"Transport wise, Blue Water holds a strong position, also on short sea. We will increase focus on the development of this area, as many companies can gain significant benefits from shipping their cargo by sea instead of by road. A little planning is required, as the transit times are slightly longer, but it does offer a much more cost efficient and environmentally friendly transport solution", says Arne Iversen, who will be continuing his long and diverse career with Blue Water Shipping through this new position in the company.

In total, he has spent 26 years with the company split over three separate periods. His latest position has been that of General Manager for Blue Water China and Qatar. Arne Iversen will now be returning to the Danish headquarters of the international transport and logistics company, and the control tower of the short sea segment.

Arne Iversen's initial, primary focus will be that of overall development and sales for the Nordic countries. Blue Water Shipping's office in Esbjerg will take care of the day to day operations and transport handling in Denmark, with the offices in Oslo, Gothenborg and Helsinki handling clients in Norway, Sweden and Finland respectively.

"Being a part of developing Blue Water's business is an exciting task, and I am pleased to have returned to Denmark. I am sure, though, that I will miss the Middle and Far East from time to time," says Arne Iversen.

Being one of the most important events in the wind energy industry, the exhibition was bustling with activity, and Blue Water Shipping's representatives held several meetings with current and potential clients, suppliers and business partners.

Marianne Girardin and Mogens Nielsen, from Blue Water Shipping in Brest, France

"The wind turbine industry sees rapid growth, and Blue Water Shipping expects to increase our activities in wind turbine transports and logistics in the years to come. Since the mid-'90s, we have been involved in the wind energy industry, and have developed a strong set-up, which we continue to strengthen through a development of expertise and services," says Jacob Kjaergaard, Business Development Manager at Blue Water Shipping.

As a global operator, Blue Water Shipping is involved in onshore and offshore wind turbine projects. Currently, the company provides logistics solutions for wind turbines to Australia as well as port operations and other services for the wind farms "London Array", "Sherringham Shoal" and "Anholt".

Blue Water Shipping continues to increase activities in the wind energy area in Australia. The company has been awarded the contract for shipment of 22 wind turbines for the onshore wind farm Mumbida in Western Australia.

The order comes from Leighton Contractors; one of Australia's largest contracting companies. While Blue Water Shipping have already been involved with Leighton Contractors for the execution of the Macarthur windfarm, which is a consortium between Leighton and Vestas, the Mumbida windfarm marks the first direct contract between Blue Water Shipping and Leighton Contractors.

"Blue Water Shipping is extremely pleased to be working with Leighton Contractors, a company with which we have built good relations. We are convinced that Blue Water Shipping's broad, global experience and expertise in wind turbine transports was a decisive factor when awarding this contract. An experience which includes wind turbine shipments to Australia in recent years", says Kurt Skov, founder and Managing Director of Blue Water Shipping.

During his Danish sales promotion in November last year, Kurt Skov formed ties with a range of current and possible business partners, including Leighton Contractors. The company is responsible for the construction of the Mumbida wind farm, which is expected to be operational by November 2012, and at that time supplying electricity equaling the annual consumption of 35,000 homes.

The turbines in question are from GE (General Electric) with a capacity of 2.5 MW, and the transport includes two shipments of main components (nacelles, hubs) from Brake in Germany as well as two shipments of blades from Santos in Brazil.

The shipments are destined for the port of Geraldton in Western Australia, from which the turbines will be transported by road the short distance to the wind farm in Mumbida. Blue Water Shipping is responsible for the transport by sea as well as the loading and unloading in all seaports.

The first shipment has been completed, and Blue Water Shipping expects to have concluded its involvement in the project by this summer. The project involves Blue Water offices in Singapore, Denmark, Germany  and Brazil.

Blue Water Shipping  has just been awarded  the extremely challenging  task of providing logistics  for materials and equipment to China and Brazil, where the conversion of the FPSO " Cidade de Ilhabela" will take place over the next two years.  The FPSO is being converted from a tank vessel which is 400 metres long and 70 metres across.

