Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg visiting Gdansk based shipyards of REMONTOWA Group

On June 10, 2011, Jens Stoltenberg, the Prime Minister of Norway, is expected to visit Gdansk in Poland to have bilateral meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Norwegian Prime Minister regularly meets his colleagues in the countries that are about to take over the EU presidency, which will be the case with Poland, from July 1, 2011.
There are such topics as energy cooperation, industrial policy and cooperation between Poland and Norway on the agenda of meeting in Gdansk, to be followed by Norwegian Prime Minister's visit to REMONTOWA Group companies: Gdansk Shiprepair Yard "Remontowa" S.A. and newbuilding yard REMONTOWA Shipbuilding.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg's presence will add splendour to the ceremony of the first steel cutting for the construction of the new advanced, environmentally friendly, LNG powered ferry for Norwegian coastal waters - the fourth unit (yard no. B 612/4) in a series of innovative ships being built for one of the Norway's largest coastal shipping operators - Torghatten Nord AS.
REMONTOWA Group (including Gdansk Shiprepair Yard "Remontowa" S.A., providing mainly ship repairs, maintenance and conversions and REMONTOWA Shipbuilding, as well as several other companies, active mainly in ship equipment manufacturing and installation area) is a major contributor to Norwegian-Polish trade volume.
Yearly sales of REMONTOWA Group on the Norwegian market amount to EUR 150-200 million.
SHIP REPAIRS and CONVERSIONS
Norwegian shipowners are among most valuable customers for REMONTOWA group of companies.
Many of Norwegian ship owners and operators, praising the track record of co-operation with REMONTOWA Group, return with repeat orders. REMONTOWA is able to offer favorable pricing, however this is not always price, but mainly quality and reliablity, that becomes the decisive factor behind winning new contracts by REMONTOWA Group and attracts Norwegian Owners to ship repair and conversion services or newbuildings from REMONTOWA.
Gdansk Shiprepair Yard "Remontowa" S.A. has been repairing, refurbishing, upgrading and converting Norwegian ships and offshore units for many years.
In 2010 "Remontowa" S.A. has successfully accomplished repairs of 31 ships for Norwegian Owners, including:
• Bergshav Ship Management AS
• Conoco Philips AS
• Jo Tankers
• Klaveness Maritime Logistics
• Knutsen OAS
• Mowinckel Ship Management AS
• Odfjell AS
• Teekay Shipping Norway AS
• Utkilen AS
Many of "Remontowa's" Clients (including Norwegian ones) are the world leaders in their respective market domains, such as Odfjell AS in chemical tankers operation and Knutsen OAS and Teekay Shipping Norway AS in shuttle tankers.
Sales of "Remontowa" in ship repairs on the Norwegian market amounted to EUR 25 million in 2010.
During 1st half of this year (2011) alone, "Remontowa" have been repairing as many as 24 ships for:
• Bergen Tankers AS
• Gearbulk Norway AS
• Hoegh Fleet Services AS
• Jo Tankers
• Knutsen OAS
• Kristian Gerhard Jebsen Skipsrederi AS
• Odfjell AS
• Ramco Marine AS
• Siem Offshore AS
• Teekay Shipping Norway AS
• Torghatten ASA
• Utkilen AS
• Vaage Ship Management AS
During the first half of 2011, "Remontowa" S.A. also signed new contracts with Norwegian Clients amounting to EUR 20 million.
The year 2010 saw the completion of five ship conversions for Norwegian owners at "Remontowa", totaling EUR 20 million in sales value. During the first half of 2011 four conversions have been carried out amounting to EUR 45 million. These included upgrade and conversions of semi-submersible drilling rigs WilPhoenix and WilHunter for Awilco ASA, while Fjord1 MRF took delivery of converted LNG powered car and passenger ferry Glutra (conversion included lengthening).
By the way - this ferry, conversion of which was entrusted to "Remontowa", was the world's first LNG fuelled ferry, built in Norway in 2000.
Recently also Knutsen OAS owned tankers have been converted into shuttle tankers and have had KVOC (Knutsen Volatile Organic Compounds recovery systems) installed at "Remontowa".
Norwegian Client base of "Remontowa" also includes Petrojarl ASA, Fred Olsen Energy / Fred Olsen Production and BW Offshore.
GREEN TECHNOLOGIES FOR SHIPPING
Norwegian companies are at the forefront of development and application of environmentally-friendly technologies, also in shipping and offshore industries.
Companies of REMONTOWA Group are meeting the requirements of Norwegian shipping companies committed to environment protection by development of green ship designs (at in-house ship design office or in co-operation with Norwegian ship design consultancies) and installation of eco-friendly equipment and systems onboard ships (big portion of which comes from Norwegian marine equipment manufacturers).
