Tuesday, Dec 19, 2006
Gulf News
A superpower at sea, Norway controls five per cent of the world's merchant fleet and counts the UAE among its business patrons
Norway has been Europe's most diverse maritime nation for the past 150 years and is known for its expertise in shipping and maritime equipment.
Located on the fringe of Europe, with less than 1,000th of the world's population, Norway has become a superpower at sea, and controls five per cent of the world's merchant fleet.
According to the Norwegian Ship Owners Association, shipping has always been one of Norway's most important industries.
Foreign trade statistics for 2003 show that gross freight income from shipping reached 72.5 billion crowns (Dh43.63 billion), making shipping Norway's largest service export.
Freight income accounted for 20 per cent of Norwegian exports. As of January 2006, Norwegian fleets bound for foreign shores stood at 1,614 ships, and Norwegian shipping companies employ around 62,000 people of over 60 different nationalities onboard ships and rigs. In addition, nearly 11,000 people are employed onshore.
Important marketThe UAE is an important market for Norway's maritime industry and several Norwegian companies have established headquarters in the country.
The Torvald Klaveness Group (TKG) is a Norwegian shipping company involved in ownership, commercial and technical operation of dry bulk vessels, maritime logistics as well as industrial and financial investments within and outside the shipping industry.
"Bulktransfer is Klaveness Maritime Logistics' transloader operater in the Arabian Gulf, and we serve the local steel and aggregates industries.
"The steel mills in the Gulf are located in shallow ports, and Bulktransfer offers steel mills the possibility to enjoy economies of scale by importing iron ore on fully laden ships," says Jarle Kverneggen, President, Bulktransfer. Apart from transloading iron ore, TKG's ships also carry aggregates from the UAE to other Gulf countries.
Over the last five years, Bulktransfer has loaded more than 15 million metric tons of aggregates in the UAE.
Det Norske Veritas (DNV) operates in over 100 countries with 300 offices and 6,500 employees, and its main business areas are maritime, general industry and energy industry.
DNV is one of the leading classification societies in the world and is responsible for classing about 17 per cent of the world fleet in tonnage and has over 20 per cent of world ships on order.
DNV's regional headquarters are based in Dubai. "We chose Dubai because of its excellent communication and banking system. It is also a very dynamic city where a number of medium and large shipping company have based their operations," says Eivind Grostad of the DNV Group.
DNV counts the Middle East region among the fastest expanding shipping markets in the world. "With the abundant oil, gas and petrochemical industry, activities in the Gulf and the UAE in particular, will continue to grow," says Grostad.
Major nameGoltens Worldwide Services, is a leading independent ship repair and maintenance service provider, with a strong presence in the Middle East.
"With increased shipping activity in the region, the company has invested significantly to expand capacity and develop new services," says Paul Friedberg, President, Goltens Worldwide Services.
The company's centre for repair activities is based in Dubai, which also serves as the company's regional hub for operations.
"Rapidly increasing commercial activity in the Middle East and significant regional investment in marine infrastructure has created important opportunities for our company in the region," says Friedberg.
Recently, the company earmarked a 27,000 square metre site in Dubai Maritime City to be developed into a state-of-the-art workshop by 2008.
According to trade figures, Norwegian companies have cornered 30 per cent of the global market in marine insurance.
The Norwegian Hull Club has a large share of the ocean hull market and ranks amongst the largest pure marine underwriters in the world.
Gulf News 2006. All rights reserved.
