet of living space.

–15 % 10–15% is the reduction in fuel

cost per RT with the new ship design, compared to its predecessors.

Ă&#x2014; 13.5 STACKED ON TOP OF EACH OTHER: The

same 8 000 cars would tower 11.2 kilometres, or 13.5 times as high as the building recognised by most to be the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tallest, Burj Khalifa in Dubai at 830 meters. The extra 1 500 cars allowed by the new design would reach 2 100 meters towards the sky, or 2.5 times taller than the Burj Khalifa.

WWWORLD 2 2014 29

WW PROFILE

BOLLYWOOD AND

BIG ships At the age of 18 he left a bloody conflict on Sri Lanka behind to find refuge in a Norwegian fjord. Today, Senior project manager Rajeevan Thamba (48) keeps the rhythm in a Bollywood band and leads the building of a new generation of PCTCs. TEXT AND PHOTOS HÅVARD SOLERØD

30 WWWORLD 2 2014

A LONG WAY: Project Manager Rajeevan Thamba (48) left the war in Sri Lanka behind to study in Norway. WWWORLD 2 2014 31

WW PROFILE

SLO, NORWAY: ‘Thamba sounds like the name of a WW ship, doesn’t it? It’s a joke among my colleagues that one of the PCTCs will be named Thamba.’ Rajeevan Thamba welcomes us with a wide smile, confident that he and his project team at WW ASAs Technical Department are putting their definite stamp on the ships being built at the Mopko yard in South Korea, even though his name will not be painted in large letters.

WAR ON SRI LANKA. As a teenager Thamba experienced a very different kind of pressure. He grew up surrounded by a bitter ethnic conflict on Sri Lanka and a state of emergency. In his Northern hometown Jaffna, roundups and arrests of civilians were part of everyday life. Extrajudicial killings by the security forces were also widespread. The targets were always youth in their teens or twenties, who were suspected of being members of the armed Tamil guerrilla. At that time, the armed Tamil insurgents counted very few. However, the hardship imposed on civilians by the security forces contributed largely to giving them a tremendous boost, and youth joined them in large numbers. ‘A classmate of mine was shot dead by the army on his way to school together with eight other passengers pulled out from their bus. It was a retaliation from the army for an ambush, which killed a couple from the security forces a few hours prior to this incident. The situation was at boiling point. Several classmates disappeared and went underground to prepare for armed struggle. I was about to join them when my parents intervened,’ relates Thamba from the time that drastically changed the path of his life. ‘My parents feared for my life. My father worked as a sales manager for Lipton for many years, before he started his own tea business. He wanted to send me to England to study.’ Thamba didn’t agree: ‘As a teenager you want to find your own way. We had long discussions. I also spoke to my teacher who had a friend living in Bergen, Norway. The friend told me, “if you are looking for a future you will find it there. Norway is a friendly and peaceful country with a lot of opportunities.” 32 WWWORLD 2 2014

BACK TO THE ROOTS: Rajeevan Thamba (with drums) plays Bollywood film music with his band The Roots after working hours. From left: Stephany, Jeyathasan, Ashvin and Jeeverajah.

I DOUBTED THAT I COULD DO EVERYTHING BY MYSELF. BIG ENGINEERING WAS WHAT I WANTED.

IT WAS A VERY DIFFICULT CHOICE TO LEAVE MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS, MY NETWORK, EVERYTHING.

INVITED TO STUDY. At that time, there was a scheme for encouraging young people from developing nations to study in Norway. The essence of the program was that the graduates would return with knowledge to build their respective countries. ‘My plan was to go back to Sri Lanka, but I knew already then that I might never return. The conflict was escalating with no end in sight. The war lasted for almost 30 years, until 2009. During its final days, we were preparing to celebrate Norway’s Constitution Day on the 17th of May. In Sri Lanka tens of thousands of civilians had been massacred as the United Nations tried to stop the bloodshed. The contrast to our peaceful life in Norway was enormous. Those were very hard days to live through.’ Originally Sri Lanka was two nations with their respective traditional home territories. The Portuguese and the Dutch colony powers kept the system as two separate units. But the British thought the island would be easier to manage as one unit. When they left after almost 150 years in 1948, the Tamils in the north and east were a minority and the Sinhalese down south a majority. In reality democracy resulted in oppression of the Tamils,’ Thamba explains. PEACEFUL ENVIRONMENT. In October 1984, Thamba arrived at Nordfjordeid, Norway. ‘It was a very difficult choice to leave my family and friends, my network, everything,’ he says. Nordfjordeid is a small community with 2500 inhabitants on the west coast of Norway. Thamba attended the local high school during his first year, studying culture and language. ‘It was a big change. The atmosphere was very peaceful. We were 10 students from Sri Lanka. My friends often talked about how much they missed this and that, but not me. I was not homesick. When I decided to go to Norway I had made up my mind to try to leave my old life behind and move on. I kept telling myself: not everybody gets a chance like this. When you do, you have to try to do a good job. I still have this feeling,’ Thamba says. BIG ENGINEERING. ‘In Jaffna we lived 12 miles from a major airport. As a child I watched with fascination as

IN A NUTSHELL READING NOW:

Great by Choice by Jim Collins & Morten T. Hansen SPORTS: Lifting

weights. During high school competed in 100m and 200m. Also played cricket in high school. FAVOURITE CRICKET TEAM:

Sri Lanka IDOLS: None really,

I admire everyday heroes, like the bus driver who still takes pride in his work after 30 years on the job. MUSIC: I like all

types of music, but not heavy metal DISLIKES: Laziness RELAXES BEST:

With my daughters LIFE MOTTO:

Happiness comes from within FOOD: Spicy food

from Sri Lanka.

FAVOURITE PLACE: Behind

my instruments

big airplanes lifted and landed. I understood already then that I had to become an engineer to build such big machines and work in a team with many others, because I doubted that I could do everything by myself. Big engineering was what I wanted.’ After a year of language and culture in Nordfjordeid, Thamba graduated from high school , before he enrolled to study engineering in Oslo. Focus was on waterpower plants, giant turbines and thermo dynamics rather than ships. He is actually self-taught by work and experience when it comes to shipbuilding. ‘When I graduated nobody from my year had a job. The unemployment rate among engineers was 7-8% in Norway. I applied for work for six months without getting any, which was not unusual for a graduate student at that time. Then a friend told me that there might be an opening at a shipyard in a place called Florø, also on the west coast. I went there to look for a job, but without luck. I should have returned to Oslo, but I had a feeling that if I stayed something would come my way. So I stayed for half a year without work, and utilised the time taking courses to improve my computer skills. Then, I finally got hired by the shipyard as a junior engineer,’ Thamba recalls. In 2006, he applied for a vacancy in WW, and got the job. ‘Thamba came to us speaking a strong dialect from the western part of Norway. After six months he had adopted the Oslo dialect,’ says colleague Per Brinchmann, who believes that Thamba’s multicultural background is an advantage to the WW team of project managers. ‘He acts and talks like a Norwegian, but he also challenges us by taking great pride in his work and voicing strong opinions,’ says Brinchmann. Thamba has experienced both failures and successes. He has taken project leadership and management skills development courses at WW Academy. For his hard work he has received an award from the organization Leadership Foundation, where an independent jury of industrial leaders selects ten successful leaders with international backgrounds every year (Top 10). Also NHO, the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprises has a recruitment scheme directed at people with international backgrounds for leadership and board positions. Thamba was selected to join an exclusive group of participants and completed this program in 2012. WWWORLD 2 2014 33