One good example is a new generation VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) recovery system. Such plants have so far been installed at "Remontowa" on several tankers operated by such Norwegian companies, as Teekay Norway AS, IUM Shipmanagement and Knutsen OAS Shipping AS / Knutsen Offshore Tankers ASA (KVOC - Knutsen VOC - system). The VOC recovery system prevents Volatile Organic Compounds from being released to atmosphere during tanker cargo handling operations.
LNG - MARINE FUEL OF THE FUTURE
LNG is a promising and prospective fuel for ships, with greatly reduced emissions compared to regular marine diesel (MDO) or heavy fuel oil (HFO). Due to the establishment of the Emission Control Area for the Baltic Sea and parts of The North Sea a lot of new ships are being equipped with gas engines. By utilising natural gas, SOx, NOx and particulate matter emissions are reduced by up to 80 %, while CO2 can be reduced by between 15 % and 25 %.
Numerous Norwegian shipping companies are committed to application of LNG fuelled propulsion plants on their ships, especially those operated in coastal and fjord trades. This trend is supported by Norwegian Government, which provides some incentives for shipowners putting LNG powered ships into operation (eg. the Norwegian government’s NOx Fund, which provides subsidies in support of projects that reduce NOx pollution).
Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg's presence during the ceremony of the first steel cutting for the construction of the new advanced, environmentally friendly, LNG powered ferry for Torghatten Nord AS marks 12 years of the successful cooperation between Norwegian shipping companies and REMONTOWA Group in the field of newbuildings (new ships construction).
REMONTOWA Shipbuilding has been building mainly the following types of ferries:
- double ended ferries for short fjord connections (sheltered waters);
- ro-pax type ferries for outer (open sea) long distance connections.
During the recent years REMONTOWA Shipbuilding has successfully entered the market for new environmentally-friendly technology application - state-of-the-art ships with LNG gas powered engines.
This was evidenced by awarding Gdansk Shiprepair Yard "Remontowa" S.A. with Green Ship of the Year title for its Moldefjord double-ended LNG powered ferry built for Fjord1 MRF in 2010. Green Ship Technology Award is a prize instituted by "Lloyd’s List" events to recognize efforts in maintaining the marine environment and mitigating the environmental effects of the shipping industry.
REMONTOWA - MAJOR BUILDER OF FERRIES FOR NORWEGIAN COASTAL OPERATIONS
REMONTOWA Shipbuilding newbuilding references - new ships for Norwegian Owners account include:
&bul

l; currently under construction for Torghatten Nord AS (total value of contracts EUR 129 495 000):
- LMG 120 type (120 PCU - Personal Car Units capacity) gas powered ro-pax ferries
- two sheltered waters and two "outer" waters vessels;
- 2 × SKS 21 PCU diesel powered ro-pax ferries;
- 2 × SKS 16 PCU diesel powered double-ended ferries.
• the series of double-ended, diesel powered fiord ferries, SKS 116 type, delivered to Fjord1 MRF in 2011:
- Storfjord (yard no. B609/1);
- Hjørundfjord (yard no. B609/2).
• the series of double-ended, gas powered (LNG) fiord ferries, SKS 125 type, built for Fjord1 MRF AS in 2009-2010:
- Moldefjord (yard no. B607/1);
- Fannefjord (B607/2);
- Romsdalsfjord (B607/3);
- Korsfjord (B607/4).
(total value of contracts for two conventionally powered SKS 116 type ferries and four LNG powered SKS 125 type ferries for Fjord1 MRF was EUR 128 350 000)
• double-ended ferry Folkestad (yard no. B601) built for Nor-Ferjer Volda AS (now Tide ASA) in 2006;
• double-ended ferry Basto III (B241) built for Basto Fosen in 2005;
• fishing vessel Vea (B309) delivered to Vea AS in 2004;
• double-ended ferry Volda (B827/1) and Eira (B827/2) delivered to Fjord1 MRF / More og Romsdal Fylkesbatar A/S in 2001-2002;
• double-ended ferry Luroy (B593) delivered to Helgelandske A/S, Sandnessjoen in 2001;
• double-ended ferry Finnoy (B590) delivered to Rogaland Trafikkselskap A/S, Stavanger in 1999;
• double ended ferry Sjernaroy (yard no. 438/1) and Foldoy (438/2) delivered to Stavangerske AS (now Tide ASA) in 1999.
(total sales value of contracts concerning ships built for Norwegian market in 1999-2006 was EUR 62 346 000).
As seen from the above listing, Gdansk based yard has delivered a significant number of fjord ferries. In fact, REMONTOWA Group has been one of the single largest suppliers of new double-ended fiord ferries for Norwegian market over the recent several years.
