Gard Services As News

The wreck removal of the ‘Tricolor’, the vehicle carrier that was lost in December 2002 20 miles off the French coast in the English Channel, will resume May 15. The vessel was cut into nine sections, four of which remain on the seabed. The remaining sections will be lifted and transported to Zeebrugge in the months to come. All the cutting work on the vessel finished last year before the operation was halted in November due to adverse weather conditions. The 1987-built ‘Tricolor’ was lost following a collision with the container ship Kariba. The ‘Tricolor’ was en route to Southampton from Antwerp, laden with nearly 3,000 luxury cars. It also carried some 2,000 tons of bunker oil. The vessel suffered severe damage and she went down in less than half an hour.

Kristian Gerhard Jebsen Skipsrederi AS (KGJS), one of the largest shipping companies in Norway has completed the first implementation stage of SAFIR 4.0; a comprehensive safety reporting system developed by BASS and Gard Services AS. BASS will, in addition to upgrading from SAFIR 3.04 to SAFIR 4.0 in the office, also install SAFIR 4.0 onboard the KGJS managed vessels. KGJS operated SAFIR 3.04 with paper-based reports from their vessels and entered the reports manually into the system back at the office. By installing SAFIR 4.0 onboard their vessels, the system becomes complete. All reports are entered by the vessels themselves, and automatically forwarded to the office via BASS Replicator/KGJS mail system. Feedback/experience transfer is dispatched back to the vessels in the same manner.

The Expert Committee announced a short list of two candidates for The Thor Heyerdahl International Maritime Environmental Award. This year the awarding ceremony takes place in Japan, host to EXPO-2005 under the theme Natur’s Wisdom. The Heyerdahl Award’s Expert Committee, lead by Terje Staalstrøm (DNV), have concluded a short list of two worthy candidates, who have demonstrated outstanding technical innovation and outstanding and proactive environmental policy and activities. Both candidates contribute to an improved global environment and to the development and implementation of new specific environmental measures. The Norwegian shipping…

The Japanese shipping company, NYK Line, was today announced as winner of the Heyerdahl Award 2005. The Norwegian Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr. Børge Brende, presented the Award during an Award Ceremony in Tokyo. The Heyerdahl Award honours the spirit of the Norwegian explorer Dr. Thor Heyerdahl and inspire the world maritime community to innovative actions to protect the environment. - NYK Line demonstrates a remarkable commitment to ceaselessly improving its environmental performance. I am proud to award the Japanese company this year’s Heyerdahl Award, says Børge Brende. – By contributing to an improved global environment and giving inspiration to the development and implementation of new specific environmental measures, NYK Line is a first class winner of the Award.

Weather improvements have allowed salvors in the English Channel to commence work on the wreck removal operation of the Tricolor. Due to bad weather conditions the operation had to be discontinued on July 16. Despite the delay work is still on schedule. After extensive preparations the ‘Combinatie Berging Tricolor' will initiate the first of eight cuts today. The cutting wire will be pulled back and forth with special winches aboard the platforms Vagant and the Buzzard. The Buzzard has been utilised earlier to install messenger wires underneath the wreckage of the Tricolor. Those wires have to guide the cutting wire into position. After…

Dr William H Moore will shortly be joining Shipowners Claims Bureau Inc. (SCB), managers of the American P&I Club, to take charge of its growing technical, safety and loss prevention activities. Dr Moore joins SCB from the Bergen office of Gard Services AS, where, as a vice president, he has had responsibility for the loss prevention, risk assessment and technical services of Gard’s substantial P&I and hull/machinery portfolios. An American, Dr Moore, 41, holds a doctorate in engineering, naval architecture and offshore engineering from the University of California at Berkeley, together with a master’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The 13 P&I Clubs within the International Group continue to dominate the world market for shipowners' liability insurance despite increasing competition in recent years from fixed premium facilities. The development of the fixed premium market and, in particular, the rapid growth of the P&I account of the marine and energy syndicate 329 at Lloyd's led by Jonathan Jones, served to increase pressure on premium rating in recent years. However, syndicate 329 is now in run-off, its capital providers having withdrawn support, and its P&I account, which was transferred to British Marine, an old-established P&I and hull club for small ships and offshore craft…

The 13 P&I Clubs within the International Group continue to dominate the world market for shipowners' liability insurance despite increasing competition in recent years from fixed premium facilities. The development of the fixed premium market and, in particular, the rapid growth of the P&I account of the marine and energy syndicate 329 at Lloyd's led by Jonathan Jones, served to increase pressure on premium rating in recent years. However, syndicate 329 is now in run-off, its capital providers having withdrawn support, and its P&I account, which was transferred to British Marine, an old-established P&I and hull club for small ships and offshore craft…