WW PROFILE

IT IS THE FINAL RESULT THAT COUNTS. STILL, THE MOST INTERESTING PART IS THE PROCESS OF GETTING THERE. SITE TEAM: Meeting over drawings, from left: Mr. J.J. Kim, Rajeevan Thamba, Mr. Arne Pedersen, Mr. Alexander Maresca and Mr. Arild Banzon. A NEW “WAVE”. ‘My personal challenge as a project manager has been to leave details to experts in their respective areas. I can´t involve myself in all discussions on every detail. You need to trust the people around you. As an engineer in a project team, I was able to focus only on my own delivery to a project. Working as a project manager, leading a team is different! The most important factor for me as a leader is that people feel comfortable so that they do their best.’ Thamba is eagerly looking forward to the first sea trial for the new PCTCs, scheduled for October this year. Then, he and the site team will be witnessing the performance of the first ship, and making sure that contract obligations are delivered. ‘It is the final result that counts. Still, the most interesting part is the process of getting there. Communication is one key. My approach is to involve all affected parties into one discussion. The site team at the yard follows the same strategy. It’s the best way to throw light on a problem from all angles and make an appropriate decision, which everybody can feel some ownership in,’ says Thamba. ‘Loads of data have been gathered from our vessels through our performance monitoring analysis system (PMA). These are keys to a better vessel design. The resulting hull design is more shaped by realistic operating conditions than by maximum speed,’ says Thamba. LANGUAGE AND SPICY FOOD. His wife Kavitha is also from Sri Lanka. Her family moved to Denmark when she was nine years old. They have two daughters; Havisha (4) and Rima (8). ‘Our children are born here and this is their native country. We try to raise them according to that culture. They are going to have a much richer and broader cultural basis. We try to teach them some Tamil, but it is not easy as we speak mainly Norwegian at home,’ says Thamba, and gives us an illustration of just how integrated he has become after 30 years: ‘I don’t say that I am a Norwegian, or that I am a Sri 34 WWWORLD 2 2014

Lankan. I am not so concerned about which country I belong to. With more and more globalisation, this question will become less important for many in the future. If you are a Norwegian, you don’t necessarily feel the same as other Norwegians when it comes to your identity. In my opinion, everyone has a unique identity that has more to do about how you feel and what you would like to be associated with, than where you were born,’ says Thamba, who also admits that ‘our menu is mostly from Sri Lanka. We like it spicy!’ In his experience, learning the language and culture was very important: ‘Then you can communicate and understand how people think. Without language and cultural understanding you have a problem, as you do if you believe that your culture is better. This is what I see.’ BOLLYWOOD. Thamba believes that Tamil and Norwegian culture is a good blend: ‘Hard work and hospitality is highly regarded in Tamil culture. The Norwegian delegation of authority also appeals a lot to me. Bringing together the best from different cultures creates great synergies. With my background, I felt that WW was a perfect fit from day one. Working with colleagues from other countries and cultures enriches you.’ For 25 years Thamba has played drums and percussions in The Roots: ‘We play only Bollywood film songs. Then I let go of everything else. To focus on the music is total relaxation,’ says Thamba. ‘One band member has composed music for two Bollywood films, and our lead singer for our next event is a famous Indian vocalist,’ said Thamba when we joined the band for a rehearsal. The concert will be played in front of 450 spectators. Thamba plays a set of drums typical for Sri Lanka and India. ‘You have to keep the rhythm. If something is out of harmony you must deal with it right away, or things will go wrong later in the song. It is similar to running the PCTC project. If you don’t deal with issues immediately, the mistakes will show up later,’ says Thamba in between the drum beats.

WW CHEMICALS

LUCKY STRIKE IN STORAGE

Growth is good, but it also poses challenges, such as the need for additional space. Wilhelmsen Chemicals recently got a lucky strike in storage. TEXT AND PHOTO HÅVARD SOLERØD

ØNSBERG, NORWAY: ‘Our new warehouse appeared at the right time, with the right size and the right location. This move will also reduce our environmental impact,’ says Trond Salvesen, manager of logistics and storage. ‘The new storage even came with the right blue colour to fit the WW logo. It was a lucky strike that saved us a great deal of time and work. The former storage area at our production plant was rather crowded and caused delays. Now we are fit for growth straight away,’ says Salvesen.

10% GROWTH. Wilhelmsen Chemical’s total production volume is 70 000 million litres of marine and other chemicals annually. About half of this volume is destined for WW companies worldwide, the remainder for external customers. Previously, the new 6 500 square meters warehouse was used by a paint manufacturer. When a team from Wilhelmsen Chemicals visited late last year to learn about their operations, they also learnt that the storage would be available from April 2014. ‘The layout of the warehouse fitted our needs perfectly, and the location could not have been better. It is situated right at the crossing of the main road between our production site and the port of Larvik, where we already ship out almost 100% of our marine products,’ says managing director Thorstein Medhus. ‘After a quick approval from our decision makers we can now plan for the future. A 10% volume growth per year speeded up their decision,’ says Medhus. INCREASED FLEXIBILITY. ‘We will be moving from two rented storage facilities, thus simplifying logistics. There will also be fewer trucks passing through the bottlenecks in Tønsberg,’ adds Medhus. Winter is high season while deliveries slow down during summer. Some winter days the demand for screen wash is higher than our production capacity. Therefore we need a safety stock to meet the needs of the marked. With an increased capacity of some 25%, we can now serve the shipping industry and others with greater flexibility.

EXPANSION: A team of “movers” from Wilhelmsen Chemicals (from the left): Henrik Fuske, Lars Andreas Thim, Gert Arne Bjerløw, Thomas Tordenskjold, Peter Tellefsen, Trond Salvesen and Tommy Gundersen.

WWWORLD 2 2014 35

WW SHIPS SERVICE

ROTTERDAM

ROTTERDAM – PORT OF EXCELLENCE

Despite his relaxed and affable manner Hans Mout, Wilhelmsen Ships Service's genial general manager for The Netherlands is focused upon continuing to build the Rotterdam office’s impressive reputation. TEXT DAVID HOPKINS PHOTO RUUD DE GROOT

OTTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS: ‘Our customers expect that Rotterdam can always deliver. That we can always do the safety service, can always do the agency, can always do the maritime logistics…so there is a pressure always. This is quite a busy office and it’s a challenge. But we won’t run away from it, we like it to be busy, serving our customers,’ affirms Mout.