LNG POWERED LNG CARRIER
Although not built for Norwegian shipowner, versatile LNG powered gas carrier is also worth mentioning here. The ship has been ordered by Dutch owner and built especially for Norwegian charter. Coral Methane entered service in May 2009 under a 15-year charter with the Norwegian energy company Gasnor AS. It was meant for operations mainly in the Baltic and North Sea carrying various gases, but also along the Norwegian coastline for regional LNG distribution.
After several similar titles won over the recent years, another Remontowa built ship, LNG fuelled, diesel-gas-electric driven LNG / LEG (ethylene) / LPG tanker Coral Methane has earned the inclusion in the "Shignificant Ship of the Year" review produced by the London based Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA). "Significant Ships of 2009", lists (besides versatile and innovative gas carrier from Remontowa) a few dozens of the most outstanding and important examples from the World's shipyard production of the past year (as it has been doing in previous editions since 1990, where also some other Remontowa built ships have been noted). The versatile LNG/LEG/LPG carrier has also won for "Remontowa" the "Golden Anchor" (prestigious major accolade of Polish Chamber of Commerce presented at the International Maritime Trade Fair Baltexpo) and a Dutch prize for the ship's Owners Anthony Veder (the Royal Association of Netherlands Shipowners (KVNR) Innovation award presented by the Dutch minister of economic affairs, Maria van den Hoeven).
The ship with 7500 cbm cargo capacity is the first Polish built LNG carrier and the world's first such flexible gas tanker, being able to carry liquid natural, ethylene, petroleum and other gases. The ship also features environmentally friendly operation as it is propelled by LNG fuelled main propulsion engines in gas-diesel-electric configuration propulsion.
The LNG powered gas tanker built at "Remontowa" for Anthony Veder has also made a history when it was successfully loaded at the Fluxys terminal in Zeebrugge on May 19, 2010 - representing the first time such an export operation into a small LNG carrier that has been carried out in the world.
NORWEGIAN FPSO FROM POLAND OPERATED OFFSHORE in BRAZIL
Recently, high on the agenda for Norwegian maritime sector companies, is taking opportunities and gaining significant new business and market shares, while assisting Brazilian shipping, offshore and shipbuilding industries in development of booming Brazilian offshore oil and gas exploration and production.
It is worth mentioning that Gdańsk Shiprepair Yard "Remontowa" SA delivered a FPSO (Floating Production, Storage and Offloading) unit to Norwegian company for use offshore Brazil already in 2007.
Teekay Petrojarl ASA operates FPSO Petrojarl Cidade De Rio Das Ostras, converted from tanker by "Remontowa", on the Siri Field in Brazil for Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras).
SIGNIFICANT CUSTOMER FOR NORWEGIAN MARINE TECHNOLOGY and KNOW-HOW
REMONTOWA Group has also been a buyer of Norwegian marine equipment and know-how for a long time. Equipment and systems used by REMONTOWA companies for replacement during repairs and upgrades or conversions of ships and offshore units as well as onboard new ships delivered include supplies from such renowned Norwegian companies as:
• APL (bow loading systems for shuttle tankers and submerged buoy loading systems)
• Pusnes (loading systems, deck machinery)
• Brunvoll (thrusters)
• Bergen Diesel (engines, Rolls-Royce group)
• Framo (pumps)
• Draka
• Norlift (cranes)
• Noreq (life saving equipment)
• Kongsberg Simrad (navigation equipment, DP Systems)
• Hernis (CCTV)
• Autronica (ship automation, fire alarm systems)
As far as equipment and systems for new LNG ferries are concerned, the following Norwegian suppliers are involved:
• Rolls-Royce Marine AS package delivery:
- Bergen Diesel (gas fuelled engines)
- CPP with gearbox / shaftline
- rudder system with steering gear
- tunnel thrusters
- propulsion remote control system
- power electric system
- integrated automation system
- LNG fuel tank and fuel feeding system (sub-contracted to Hamworthy)
• Brude Safety AS (MES)
• Norsafe (MOB boat)
• Sperre (air compressors / pressure vessels)
• Solberg Scandinavian AS (foam systems)
• Pyro (boilers)
• Kongsberg (navigation sytems)
• Zenitel / Vingtor (telephone systems)
• Autronica (fire alarm systems)
• Unitor (AC plant)
• Norac (external / internal doors)
• Norsap (captain's chair)
• LMG Marin (ship design)
It is worth mentioning that REMONTOWA Group has been often building ships of various types according to designs supplied by Norwegian ship designers - consultants or according to designs developed in-house (by the Group's own ship design office Remontowa Marine Design & Consulting Ltd) in co-operation with Norwegian ship design companies, such as Bergen based LMG Marin, Nordnorsk Skipskonsult AS (NSK) and others.
And last, but not least, long-lasting fruitful co-operation has to be mentioned, between REMONTOWA Group companies and DNV (Det Norske Veritas) - one of the leading international classification societies, being also the safety, quality assurance as well as maritime and offshore industries services and know-how provider and competence centre.