Rolf Sæther –the strategist steps down

	Rolf Sæther.

When Rolf Sæther in a few weeks is leaving the position as managing director of the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association, he will have seen greater changes to the industry than any of his predecessors. In his time with the association, the shipping community has enjoyed brief periods of boom and bonanza, but for the greater part a profound shipping depression which changed the face of global shipping. From this position, Rolf Sæther was perhaps the leading strategist behind Norway’s recovery as a maritime nation.

Oslo-born Rolf Sæther joined the NSA in 1969 after a short career as a County Court registrar and came to spend the following decades with shipping matters and politics.
In 1990 he was appointed successor to aristocratic David Vikøren who had taken the full confrontation with the seafarers’ unions over the flag policy and the establishment of the NIS in the 1980s.
As one of several department heads in the NSA Rolf Sæther had been a rising star, and after serving for a time as Vikøren’s deputy, he took over as managing director from 1 January 1992 and installed himself in the corner office on the 6th floor, overlooking the Akershus Castle and the harbour – one of Oslo’s finest views.

Build a basis of consensus
Rolf Sæther took over as captain for the shipowners at a time when the industry had been under political and financial pressure for years and when the relationship with the seafarers’ unions was at a low ebb.
It became his mission to build a basis of consensus across the maritime industry and use this position to improve the political conditions for shipping in Norway. Under his leadership the NSA was developed into an efficient lobbying force.
This was largely achieved by the building of new alliances within the industry, an idea hatched by Rolf Sæther in unison with Morten Vigtel and Asbjørn Eikeland and endorsed by the NSA general meeting in the autumn of 1989. This was brought into being as Maritimt Forum, formed in April 1990 with the support of all the shipping, shipbuilding and related organizations and the labour unions.
The intellectual rationale for Maritim Forum was the idea of a maritime “cluster” of related industries, conceived by the Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter as a comparative advantage of strategic importance. A maritime cluster of 80,000 employees across the country was easily understood and acknowleged by any politician.
Although the Officers’ Union hesitated and only joined the Forum with misgivings, the foundation was laid for what was to become a model for cross-industrial relations.
– Let us accept that we may disagree occasionally, but rather concentrate on the issues where we stand together, Rolf Sæther used to tell the seafarers. Gradually a new basis for cooperation was built, and in January 1992 the shipowners and the unions fronted a political response together, which eventually led to the tax refund scheme for the seafarers.
Around 1990, at the time the Norwegian fleet had swelled from 25 to 55 million tdw in three years, Rolf Sæther was instrumental in the process of laying down a basic strategy in a changing world. Norwegian shipping was to be based on quality and high standards of safety and environmental features.
The NSA came to be a staunch advocate for a stricter safety regime in IMO, and it is typical of Sæther’s political nose that NSA commissioned DnV to evaluate the environmental aspects of demolition in 1999. Rather than being a target for criticism, the shipowners took a leading stand in the efforts for stricter international rules for the “recycling” of ships.
After the revival in 1987/90, new challenges arose with the moving out of corporate headquarters and chartering branches from Norway.
The new priority was to make Norway attractive for shipping, and for this a tonnage tax system was considered imperative. After intense political campaigning, the new shipping policy was passed in 1996.

New phase of flagging out
However, a competitive shipping policy which was to ensure new investment and renewed recruitment has been gradually eroded by political compromise.
Today the conditions in Norway are no longer competitive, and we are looking towards a new phase of flagging out. This will be the challenge for the new NSA director, Marianne Lie.
Judged by his merits, Rolf Sæther will step down at a time when Norway is still number four amongst the maritime nations. The Norwegian fleet still stands at some 50 million tdw, but the value and number of vessels have been growing considerably in the last decade.
As he is leaving his corner-office with the view, Rolf Sæther would be forgiven for looking back and remembering 1983–85 when the Norwegian shipping venture was threatened by extinction.
From his position he has played an important part in the admirable achievement of turning a sunset industry into a viable maritime cluster of great quality and extent.
//Dag Bakka Jr

 

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