EVER-EXPANDING PORT. Situated in the heart of the sprawling expanse of offices, workshops and warehouses which support the ever-expanding port of Rotterdam, WSS’ facility is home to one hundred and eighty three staff. Supplying the entire portfolio of WSS’ products and services under one roof, Rotterdam also serves as an international distribution centre (IDC) and Fire, Rescue and Service centre (FRS). It does it all in other words, and well. Experiencing solid growth in 2013 in spite of the wider economic challenges, posting a 3–4% increase in account sales and an 8% increase in port sales on the previous year’s figures, Mout identified room for improvement early on in his tenure as general manager. ‘It’s not a secret project, but we always said we want Rotterdam to be the port of excellence,’ he says. 36 WWWORLD 2 2014

Building such a reputation is however not based solely on hard work; it has also required a sea change in how and to who his staff “sell” Rotterdam’s capabilities. ‘What we always try to do is sell our port. We see we have two kinds of customers, we have external customers and internal customers. We have been working hard here in the last few years, so that our staff see that the internal customer is also very important. The internal customer is normally the customer service centres worldwide because they’re the ones who say to the customer, “you can do it in Rotterdam, or you can deliver in Rotterdam, or you can do your service in Rotterdam,” explains Mout. RE-ITERATING ROTTERDAM’S CAPABILITIES to their WSS colleagues around the world, Hans’ team has ‘developed good relationships with a number of customer service centres, like the one in Scandinavia, in Cyprus, and the one in Greece, as those customers are very important for us here in Rotterdam,’ he

says. Investing time and effort in cultivating these relationships now, Mout believes will pay dividends in the not too distant future. ‘Our guys also visit these customer service centres, to show our figures, our challenges and also to show our opportunities. So that’s an internal “sell”, which will come back in port sales for The Netherlands,’ he says. In addition to leading the promotion of Rotterdam’s capabilities within the WSS network, Hans has also encouraged his team, wherever they may work in the building, to be aware of the current market conditions and the office’s ongoing performance. ‘That’s another thing we did, we did a lot of commercial training with our people, so the commercial awareness is getting better and better. That’s another one of our secrets…that’s not the right word, one of our strengths. Even the warehouse has commercial awareness. If you present the figures, you also present it to them. So, everyone here is aware of our figures on a monthly basis,’ he says.

YOU CAN DO IT IN ROTTERDAM, OR YOU CAN DELIVER IN R OTTERDAM, OR YOU CAN DO YOUR SERVICE IN ROTTERDAM. HANS MOUT, GM WSS, THE NETHERLANDS

WHAT WE ALWAYS TRY TO DO IS SELL OUR PORT.â&#x20AC;&#x2020; HANS MOUT, GM WSS, THE NETHERLANDS

ALWAYS DELIVERING: Hans Mout and his WSS Netherlands team in Rotterdam have built a solid reputation through hard work and networking with other WSS colleagues around the world. WWWORLD 2 2013 37

WW SHIPS SERVICE

SINGAPORE

ON CALL

24/7/365 Forget your regular office hours. Forget the time of day. Forget an easy day at the office with coffee breaks and reading the newspaper. You can even forget spending too much time in your office. We followed the WSS port agents and their ship agent operators in Singapore to really discover how you provide the best possible service, and climb on board giant tanker vessels at night. TEXT MARIUS STEEN PHOTO DANNY SANTOS II

WW SHIPS SERVICE

I SINCERELY ENJOY THE SERVICE AND THE PROFESSIONAL ATTITUDE WE EXPERIENCE WITH THE WSS STAFF. EVERYTHING IS ALWAYS IN ORDER. CAPTAIN KRZYSTOF JEDRZEJWSKI, SKS TRENT

INGAPORE: Henry Chew is about to bring back three crewmembers from an LPG tanker when the captain changes his mind: “No, they have to stay for another three hours. You must come back later.” Henry’s night just changed and the task list just got longer. He boards the launch boat back to the pier – a 30 minute ride each way which now will be repeated three hours later. The constant tempo and topic changes are both part of Henry’s daily routines. It’s late. He needs to go by the office, write reports, then hope to get home before the sun gets up for a new day. So let’s rewind the clock a few hours, to when we met Alson Tan and Jason Chin at the Marina South Pier:

IT’S 06:30 A.M.: and already hot in Singapore, one of the world’s largest and busiest ports. All days are the same, throughout the year: Hot, humid and with ship crews gathering to be taken out to their vessels. They come from many nations, and you wonder where they all are headed. Perhaps to an oil tanker, a seismic vessel, perhaps a car carrier, for four months, six months, nine months, around the world, strictly South East Asia, who knows? There are bags everywhere in the terminal. There is also a customs and security check point. It’s like an airport, except there are hardly any women, no children and no planes. Vessel crews are still predominantly men. Hundreds of ships are waiting at the anchorage. Each one is visited and assisted by boarding officers from a variety of companies. WSS is one of the three leading ships service companies in the Singapore harbour, providing every type of service imaginable; crew changes, bunkering, IT repairs, supplies, customs reports, arrival- and departing reports, to name just a few. Simply put, a ship cannot dock or anchor up without the assistance of the port agents 40 WWWORLD 2 2014

and their boarding officers. Just imagine if the captain had to pick up his new crew at the airport while simultaneously coordinating bunkering, supply runs and not to mention booking a pilot prior to arrival. Without port agents, you have chaos. 07:00 A.M.: Alson and Jason have rounded up all the technicians ready to embark on SKS Trent for inspections, the first ship this WSS team will visit today. ‘Last week I boarded four ships in one day,’ says Alson. Assistant operations manager Jason adds that each vessel requires a tremendous amount of preparation and coordination before it reaches the harbour. When Alson has been on board four vessels in one day, it means that he has spent many hours preparing for each arrival, while simultaneously preparing for the vessels expected during the following days. This job never stops, and there is no such thing as Christmas or New Year’s Eve. The port is a 24/7/365 operation. 08:30 A.M.: After the security checks and a speedy transfer by the launch boat we arrive at the waiting tanker SKS Trent. Launch boats are like water taxis, organised by the port agents. The boats are like bees, buzzing to and from all the vessels in port. After exchanging greetings the captain, Krzystof Jedrzejwski and Alson start on the routines; paperwork and coordinating to make sure SKS Trent’s visit to Singapore is as efficient as possible. SKS Trent, owned by Kristian Gerhard Jebsen Skipsrederi A/S in Norway has just arrived from Cape Town. They will head on to China the next day. ‘I sincerely enjoy the service and the professional attitude we experience with the WSS staff. Everything is always in order. They are exceptionally friendly people, and we simply wouldn’t function in port without them,’ says the captain. Alson smiles. Hearing that your work is appreciated never gets out of fashion.

SINGAPORE NEVER SLEEPS Singapore’s strategic location in the heart of Southeast Asia and at the nexus of major shipping routes has made it an important logistic hub and conduit for world trade. Being the world’s top transhipment hub, Singapore is connected to 600 ports in 123 countries.

139 417 ships made calls at Singapore in 2013. So far, this year’s figures show a small increase.

59 000 calls were what could be characterised as global traffic, the remainder being ferries, tugs, barges etc.

380 is the average number of ships calling at Singapore – every day.

8 000 ships received WSS Singapore agency services (2013.)

31 000 product orders were executed through WSS Singapore.

3 000 safety service jobs were provided by WSS. (Sources: Singapore Port Authority and WSS)

07:00

08:00

Alson Tan on the phone coordinating while on the go.