After the conversion, the "Cidade de Ilhabela" will be the world's largest  FPSO and will be operating for the Oil & Gas sector off the Brazilian coast.

Blue Water Shipping's client is SBM Offshore, which is the world's leading actor within FPSO construction, production, installation and operation. The company operates a fleet of more than 20 of these special and very costly units worldwide  and employs  6,000 people. Blue Water Shipping already enjoys a cooperation with SBM Offshore, and this new agreement is based on the efficient  working relationship between the two companies.

"We have developed a good cooperation with SBM Offshore through our previous projects, where Blue Water's expertise  in transport and logistics  to the Oil  & Gas industry has been a decisive factor in successful  projects.", says Thomas Bek, Global Manager Oil & Gas at Blue Water Shipping.

Thomas Bek has been involved in the contract negotiation and believes that appointing   Blue Water  logistics provider for the "Cidade de Ilhabela" project  is due to a couple of primary reasons.

"Blue Water offers high reliability of delivery and our incorporated IT systems ensure a unique service which will be of benefit to our clients. On top of this, we have a strong set-up in Brazil with local representation and profound expertise within the Oil & Gas industry", concludes Thomas Bek.

The project comprises several thousand shipments and involves Blue Water's offices in Rio de Janeiro, Shanghai, Singapore, Esbjerg, Rotterdam, Aberdeen and Houston.  First part of the project takes place in China where the preliminary, basic changes of the  tank vessel will be carried out. Subsequently the vessel will sail to SBM's shipyard in Brazil where the final part of the conversion will take place.

The entire conversion project is expected to be completed in 2014, after which the total price for the "Cidade de Ilhabela" will be approx. EUR 3.5 billion.

Blue Water Shipping has profound experience  with and  know-how on Oil & Gas projects worldwide. In Brazil, Blue Water is presently involved in projects for SBM Offshore, McDermott, Keppel Fels and Odfjell Drilling among others.

The company has initiated the process of identifying a new CEO by sounding out the market and considering internal and external options alike.

"Blue Water has grown into a large and very versatile, global company. We experience tremendous development and continuous growth. This fact places large demands on management - not least on the managing director in respect of overall management and development of the Blue Water group. I have been fortunate to have been involved in the start up of most activities and offices, but now the time has come for someone else to take over as CEO," says Kurt Skov, who founded Blue Water Shipping in Denmark almost 40 years ago. He points out that he has now turned 65, and his family has encouraged him to reduce his working hours.

"I have no intention of retiring, but wish to continue as a working chairman of the board, once we have pinpointed the right person for the position. In future, it is my intention to focus my time on business development and clients".

Blue Water Shipping expects to have a new CEO before the end of 2012.

Blue Water Shipping has been involved in wind logistics since 1995, every year transporting around 2,600 wind turbine components worldwide.

Presently, a few of our major projects include a shipment of 140 Vestas onshore turbines (V112) to Australia, port operations and services for the offshore wind farms London Array and Sherringham Shoal - all from Esbjerg in Denmark, from which Lincs offshore Wind Farm components have also been scheduled for shipment to England. In Grenaa on the East coast of Jutland in Denmark, Blue Water Shipping is heavily involved in the Anholt Offshore Project.

Seatrade Cruise Shipping, the largest international exhibition for the cruise industry, annually draws more than 10,000 attendees and nearly 1,000 exhibiting companies from over 119 countries to Miami Beach, Fla.

Hope to see you there

During Seatrade Cruise Shipping we will participate with our own booth, booth #2145, and hope to see you there for an introduction and general talks.

Furthermore, please join us for Happy Hour at our booth, 13-14 march at 4-6 PM.

From Blue Water Shipping, the following persons will be present at Seatrade:

• Kurt Skov, Esbjerg, Denmark
• Dan Nissen, Esbjerg, Denmark
• Lisette Trab Munk, Esbjerg, Danmark
• Roy Applegate, Fort Lauderdale, USA
• Rasmus Øllgaard, Fort Lauderdale, USA
• Richard Buys, Rotterdam, Holland
• Amadeu Outeiro, Barcelona, Spain

Hope to see you there!

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