The blue Range
It was the late Kaj Rehnström who invented the idea of the NBSR – the Nordic Baltic Sea Range – that waterlogged northern region of Europe. In a global perspective, the NBSR is a region of large and diversified maritime activities, in fact one of the major clusters of marine business in the world. The region accounts for almost a fifth of the global fleet, and the range of service providers hold a substantial global market share.
There is probably no other sector in which the NBSR region exerts a stronger impact on the global economy than the maritime.
Henrik Edwinsson, middle, organised the annual Career days at Kalmar Maritime Academy together with Lars Larsson and Fredrik Strömbäck. Photo: Paul Gunnstedt
Manning: Shortage must
be solved by the business
The problem of manning the growing commercial fleet has been an issue for more than a decade. International organisations ranging from the EU to Bimco and the ISF claim there is a shortage of up to 10,000 officers, and rising to close to 30,000 in the years to come. The problem of finding sufficient numbers of qualified and experienced officers has been a fact for a long time and the solution has virtually been the same for just as long.
Clipper Group diversifies the recruitment of seafarers
The Clipper Group, with headquarters in Nassau on the Bahamas and commercial offices on the Copenhagen waterfront in a building called Harbour House, is highly diversified – in many ways. Ships are owned in various constellations, they fly a number of national flags and the crews also come from several different countries. Even the management on the technical side is diversified to several companies in the world. By having diversified technical management the Clipper Group pulls all strings.
Photo: Pär-Henrik Sjöström
Look out for 2-navigator vessels
There are about 20,000 vessels below 5,000 tons deadweight in the world merchant fleet. Of the vessels in this segment that trade in European waters, a majority is operated as 2-watch vessels, manned with two navigators working six hours on, six hours off, seven days a week. Studies show that these vessels are over-represented in casualty statistics, and this has been highlighted by the IMO.
Managing Director Mika Nykänen of Finnish Shipowners’ Association thinks that the new government of Finland understands the urgent need to renovate the shipping policy. Photo: Pär-Henrik Sjöström
Turning a new page
in Finnish shipping
Shipping has been allocated increased significance in the programme of the new Finnish government. Managing Director Mika Nykänen of the Finnish Shipowners’ Association thinks that the preconditions for a successful Finnish shipping policy have not for a long time been as good as they are now.
COUNTRY REPORTS:
Photo: Bent Mikkelsen
DENMARK: Looking towards a prosperous maritime future
The Danish maritime cluster (Det Blå Danmark) can look back on 2006 as a year with great prosperity and a number of golden opportunities. If they have time in today’s shipping, they can look both back and forward to see a market for mergers and acquisitions in the presently golden market.
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ESTONIA: Estonian shipping suffocating
in the embrace
of politicians
Estonian politicians, having in this century already participated in the delivery parties of four new large passenger vessels, remain deaf to the tireless explanations of the Estonian Shipowners Association that shipping in Estonia needs financial support worthy of an EU member-state.
FINLAND: Small owners
coming on strong
Last year it was again the smaller shipowners that were the most active with regard to a renewal of tonnage in Finland. Although several second-hand vessels were added to the fleet, only one shipping company took delivery of two newbuildings to be placed under Finnish flag.
GERMANY: Up-and-down German sector tackles personnel crisis
It has been an “up-and-down”, year for German shipping, if generally a better one than some had predicted a year ago. Three major owners have had difficulties, just to remind them how fickle the market remains, as all hands come to grips with the serious shortage of shipping personnel.
The naming ceremony of Lasco’s the Kraslava was held at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard. Her sistership, the Kantava, will arrive in May. Photo: Lasco
LATVIA: New Latvian ships
come from Marshall Islands
At the time when the Estonian flag was replaced with the Latvian flag on the Vana Tallinn, new Latvian ships, i.e. Lasco’s tankers will hoist the flag of the Marshall Islands. It appears that not only the shipowner but a bank may determine the home port of a ship. Thus, the Latvian Ship Register has not recorded any remarkable growth in the number of ships.
LITHUANIA: Large companies carry Lithuanian flag
When Lithuanian shipowners will start ordering new ships from shipyards depends, to a substantial extent, on the parliament’s decision concerning the taxation of shipping companies. Until such a decision is made the fleet is being renewed with second-hand ships, which implies that while the number of registered vessels is decreasing the aggregate tonnage is increasing.
 Nordic American Tanker Shipping, Bermuda-based but operating from Sandefjord, has built a fleet of suezmax tankers, like the Nordic Voyager. Photo: Dag Bakka Jr
NORWAY: Prevailing pragmatism
After a decade of frustration over political conditions at home, the shipping industry seems at last to have regained ambition, fuelled by profit and opportunity. Despite a nagging concern over being too late in the business cycle, Norwegian shipowners have on the whole put out their necks, indeed, with investment in 2006 exceeding all historical precedence.
POLAND: Positive signs
on the Polish shipping scene
The Polish merchant fleet has for a number of years been registered under numerous flags, but the Polish flag has been one of the more rare ones. The number of merchant vessels flying the Polish flag in recent years can be counted in one-digit numbers. This is something the Polish government wants to change, and one important step towards a more competitive national environment for Polish shipowners is the introduction of a tonnage based tax system from January 1 this year.
 On the move. Swedish shipowners, led by Transatlantic’s Håkan Larsson and Stena’s Dan Sten Olsson, heading for ECSA’s AGM, held in Stockholm 2006. Photo: Rolf P Nilsson
SWEDEN: Owners frustrated
over tonnage tax delay
Swedish shipowners have lost patience with the new Swedish government. The lack of a proposal for a tonnage based tax scheme has triggered industry representatives to make things plane – no tonnage tax, no new vessels under Swedish flag.
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