A few minutes of peace and quiet on the launch boat.

08:28 No elevator? Ship agents climb ships every day.

WWWORLD 2 2014 41

WW SHIPS SERVICE

I ONCE DID 17 SHIPS IN 5 DAYS. ONCE I EVEN STAYED ON BOARD ONE VESSEL FOR FOUR DAYS TO COORDINATE EVERYTHING. HENRY CHEW

09:00 A.M.: Alson heads back to shore. His job on board is done. The technicians will stay on board until their job is done. The supply vessels on each side of the SKS Trent will continue to transfer supplies. The captain is happy. Alson must fill out the arrival report back at his office within four hours of arrival. This way all involved parties are aware of the status for SKS Trent, usually 10 different stakeholders. They need to know what has been done to the vessel so far; the volumes of supplies, customs reports and preparing the declaration of departure for the following day. Alson is on the clock and needs to hurry up when he boards the launch boat. 10:30 A.M.: His reports sent, Alson charges right on to the next job, while always preparing next days work. ‘Every boarding officer coordinates on average 15 ships per week,’ says Jason Chin. 21:00 P.M.: Let’s leap a few hours ahead again, back to the nightshift with Henry Chew: ‘I once did 17 ships in 5 days. Once I even stayed on board one vessel for four days to coordinate everything.’ Henry has boarded the LPG tanker Benny Princess. He has just brought the on-signing crew on board, along with a group of service technicians. The captain and Henry agree on the paperwork. The captain also grades Henry’s work with an evaluation form provided by WSS. Henry is given the very lowest scores, indicating extremely poor service. The captain cracks up in a big laugh when Henry looks at his guaranteed work dismissal. The captain could not be more happy with the service given by Henry and WSS. Top scores. Just a quick joke, that’s all. Maritime humour. The plan was to head back to shore with three offsigning crewmembers, but as the captain needs them for some more work, Henry has to think fast. He organises for a later pickup and a van for the crew to their hotel later, and will see them safely brought to the airport the following day. ‘I get these alternations all the time. The plans seldom go as scheduled. Something always happens, keeping us on our toes. We actually like it this way.’ Henry boards the launch boat back to shore alone. Reports need to be filed in, and tomorrow awaits with more vessels, captains, crew, supplies and challenges. The Singapore harbour never sleeps, and neither do the WSS port agents. 42 WWWORLD 2 2014

08:45 Alson and captain Jedrzejwski go through the checklists and routines.

09:21 Alson and Jason Chin trading fishing stories with the launch boat captain.

SOMETHING ALWAYS HAPPENS, KEEPING US ON OUR TOES. WE ACTUALLY LIKE IT THIS WAY. HENRY CHEW

20:30 Henry making final preparations. Last minute details fixed by phone.

21:00 Henry boarding Benny Princess with crew and technicians.

21:17 Maritime humour.

WWWORLD 2 2014 43

WW SHIPS SERVICE

THIS JOB NEVER STOPS, AND THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS CHRISTMAS OR NEW YEAR’S EVE. THE PORT IS A 24/7/365 OPERATION.

21:50 Telling stories to the WW World reporter of unconventional shopping lists from vessel crews.

44 WWWORLD 2 2014

Benny Princess is right there. Singapore harbour.

HOPE FOR THE BEST, PREPARE FOR THE WORST Whether it’s a major problem at sea, or on shore, the IT system crashing, or a product failure, incidents always have and always will be a part of our business. TEXT K ATRIN BERNTSEN/KIM K JÆRNET PHOTO W W

SLO, NORWAY: Sadly we cannot prevent these incidents from happening. We can, however, be prepared to contain them as quickly as possible and minimize negative impact. We can equip ourselves with the necessary skills and resources to communicate calmly and professionally, to both the media and our own people as a situation develops.

OFFERING DETAILED GUIDANCE on incident and emergency management, with a toolkit of templates and checklists to utilise, in addition, a series of regional workshops have taken place in the last few months. Revolving around practical exercises focused on who, how and when we communicate in an emergency, Kim Kjærnet, business process management & QHSSE director, Naja Boone Solend, head of communications (on maternity leave) and Katrin Berntsen, acting head of communications have been outlining our new emergency standards to our GMs and directors across our network. With training now completed, our updated emergency standards will enable our staff to better respond in a structured, pre-determined and professional manner to any and all incidents, accidents and emergencies they’ll have to face.

BE PREPARED: The unthinkable sometimes happens!

PHOTO: HÅVARD SOLERØD

WSS IS IMPLEMENTING emergency standards across our entire global network. This is part of last year’s update to security and communication policies that spanned the entire WWH group. Focused upon creating local Emergency Management Response Teams in our offices worldwide, we aim to give a clear blueprint for the emergency communication process, with designated roles, stakeholders and, where possible, outcomes. In addition to the set-up of the team, each office will draw up a specific emergency response plan, outlining the actions and staff to be involved when an incident occurs. Flagged-up by our general managers as essential for successful handling emergency situations, an annually updated emergency management response plan will include names, phone numbers and location maps, outlining the key stakeholders and procedural measures for a variety of emergency scenarios. All of this is tested yearly with security exercises and drills.

WWWORLD 2 2014 45

BUSINESS REPORT

RAFT RENTAL FLATTENS COSTS

A bold and inventive concept, Wilhelmsen Ships Service’s continued belief in its Life Raft Exchange (LRE) service has proved to be well-founded. TEXT DAVID HOPKINS PHOTOS DAVID HOPKINS/RUUD DE GROOT

HE NETHERLANDS/BELGIUM: Offering customers the opportunity to rent life rafts for their vessels for a set annual fee, rather than purchase them, with WSS dealing with the burden of regulatory demands and service intervals, the LRE concept removes uncertainty for owners and operators. Flattening cost is also a big part of the attraction for WSS’ customers,’ explains Terje Borkenhagen, vice president, Technical Services. ‘Predictability is what our customers are buying into. In the traditional model if they end up doing the service in remote places, it will cost a fortune to do it,’ he says.

A NEW CORNERSTONE. Launched five years ago LRE has rapidly gone from an unchartered initiative to become a cornerstone of WSS’ safety service portfolio. Visiting two of WSS’ busiest European safety service centres, Antwerp and Rotterdam, gauging how this demand for the life raft rental scheme has increased is very easy. Both warehouses’ steel shelving are full from floor to ceiling with rafts awaiting their turn in the service station and the highly-skilled, systematic attention of one of WSS’ safety service technicians. Based at WSS’ Rotterdam distribution centre and service station Alex Fondse, safety service manager for The Netherlands outlines very simply just how busy his team 46 WWWORLD 2 2014

of meticulous technicians are: ‘Our life-raft station is fully booked 5 days a week from morning to afternoon,’ he says. Servicing approximately 140 rafts a month, though the unpacking, testing, replenishment and re-packing of rafts is a systematic process Fondse and his team have nevertheless still been able to increase capacity by almost 18%. Making their service routines even more efficient, watching the technicians methodically work in tandem around a rapidly inflating twenty-five person life raft is incredibly impressive. THOUGH SMALLER than its Dutch cousin, Antwerp’s service station is equally inspiring, and almost as busy. Clinically clean, the new purpose-built facility sits alongside an existing warehouse full of rafts. Pointing out the handwritten tickets stuck on three quarters of them, Steven Puis, Belgium’s safety service manager explains these are rafts already booked, for service and then delivery, for specific vessels. Helping to i llustrate the nuances of re-packing serviced rafts, along with offering a taste-test of a typical ration pack, Puis acknowledges that Antwerp’s safety service technicians are also working very close to capacity. It may be a difficult balancing act to consistently satisfy growing customer demand no doubt, but it’s a good problem to have in the current market.

100 YEARS OF SOLAS ➜➜The International Convention for the Safety Of Life

At Sea (SOLAS) was originally adopted in 1914 as a direct response to the sinking of the Titanic. ➜➜The original convention included chapters on safety of navigation, construction, radiotelegraphy, lifesaving appliances and fire protection all of which have remained in the subsequent four versions. ➜➜SOLAS’ requirements shape the design and manufacturer of a plethora of products, including WSS’ safety and fire protection portfolio.

IT MAY BE A DIFFICULT BALANCING ACT TO CONSISTENTLY SATISFY GROWING CUSTOMER DEMAND NO DOUBT, BUT IT’S A GOOD PROBLEM TO HAVE IN THE CURRENT MARKET.

GREAT TASTE! Steven Puis, safety service manager at the Life Raft Exchange station in Antwerp, Belgium while performing a taste-test of a mandatory life-raft ration pack.

FULLY BOOKED: ‘Our life-raft station is fully booked 5 days a week from morning to afternoon,’ says Alex Fondse, safety service manager for The Netherlands.

HUGE INCREASE: Patrick van Daele (to the left) and Nick van Wingerden have seen a steady increase in the number of life rafts being serviced at the Rotterdam service station. Today, they and their colleagues service some 140 rafts per month, an increase of 18% from the previous year.

WWWORLD 2 2014 47

WW SAFETY

WSS STAFF FIRED UP AT NEW SAFETY TRAINING CENTRE Hands-on product knowledge is key to competency at WSS’ Antwerp safety training centre. TEXT AND PHOTOS DAVID HOPKINS

NTWERP, BELGIUM: Assembling a diverse mix of Wilhelmsen Ships Service’s technicians, customer service, admin and sales staff drawn from around the world at WSS’ newest safety training centre for a course in portable fire-fighting equipment may seem quite unusual and somewhat impractical. But the tailor made combination of classroom-based presentations and group discussion, with practical exercises involving servicing extinguishers and first-hand experience from actually using them has proved invaluable for service coordinators and technicians alike.

“A REAL CHALLENGE”: Leading the course was Roger Gundermann, WSS’ regional safety training manager. The course’s level of detail, including in-depth information regarding the products, whether that’s WSS’ own Unitor extinguishers, or rival brands is truly impressive. Gundermann acknowledges it was a ‘real challenge’ designing a course that balances the interests of service technicians and customer service staff. But, the resulting programme’s scope is close to pitch-perfect. It starts with design, usage, and approval requirements along with service issues and intervals. Next, classroom work is brought to life by spending a day in the field at Antwerp’s state-of-the-art firefighting training centre Camp Vestra. Used by Antwerp’s public and private firefighting services, the purpose-built facility offers a broad range of firefighting scenarios. Tutor Geert Gijsemans and his colleagues skilfully demonstrate the intri48 WWWORLD 2 2014

Roger Gundermann (to the right) with one of his students.

Still a lot to learn outside the classroom.

cacies of supressing various types of fire that could occur aboard a vessel. All the wellington-booted WSS staff are encouraged to get involved in putting out the array of set-up blazes, learning how and with what to supress different types of fires. Doing so also helps them to enlarge their product knowledge and raise competency. Hands on training: Kaare Medbøe, technical service coordinator, customer services, Norway, Sweden & Denmark, views the course as ‘great value’ offering invaluable insight into many of the products he sells day in and day out: ‘HANDS ON TRAINING of what we are selling is very important in order for us to know what we are talking about, both with the customer and the service stations. There are lots of systems and equipment within FRS (fire, rescue and safety). To actually see a life raft being packed, a CO2 cylinder being hydro-tested and refilled and putting out fires gives me valuable experience and knowledge,’ he says. Patrícia Ribeiro, a FRS service administrator from Portugal agrees that the training has been of real use. ‘The training has had a great impact on my work due to the procedures we trained on and being able to see for real all the tools,’ she says. In addition to the very practical benefits of the course Medbøe also points out that the opportunity to meet with colleagues around the WSS network and share experiences and knowledge is also incredibly important, as it promotes ‘the feeling of being more united with my colleagues in the WSS network,’ he says.

Course leader Roger Gundermann shows how it’s done.

IT WAS A ‘REAL CHALLENGE’ DESIGNING A COURSE THAT BALANCESTHE INTERESTS OF SERVICE TECHNICIANS AND CUSTOMER SERVICE STAFF. ROGER GUNDERMANN

WWWORLD 2 2014 49

PEOPLE&PLACES TV STARS: MV Tønsberg and chief officer Knut Erik Holte being filmed by Discovery Channel.

IN AN AVERAGE YEAR:

THE TV STAR TØNSBERG THE DISCOVERY CHANNEL recently premiered a program called World’s Top 5 Mighty Transporters. Taking the top spot was Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics’ massive Mark V vessel MV Tønsberg. BELGIUM/GERMANY: The program followed a typical day for the vessel during stops at the ports of Zeebrugge and Bremerhaven. Over an eight-hour period, under the supervision of chief officer Knut Erik Holte, WWL’s crew can be seen offloading automobiles from the USA and loading new equipment, including a huge locomotive destined for Australia. Best of all, MV Tønsberg steamed out of Zeebrugge an hour before schedule. 50 WWWORLD 2 2014

➜➜MV Tønsberg travels three times

around the world

➜➜Visits four continents on each

round trip

➜➜Calls at 75 ports ➜➜Carries 145 000 tonnes of cargo ( VENTURE MAGA ZINE/ W WL)

HE CRACKED THE CODE Fredrik Jenssen, a 23 years old student from the University of Science and Technology (NTNU) came up with a brand new solution on how to increase the energy efficiency of vessel operations. OSLO, NORWAY: His suggestion for a

performance tracking system that enables crew to operate an energy efficiency plan came in response to an invitation to a competition from WW. The solution would enable crew to launch their own initiatives and get continuous feedback on their effectiveness. Fredrik’s concept is a cost efficient way to both empower a vessel’s crew and provide data on energy measures taken. Fredrik is working as a bus driver besides his studies, and said that the weekly reports on his driving and environmental profile gave him the idea.

SEND US YOUR GOOD STORIES Have you got any stories or photos that you want to share with your WW colleagues either through WW World or the Wilhelmsen Intranet? Please send an email to marius.steen@wilhelmsen.com

EXHIBITING IN NEW WATERS Wilhelmsen Maritime Services has been represented at several exhibitions during the first part of 2014; Cruise Shipping Miami, Asia Pacific Maritime in Singapore, Sea Japan and Offshore Technology Conference in Houston. FOR THE FIRST TIME, WMS is attending

BEIJING 2014: For the first time, Wilhelmsen Marine Services have been among the exhibitors at China International Offshore Oil & Gas.

several pure offshore exhibitions, including China International Offshore Oil & Gas in Beijing in March. ‘It was the first time we attended an exhibition solely to explore the Chinese offshore market. The exhibition was a great venue to learn more about this market and meet with potential partners,’ said Yilie Shen, China area director WTS Safety. WSS was also represented at Posidonia in Greece in early June. To further support our commitment to the offshore market in the North Sea, WMS has a stand at ONS in Stavanger in August. Upcoming exhibitions: ONS, Norway, SMM, Germany, Rio Oil and Navalshore, both Brazil.

STRENGTHENS SINGAPORE MANAGEMENT TEAM Wilhelmsen Ships Service (WSS) has strengthened its Singapore-based management team to reflect increased levels of business and a focus on expanding service provision across the Asia-Pacific region. SINGAPORE: Hege Solstad says that her focus will

be on continued profitable growth and doing business the right way. ‘The opportunities in this region include many countries which are still developing into more mature economies and WSS will continue to develop its portfolio and geographical reach to meet and exceed our customers’ expectations,’ says Hege Solstad. ‘Singapore is a key location for our customers and one where we need to ensure we deliver a high quality of service that is cost competitive. In the last year we have been able to grow our market share significantly, especially for our range of marine chemicals. Our customer base in Singapore continues to grow as more ship owners move their operations here, demands which our strong sales and customer service team is well-placed to satisfy,’ adds Mr Lundestad.

NEW TEAM: Hege Solstad and Harald Lundestad, WSS Singapore.

RUNNING FOR A GOOD CAUSE CHINA: Our WW colleagues in China recently put

on their running shoes for a good cause. Together with 500 others from several companies, our team raised funds for One Foundation’s charity project “Run for love 2014”. The project aims to provide children in need with warm clothing.

RUNNING FOR LOVE: Our colleagues in China really speeded up for a good cause.

WWWORLD 2 2014 51

WW BUSINESS PROFILE

THE ONE-STOP-SHOP IN KUALA LUMPUR What if something could save you a tremendous amount of money each year, with processes to keep track of all your tendering, contracts and supplier activities, making sure they are compliant? What if there was a team of highly skilled professionals that could facilitate all your purchase requests and invoices? Such a one-stop-shop actually exists. It’s called Global Procurement Services (GPS). TEXT AND PHOTO MARIUS STEEN

UALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: For the last year, vice president Carl Jansma has been heading Wilhelmsen Ship Management’s GPS department. It has been an eventful year, resulting in collaboration improvements right across the supply chain. Just one example; in the last six months, GPS has significantly improved Vessel Purchase Order compliance by 60% and improved WSM’s agreed payment terms for contracted suppliers by 40%. This means happier suppliers, fewer legal/supply chain issues and greater savings and discounts. A win/win for all. Procurement is no longer just about placing purchasing orders; it’s an integral cost reduction/avoidance driver delivering greater business success. Decades of empirical data prove that companies not caring about procurement are missing a great opportunity to improve their financial performance. Therefore, procurement appears to be growing in prominence at a much faster rate than many other functions as CEOs/ executives are recognizing that efficient procurement is the highroad to cost savings and competitiveness. GPS strives to deliver the lowest total cost of materials and services, and the service quality expected by WSM’s customers. A 1% purchasing cost reduction can have the same impact on a vessel’s bottom line as a 10% increase in sales/turnover.

52 WWWORLD 2 2014

AN EXCLUSIVE CLUB. As globalization changes the basis of competition for multinational corporations, procurement is moving from the sideline to the core of corporate functions. Customer pressure to improve procurement in a depressed market is enormous. Many competitors are still lacking the skilled and dedicated resources, processes and systems needed in coping with the growing expectations. Carl Jansma lists the three main factors identified through his ‘Transformation of Procurement’ (TOP) program for improvement: people, processes and eSourcing technology. He explains that the initial GPS “health check” identified strengths, but also weaknesses. Some had to be addressed immediately to provide the best value, highest ethics and lowest prices expected from someone who is spending his customer’s money. GPS expects its employees to maintain and foster the highest professional standards of ethics and Code of Conduct, including immediate surrender/declaration of any supplier gifts, gratuities, vouchers, tickets, prizes or token of any value for immediate registration. ‘I am guided by the understanding that the better our service and offers are, the better will our relationship with customers and suppliers become,’ says Mr Jansma. ‘After the financial crisis our customers expect even higher quality of goods and service, plus lower prices, more accessible and sustainable supply chains, and faster Just-In-Time (JIT)

AFTER THE FINANCIAL CRISIS OUR CUSTOMERS EXPECT EVEN HIGHER QUALITY OF GOODS AND SERVICE, PLUS LOWER PRICES. CARL JANSMA

PHOTO: DANNY SANTOS II

OFF SINGAPORE: Oil barrels are delivered to a customer from a launch boat.

deliveries. The dynamic nature of our business in a demanding global economy means that the roles of procurement and supply chain professionals are vital to future success.’ GPS is benchmarking its own performance with how other multinational shipping companies conduct procurement. Many buy goods and services for millions of dollars. We have found that they: 1. Take a strategic approach to managing their procurement, supply chains and suppliers. 2. Work towards or have standardization of commonly used goods and services. 3. Have high performing procurement departments with relatively little or no other procurement activity other than their own. Best practice companies invest significantly in developing and maintaining long-term supplier relationships. They fully utilise eSourcing systems for supportive monitoring of contracts, suppliers and spend performance. Typically, their emphasis is not on squeezing supplier profit margins, but on sharing information to reduce costs for both parties. GPS seeks to influence and promote “better buying” decisions meeting value-for-money, low cost sourcing, reliability and supplier performance considerations. ‘We are committed to optimising our business relationships with ethical, environmental and socially responsible vendors.’ Carl lists his customer’s central procurement’ principles:

• ACHIEVING greater savings and added value through supply chain innovation (reduced lead time, delivery/freight costs etc.). • MAINTAINING eSourcing systems and processes that promote optimum probity, transparency and ethical performance across all business dealings. • SECURING global supply chains for goods/ services through planning what we buy and when we need it. • TAKING a corporate-wide strategic approach to leverage our buying power and manage it in the best overall interests of our company and customers. • WE ARE COMMITTED to protecting the environment and strive to integrate the principles and practices of sustainable and responsible procurement for all goods/ services to improve resource- and energy efficiency.

‘THERE IS NO DOUBT that our future success and procurement mandate will be measured on the alignment of our business objectives and strategies. The time is right. Our board and management teams have been briefed on our strategic procurement direction. Customers are expecting improvements, as do GPS and our dedicated suppliers. Procurement services certified to international standards will attract new customers and increase customer loyalty,’ says Carl Jansma confidently.

GPS Global Procurement Services at Wilhelmsen Ship Management is responsible for managing several hundred Global Framework Agreements and processing in excess of 100 000 purchase/invoice transactions from 6000+ premium suppliers on behalf of WSM’s customers. GPS 39 procurement professionals work either at the Kuala Lumpur head office (supporting Asia region) or in Mumbai (supporting UK/US & Europe regions).

I AM GUIDED BY THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE BETTER OUR SERVICE AND OFFERS ARE, THE BETTER WILL OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH CUSTOMERS AND SUPPLIERS BECOME. CARL JANSMA WWWORLD 2 2014 53

WW INNOVATION

“MOISTURE PROFITS” FOR CRUISE OPERATORS By changing to the latest generation of Energy Recovery Wheels with a new type of coating, fuel consumption can be reduced considerably. Wilhelmsen Technical Solutions is winning customers by offering “moisture profits” and environmental gains. TEXT HÅVARD SOLERØD PHOTOS W TS

EVERYTHING IN PLACE: All parts need to be in the right place at the right time during a dry-docking. Here everything seems to be in order!

54 WWWORLD 2 2014

LIMITED SPACE: Two WTS team members are mounting the centre part of an Energy Recovery Wheel.

OTHENBURG, SWEDEN: Cruise passengers like it cool after a day of sightseeing under a hot sun. Air conditioning represents a large operational cost, on average 1/3 of a cruise ship’s total energy consumption. Every per cent saved represents large sums with a direct impact also on the environment. ‘A big cruise vessel can include more than 100 Air Handling Units (AHU). Most are equipped with Energy Recovery Wheels. With a new type of hygroscopic coating they can also transfer moisture,’ explains Per-Anders Leikeryd, director for HVAC Marine/WTS Business Stream Electrical & Automation/HVAC. The new generation of Energy Recovery Wheels provides for the highest possible heat transfer characteristics while simultaneously reducing pressure loss parameters in the AHUs. These features optimize the "sensible" (temperature) recovery portion of the performance, which combined with the "latent" (moisture) hygroscopic recovery efficiencies matches the improved sensible values made possible by a molecular sieve desiccant coating. The rate of adsorption is twice that of other desiccants. ‘Payback time for investing in the new generation of Energy Recovery Wheels can be as short as one to two years, thanks to lower fuel consumption,’ says Leikeryd.

ONE-STOP-SHOP. WTS has teamed up with Energy Recovery Wheel producer Fläkt Woods and approached major cruise opera-

tors with great response: ‘We are not the only supplier of Energy Recover Wheels with this new type of hygroscopic surface. Our advantage is that we offer a One-stop-shop with one point of contact, including surveys of existing equipment, deliveries, installation and commissioning of the new equipment,’ says Mr Leikeryd. ’Several interfaces between the stakeholders are normally not a good thing. Just imagine what will happen if something goes wrong – everybody will blame each other. Our customers do not risk this, which is essential as the work normally is done during dry docking with limited time available, or during normal operations. Shut down AHUs in certain areas always causes loss of sale for the vessel,’ says Leikeryd. ADDED EFFICIENCY. In the tropics, temperature can easily reach above 30ºC and 80% RH (relative humidity). Considerable cooling energy is needed to achieve comfortable conditions on board. Both temperature and moisture need to be lowered. The Energy Recovery Wheels recover energy from the already cooled down exhaust air, and transfer the “cool” to fresh air on its way to the passenger areas. The new genera-

tion of hygroscopic coating at the same time removes considerable amounts of moisture in the outdoor air and transfers the humidity to the exhaust air. Thus, only a small part of the total humidity needs to be removed by the Air Handling Unit’s cooling coil. The air temperature is lowered to the dew point, making humidity condense to water and drained off. ‘The surface of the new wheels allows for higher energy recovery efficiency, for temperature and humidity removal alike. The same technology is used in the heating process during colder seasons. When air warms up it also dries. To achieve a comfortable climate, moisture needs to be added. The coating on the new generation of Energy Recovery Wheels recovers moisture from the exhaust air and transfers it to the incoming air, meaning that less humidity needs to be added before the fresh air reaches the passengers,’ says Leikeryd. ENERGY EQUALS ENVIRONMENT. ‘I often say that energy savings is the same as environmental savings. The less energy we use in all its forms, the less strain we put on nature. To lower energy consumption is a benefit to all,’ concludes Leikeryd.

THE SURFACE OF THE NEW WHEELS ALLOWS FOR HIGHER ENERGY RECOVERYEFFICIENCY, FOR TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY REMOVAL ALIKE. WWWORLD 2 2014 55

YOUNG TALENT

ALL SMILES IN SINGAPORE

‘Are you looking for a good candidate for Young Talent? Go and see Darren Yap,’ was the unanimous answer from several of his colleagues at WSS Singapore. TEXT MARIUS STEEN PHOTO DANNY SANTOS II

INGAPORE: The very outgoing, smiling and friendly Darren Yap (33) has been in shipping all his life, literally. At the age of two he was already sailing around the world. Darren’s father worked as a 2nd engineer for Neptune Orient Lines (Singapore National Lines), and back in the 1980’s you could bring your family with you on board. Little Darren grew up watching his dad at work, and evidently the marine life was meant also for him. When Darren turned four, his family returned to shore after having sailed for two years. Darren’s sister was born and “regular” life started. However, when Darren grew older and finished high school and started looking at a university degree, he knew he wanted to get back into the maritime industry. To begin with he wanted to work within business development, but then decided on engineering to get a solid professional foundation. ‘I really enjoy mathematics and chemistry, so my choice was also influenced by this,’ says Darren. His first job after securing an education from both Singapore and Australia was nevertheless within business development, his initial study choice. This was in 2006. ‘It was a good job for a Chinese manufacturing company, and I got to travel while quite a bit,’ explains Darren. But he was still set on the maritime industry.

AN EVENTFUL YEAR. Then, in 2007 a job opening at WSS Singapore popped up, this time in sales. Darren just knew this was for him. He applied and got the job. At the same time he got married. ‘That was an eventful year, and I even visited Oslo that same year 56 WWWORLD 2 2014

with my father when he was on a business trip before I had even applied for the job,’ says Darren while gesticulating, almost waving and smiling. Darren was promoted three years ago to sales manager for Singapore. He heads a 20-person strong team at the age of just 33. ‘I have been very fortunate to get this opportunity. My team has always been with me, and I have felt strong support from our management.’ ‘We have endured tough times with the financial crisis and the ensuing rough years. But we have also grown, we have stuck together and produced great results.’ Just one example of the latter: Darren’s team saw revenues increase by 12% for Q1 this year, compared to Q1 in 2013. And Darren just loves it. ‘Our team spend time together every week, either sharing some beers after work, or having lunch together. Sometimes we also team up to volunteer at a home for the poor.’ FAMILY MAN. Darren says the strength of his team is the diversity in experience, the age differences, and the fact that they all communicate really well with each other. He talks about his job with great passion. The only other group that gets even more appraisals than his team is his family: His wife for seven years, his twin girls aged five and his little son aged 18 months. ‘I’m very proud of my team, our accomplishments, and WSS. But my family will always be my number one priority. Even when I travel I speak with them all every single day. I have it all; a job that I love, colleagues I admire, and a family I couldn’t live without.’

I HAVE IT ALL; A JOB THAT I LOVE, COLLEAGUES I ADMIRE, AND A FAMILY I COULDN’T LIVE WITHOUT. DARREN YAP, SALES MANAGER

WWWORLD 2 2014 57

The World as I see it ROBERT LORD

STILL A DARLING: Australia has avoided any recession, riding on a mining investment boom based around iron ore, coal and LNG. Here a visit by one of our vessels at Sydney harbour.

The way the world looks depends largely on where you are. In order to balance the traditional head office view, WW World is challenging managers from our worldwide organization to give their views on the market situation, current events and other subjects of interest.

Still surfing

â&#x20AC;&#x153;DOWN UNDERâ&#x20AC;? While the world at large is still struggling with the aftermaths of the global financial crisis, region Oceania is continuing to ride on a wave of business opportunities. PHOTO W W ARCHIVES

58 WWWORLD 2 2014

YDNEY, AUSTRALIA: Since the global financial crisis the region has maintained relatively strong economic conditions, thus sidestepping much of the GFC. The region is dominated by the larger Australian economy although New Zealand is not unimportant. NZ was hardest hit, but is bouncing strongly on the back of strong agricultural demand – particularly dairy and some rebuilding following the Christchurch earthquake of 2011. Australia has probably been the darling of global OECD economies avoiding any recession and riding on a mining investment boom based around iron ore, coal and LNG. This investment is geared to providing the necessary inputs for the continuing industrialisation of Asia and most importantly and critically – China; which is now Australia’s largest trade partner. This resources investment peaked in 2012 and was great for WWL business. At its absolute peak in July of that year we had 13 vessel calls to Oceania in a month, compared with a more normalised amount of around eight. Much of our vessels were filled with equipment for these industries, although the strong Australian dollar and buoyant economic conditions have been very good for auto sales too, with 2012 and then 2013 both being record years for total sales and car imports – again key import cargoes for WWL.

STRONG GROWTH. With the recent investment, Australian commodity exports have grown strongly on the back of higher production capability and this will continue – although the surge created by new investment will now wane as we move to equipment being replaced on a more normal maintenance or replacement cycle. At the moment there is also a lot of inventory sitting on the ground so we expect cooler import demand in the resource sector until this inventory works its way through the system – probably until later in 2015. On a positive; other sectors of the economy have also done quite well. Better climatic conditions have seen a lift in agricultural output and equipment (good for WWL over the last couple of years), and we are starting to see some pick up in other sectors including consumer spending and housing approvals.

On the downside, the high Australian dollar, relatively low unemployment and strong wage growth have impacted competiveness in some industries, including manufacturing and non-resource exports. This has impacted a bit negatively on our WWL regional export activity. A CITIZEN OF OCEANIA. Oceania is a region which comprises Australia, New Zealand and Islands of the South Pacific. As a New Zealander with strong Australian ancestry and now an Australian citizen living with my family in Sydney for much of the last two decades, I feel well qualified as a citizen and representative of Oceania. Coincidentally and perhaps interestingly; I also have Norwegian ancestors on my mother’s side. They arrived as settlers in New Zealand in 1872 and perhaps not surprisingly (as Norwegians) established themselves in the NZ forestry and lumber business. FROM PAPER TO SHIPPING. My background is quite varied which brings an interesting perspective to the role. Before joining WWL as regional head of Oceania I initially completed a Bachelor of Science degree majoring in chemistry. I taught high school sciences for several years before completing an MBA and moving into business. My early business career was focused in resource based business and I worked my way through primarily international marketing roles to end up running the NZ and Australian arm of the Norwegian global pulp and paper giant Norske Skog. I left on good terms in 2006 and moved to a role as managing d irector of a publically listed mining company in Australia before this was bought out in 2009. I then spent a couple of years focused primarily on company board work before joining WWL in 2011. My experience in heavy industrial manufacturing and mining resources brings a perspective to two of the very important transport sectors from a WWL Oceania perspective, where large break-bulk and high and heavy mining equipment are key cargoes. It has certainly been an interesting ride since I joined the company in 2011 and the region will continue to provide strong opportunity for the company in years to come.

Robert Lord

IT HAS CERTAINLY BEEN AN INTER ESTINGRIDE SINCE I JOINED THE COMPANY IN 2011 AND THE REGION WILL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE STRONG OPPORTUNITY FOR THE COMPANY IN YEARS TO COME. ROBERT LORD, REGIONAL DIRECTOR OF WALLENIUS WILHELMSEN LOGISTICS OCEANIA.

WWWORLD 2 2014 59

HISTORIC CORNER

Wilh. Wilhelmsen was established as an independent company in 1861 and have celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2011. WW World would like to share some of the company’s long and exciting history with its readers. Readers with stories to share or feedback to give are welcome to send an email to marius.steen@wilhelmsen.com.

FROM LINES TO LOGISTICS WW has offered land transportation and terminal services long before logistics became a household word. The 1999 merger into Wallenius Wilhelmsen Lines by two former competitors also signalled a gearshift in this development. TEXT EINAR CHR. ERLINGSEN

Logistics: A shipment of Liugong excavators is awaiting collection by truck at the Finnish port of Kotka before being dispatched to its final destination.

SLO, NORWAY: Wallenius already had considerable logistics activities at the time of the merger, above all in the US, but also through its acquisition of Richard Lawson, a UK-based provider of car customising and transportation to the European market. In the following years a growing demand by many customers for total transportation solutions became increasingly apparent. This in turn became the start signal for a development where WW went from being a traditional shipping company with its main focus on owning and operating ships to become a global provider of transportation and logistics services.

CAT AND GLOVIS. Several substantial investments were to follow, either by Wallenius and WW on their own, or together through WWL. WWL invested in a 20% share of the French logistics provider CAT in 2002, soon

to be increased to 40%. However, CAT failed to deliver the expected results, so by 2006 the investment had been written off entirely. Another investment was to represent quite a different story. In 2004, WW acquired a 25% share of Hyundai Motor Company’s logistics provider GLOVIS. This would soon prove to be among our best investments ever, with WW still as a 20% shareholder. TERMINAL SERVICES. At the same time, the development towards being an operator of terminals and provider of car customising services continued under the WWL umbrella, with logistics centres in Australia, Thailand, Korea, the US and elsewhere. Access to terminals would soon prove to be of great strategic importance for ensuring fast and efficient cargo handling and for increasing integration between sea transportation and land-based logistics activities. This spurred further investments in both

existing and new terminals through both WWL and EUKOR, the latter now with the partners Wallenius and Wilhelmsen as main shareholders. Long-term lease agreements were entered into for terminals in strategic ports all over the world. WW is also the second largest shareholder in Qube, Australia’s leading provider of integrated import and export logistics solutions, employing close to 4 000 people. WWL TODAY is amongst the world’s largest providers of Ro/Ro sea transportation. It is also a main independent supplier of logistics services to most of the leading car manufacturers and other Ro/Ro cargo. Our logistics services have proved that they can stand on their own feet, alongside shipping and other maritime services. It was thus much more than just a change of a word when Wallenius Wilhelmsen Lines in 2007 became Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics.