Calm North Sea – in December!

Another year of safe sailing27 ESVAGT ships manoeuvred through 2009 without a single accident on board. An important prerequisite to helping others is to ensure that you do not get injured yourself.

ESVAGT has always focused on being a safe workplace, and at the turn of the year, it was again demonstrated as 27 ESVAGT ships could say goodbye to 2009 without having had an accident on board this year.

The constant work to make ESVAGT a safe workplace for employees has fortunately led to a year without any accidents, which is not sensational.

But since it is important to maintain focus on the issue and mark the achievement which a year without accidents actually is, ESVAGT wanted to mark the milestones that some of the company's vessels reached in 2009 with regard to safety.

So when "Esvagt Preventer" on 17 June 2009 had been working 15 years without acci-dents, the crew on leave with spouses was celebrated at the Hotel Britannia.

As were also the crews from "Esvagt Delta", "Esvagt Sigma" and "Esvagt Corona", which all had been working for five years without acci-dents. The celebration was also attended by representatives from charterers, owners and the Board.

The crews of the four vessels are now far from alone in being able to produce great results when it comes to safety on board. Six ESVAGT vessels have been without a single accident for more than 10 years. n

No Lost Time Injuries for more than 10 years

Esvagt Preserver 18 years 21.02.2009

Esvagt Echo 17 years 01.02.2009

Esvagt Charlie 17 years 02.03.2009

Esvagt Preventer 15 years 17.06.2009

Esvagt Protector 14 years 20.10.2009

Esvagt Bravo 12 years 01.05.2009

Facts:

The North Sea in December can be terri-ble - but it also offers amazingly calm waters. This was what "Esvagt Cobra" experienced at the Songa Delta out of Florø in the Norwe-gian sector.

Here "Esvagt Cobra" is on charter to Odfjell Well Manage-ment and cooperating with the "Eldborg" from the Faroese shipping company Supply Service P/F on flights to and from the Faroe Islands and Norway in connection with crew changes.

NO. 3. 2009. SAFETY & SUPPORT AT SEA

2

Editorial The second half of 2009 offered many challen-ges, and we could not avoid laying up of ships. Thus followed an adaptation of the workforce, and in the onshore organization, we were forced to say goodbye to three talented employees – for our offshore personnel we agreed on a division of labour so that almost all retained their jobs. We have also found savings with our suppliers, and this is necessary in order to maintain our competitiveness. We assume that 2010 also will be a difficult year, as drilling activity is expected to remain low.

Therefore, we will continue to focus on cost, and in order to remain competitive, we need to find further areas where savings can be achieved.

ESVAGT still has four ships under con-struction of which the three will be delivered on long term contracts. From ASL in Singa-pore, delivery of the last two ships in a series of 10 sister ships is outstanding, the shipyard has fully met our expectations in terms of quality and delivery times.

In Spain, it has been more difficult. A strike lasting three months in late summer made the situation worse, and the yard is struggling with the completion of the first of two sister ships.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, I would like to take this opportunity to thank our clients for good co-operation and our staff for the effort shown in 2009 - You have shown motivation and team spirit even though times are and have been difficult. n

Ovin H. Carlsson

ESVAGT makes annual client satisfac-tion surveys with regard to the differ-ent ESVAGT products.

The outcome of the annual client satisfaction analysis was nice reading, says Chief Operations Officer, Ole Ditlev Nielsen:

- On a scale from 1 to 6, the average result 5.02 corresponds to "very satis-factory / agree". We had set ourselves the target of improving the result from last year’s 4.82 to min. 5.0 - and we just reached it, says Ole Ditlev Nielsen.

Generally, ESVAGT scored high on items such as "overall satisfaction",

"innovative solutions / business" and "good workmanship". It is all categories which we're happy to be senior in - but there were also suggestions for improvements, which we will now be working towards achieving:

- We would like to improve in "more environmental awareness," "lis-ten to the clients " and "maintain effective communication". So there is still something to work with, says Ole Ditlev Nielsen.

ESVAGT will now examine the possible improvement potential related to each client.

Client investigations show that ESVAGT is doing a good job. Satisfaction has improved compared to last year.

Clients are satisfied

3

Safety Coach is a role model

As HSEQ Manager, Steffen Rudbech is respon-sible for ESVAGT employees working accord-ing to the regulations and standards in ESVAGT.

He must ensure that employees in addi-tion to their professionalism and education also know the ESVAGT corporate culture when they go to work.

Sometime it can be difficult to monitor and adjust to, when the employee are on a ship. And with the heavy expansion ESVAGT has been through the last few years, Steffen Rudbech felt that corporate culture was about to be spread out in a slightly thin layer:

- It's been really fast in ESVAGT in recent years. In 2007 and 2008 we got many new ships and many new employees. The ships came home quickly and went directly on charter - and it left a need for training in eve-rything that we are good at, says Steffen Rud-bech. To be used in everyday life This had to be changed. But when ships are on charter - and we cannot take the crews out of the schedule for long courses - we had to find another model:

- We considered having courses onshore, but we changed our minds quickly. We have much respect for the crews’ off periods, so we had to find another way. And then the safety coaches were invented, says Steffen Rudbech.

Safety coaches are travellers in the "corpo-rate culture". Jens Aage Fjordside, Henrik Madsen and Henning Mærsk Jensen were appointed safety coaches in ESVAGT with the aim of ensuring that ESVAGT’s employees are also working the ESVAGT way:

- They go offshore to train the staff there. That has been a good experience. First, we do not use our employees’ off periods on a course. And second the education is a lot more practical when it does not take place in a training room, but on the ship where the employee has his daily life. This makes the process far more practical and easier to relate to - what you learn can be used in everyday life afterwards, says Steffen Rudbech.

Things have been fast in recent years in ESVAGT - but the ESVAGT soul and spirit must always be present. Safety coaches will ensure that.

Must be sailors! ESVAGT has also been very conscious about finding those safety coaches who in addition to a good and thorough knowledge of ESVAGT values also had some slightly differ-ent sets of skills:

- It was important that the safety coach was "one of our own." That they were sailors, not white colours. And with Jens Aage Fjord-side and Henrik Madsen who are captains, and Henning Mærsk Jensen, who is an A.B. we have found the right people, says Steffen Rud-bech:

- Both Fjordside, Madsen and Mærsk have been with ESVAGT for many years. They know the organization onboard, and they comple-ment each other really well. They represent a culture which we would like to be incorporat-ed throughout the organization. We have been very conscious of choosing persons with different skills and different ways of doing things - they are also very good exam-ples of the values and culture we look for, says Steffen Rudbech.

According to Steffen Rudbech, the work the three safety coaches perform is lauded by the crews. n

Also see the article on page 4.

NO. 3. 2009. SAFETY & SUPPORT AT SEA

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Travellers' in safety and seamanship

The Danish football player Søren Lerby was portrayed in a biography titled "Football is not for the dumb."

Lerby was certainly not speechless. And he did like to “advise” his teammates - on full volume.

Henning Mærsk Jensen is safety coach in ESVAGT. And he could be portrayed under a similar title:

For one cannot be safety coach without shouting - and Henning Mærsk Jensen cer-tainly not.

- I've probably always been a person who questions things. Is there anything that does not work, then it must be stopped and changed. That is how I feel - and how it is sup-posed to be, says Henning Mærsk Jensen.

He has been in ESVAGT for 11 ½ years, and there has never been much doubt about Hen-ning’s opinions. And that is among other

things the reason why Henning Mærsk was chosen to be a safety coach:

- We have a way of doing things in ESVAGT and that’s a way I have learned over a long period in the company. It is the way of doing things, which ensures that we always have a grip on safety and focus on the important things. The way I do things is what I am hired to teach, says Henning Mærsk Jensen:

- It is ok to find new, smarter and better ways to do it. Absolutely! But when you get the ideas, you should go to the captain, who then sends the ideas ashore to ESVAGT where we look at it. And we introduce it if it is some-

thing we think will work. But it is important that you do not just do it on your own. Then we will get problems, he saysExpress oneself in no uncertain termsIn fact Henning Mærsk is employed as a trav-eller in company culture. His role is to ensure that everybody onboard the ships knows how to act and operate onboard the ships.

Sometimes Henning Mærsk must take on the role as a man who fidgets or demands - but this is not up for debate:

- When I'm at work, I am at work. Here it is about operating the ship and save lives. Whether it is Easter, Pentecost, Saturday or Sunday, it does not matter. It's out on the water until you know what to do. It is not enough that we claim to be able to rescue people and then we are not able to take care of ourselves. So one must express oneself in no uncertain terms, says Henning Mærsk, who has actually been measured to 125 dB (on a day when he got jackpot at the inn on Fanø. The work as a safety coach is to advise and act as a mentor – to make the crews famil-iar with the “ESVAGT-method”. Among other things, the macho style, which to some extent characterizes the profession, is toned down a bit. Because safety and “dad is always right” are two incompatible sizes:

- I have stopped some “Tarzan types” over time, and that is part of my job. Sometimes I shout to be heard, but I would rather be teaching and explaining to people why we have to take care of each other and keep our equipment working. I'm not the world champion at anything, but I'm good at my job

- and I want to teach others, says Henning Mærsk. n

As Safety Coach Henning Mærsk Jensen is hired to realize ESVAGT’s culture and procedures in all parts of the organization. Sometimes at a very high volume.

My ESVAGT - and yours! ESVAGT is a workplace where many people with different backgrounds and education have their daily lives.

But do we all know what each of us really work with?

ESVAGT News would like to supply some opportunities to greet each other a little deeper. Under the subject “My ESVAGT”, we will portray your colleagues – and maybe you, too. n

Apart from Henning Mærsk Jensen, Jens Aage Fjordside and Henrik Madsen is hired as safety coaches in ESVAGT.

Facts:

5

"Esvagt Carina" ensures the safety of Statoil's platform Draupner in the Norwegian sector.

But when you are away from home for periods of four weeks, as the crew of "Esvagt Carina" is, then it is very good that the family and friends back home are able to follow life onboard "Esvagt Carina".

Four weeks may be a long time. Small chil-dren learn new words or get more teeth - and the teenager might change boyfriend and phone several times during that period.

On "Esvagt Carina" they handle absence of everyday life with a website. On www.123hjemmeside.dk/esvagtcarina people back home can keep up with life onboard - and more than 85,000 visits on the page are good proof that it is something that people like.

- We know that this is something that many people like, says Mads Olsen, Captain of

"Esvagt Carina" and pro-moter of the page:

- We had talked about it for a while because many families were interested in how things are at sea and in our daily work lives. Both to our families and colleagues it is nice to keep up with our life. And when we work in two teams, it is also nice to be able to

follow the ship's diary for those who are off, says Mads Olsen. Publicity for the company But there are also others than family and friends who use it. And for that reason, there are rules to what can be published on the page:

- We know there are some new employees who have used it to see how life is on an ESVAGT vessel, says Mads Olsen.

- And we do proper advertis-ing for the com-pany. So there is a set of rules on what can be pub-lished on such a site - and what not.

We write about our exercis-es and our every-day life.

We would like to show how we live – that we have good things as the internet and gym onboard the ship.

Website makes the distance to the family a little shorter"Esvagt Carina" is one of the only ship in ESVAGT with its own website. It makes it easier for our families to follow our everyday lives, says promoter Mads Olsen.

We are also joking with each other in a good way, says Mads Olsen.

Mads Olsen's brother in law is working on a ship in Greenland which also has a website.

"Esvagt Carina's” website matches this site - so it was rather easy to make.

- A diary with pictures is easy. Both teams on “Esvagt Carina” work with the site - and we write in the dairy quite regularly - a few times a week or so, says Mads Olsen:

- It is very simple - so it's just to get started. An idea for other ESVAGT vessels, he says. n

“Esvagt Carina”s homepage www.123hjemmeside.dk/esvagtcarina

NO. 3. 2009. SAFETY & SUPPORT AT SEA

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When autumn and winter are dark and cold in Denmark, we are many who dream of a cloud-less sky and tropical heat. What about a job with sun and water near equator?

For the crew of "Esvagt Dee" this is every-day life.

The last five years the ship has been work-ing for ESVAGT UK out of Equatorial Guinea, which - as the name suggests - has a some-what different climate than ours.

"Esvagt Dee" is ESVAGT in Africa"Esvagt Dee" solves many of the same tasks as the rest of the ESVAGT fleet. But only in better weather off the West-African coast.

"Esvagt Dee" is one of the four ships in the L702-class, built at a subsidiary Odense Steel Shipyard in Lithuania. "Esvagt Dee" and her sister ship "Esvagt Don" were built for Maersk, while "Esvagt Observer" and "Esvagt Connector" were built for ESVAGT. All four are now part of the ESVAGT fleet. The crew on board "Esvagt Dee" consists of British, Russian and Filipino seamen. There are 14 permanent crewmembers and three subsea ROV technicians. At peak loads - mooring or diving opera-tions - there are 27 men on board.

Facts:

"Esvagt Dee" performs many of the same tasks as the rest of the ESVAGT fleet. Here is an ROV launch.

Equatorial Guinea is located on the Afri-can west coast just south of Nigeria - six hours flight from Frankfurt or Paris. The country is among the smallest in Africa, but still one of the largest exporters of oil - and this is the rea-son why ESVAGT is working here:

- We started ESVAGT MAERSK UK (now ESVAGT UK, ed.) in a co-operation between Maersk and ESVAGT, and both companies have contributed with two ships - "Esvagt Don" and "Esvagt Dee" from Maersk and

"Esvagt Capella" and "Esvagt Observer" from ESVAGT. At that time, "Esvagt Dee" was sta-tioned in Equatorial Guinea and it has been there since, says Paul Taylor, General Manager of ESVAGT UK. Good weather - but pirates The last five years "Esvagt Dee" has been working for Hess that drill exploration wells off the Equatorial Guinean island of Bioko.

Andy Hislop is the captain of the ship, and he will not change his posting:

- Could I choose between all the other places to work, Equatorial Guinea would still be on top of the list. We hear many bad stories about working in Africa, but frankly this is really a nice place. And the weather is perfect - and certainly not as the North Sea in Decem-ber, says Andy Hislop.

Maritime activities around Africa are inex-tricably linked with pirate stories, and Andy Hislop has so much knowledge of that part of everyday life that he mentions 'fighting pirates' as one of the things you use the FiFi-equipment for. But "Esvagt Dee" has never been attacked:

- Equatorial Guinea has no pirates, but sometimes pirates from neighbouring Cam-eroon and Nigeria turn up. In these countries piracy is a growing business. This means increased safety awareness and a more com-plicated everyday where we have to go to the west side of the island, says Andy Hislop. Popular supplier

"Esvagt Dee's” work is very similar to that of the rest of the ESVAGT fleet – such as tanker mooring, which is the primary task, as well as ROV operations on pipelines, subsea interven-tion and rig moves for jack ups. Stand-by operations are also performed.

Whether ESVAGT wants to stay in the region is almost up to ESVAGT itself. "Esvagt Dee" is certainly a popular supplier, says Andy Hislop:

- Hess has been satisfied with the way we have solved the tasks - in both teams. They would like to extend co-operation, but wants a guarantee that it happens with the same crews, says Andy Hislop. n

Just like many other ESVAGT ships, "Esvagt Dee" is visited by animals. Here is a fruit bat, taking a nap with its head down.

7

We cannot just call for help! Kim Wium is a traveller in the C-class technical specifications. He is updating the crews to handle the diesel-electric engines - and show the engineers that they are capable of handling things themselves.

When an IKEA bookcase consisting of six boards and some hardware requires a four-page instruction manual – then the instruc-tion manual for a new-building is rather extensive.

And yes, it is - and it is called Kim. Kim Wium is Fleet Manager in ESVAGT. He

travels to all C-class vessels to ensure that the crews know all aspects of the machinery and how it works:

- The C-class vessels has diesel-electric machinery. There are so many things on that type of vessel that are new and different. When we review and check the ship together, the crew will be more comfortable with repairing any faults, says Kim Wium. Self-propelled is smoothly running Particularly that part - how to detect and cor-rect failures - is one of the reasons why ESVAGT spends resources to let Kim Wium deliver each ship in the C-Class to the people who will be working on the ship:

- Many vessels in the C-fleet are based in Norwegian sector, which is far from home, says Kim Wium:

- We just cannot call for help or go to Esbjerg and let Lindpro send five men on board.

It costs a lot of money to be away from the job. And the client prefers that we stay and are operational, says Kim Wium:

- And if we have to have an expert onboard to solve the problem, it is often something with two airplanes and a helicopter and a lot of money involved before we have even pressed the button. We want to avoid that, he says.

Much of Kim Wium’s job is to show people onboard that they are perfectly capable of solving the problems themselves. Of course the machinery is advanced, but you can get far with a sensible guidance and belief that you can solve the problems:

- Once we have checked the ship together and we have solved some problems in com-mon, then the crew is more confident that they can solve the problems in future, says Kim Wium.Experiences shared When Kim Wium has inspected a ship together with the crew, he travels to the next ship or to Denmark. But he is never further away than a phone call or an e-mail:

- The crews must be commended for being very active in trouble-shooting and repairs. I appreciate that. My feeling is that engineers are more confident to tell me what is wrong

and what they have done to solve the prob-lem. There is no wrong way to try to keep the operation going, emphasizes Kim Wium.

And when he is in Denmark, he communi-cates the recent discoveries regarding failures, options and issues to the other C-vessels:

- They are in the same class, yes, but you must remember that each ship is unique. There are many common features, but the ships are large and complicated, and there are many parts in the process. Therefore, there are not two ships alike. So what is a solution to a problem on one ship is not necessarily the solution to the next ship, says Kim Wium.

All inquiries are gathered in an experience bank, so the next team is also capable of ope-rating the ship:

- We have been good at sharing experi-ence in order to correct faults on one ship before the same fault happens on the next. We also use the experience to purchase a stock of spare parts so we have the pieces that we need, says Kim Wium.

The experience bank also contains photos of how to solve a specific problem - changing a filter, organizing a gasket or shortening a cable. n

NO. 3. 2009. SAFETY & SUPPORT AT SEA

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Audits will make us better ESVAGT is often audited by our clients. Fortunately!

If you as an employee of ESVAGT have a feel-ing that there are audits all the time - it is not entirely wrong.

But it is not just within ESVAGT that audits are frequent.

ESVAGT is also subject of many audits from our clients:

- We are regularly checked. The last two years we have been through 15 audits from

Employees in ESVAGT are generally very satis-fied working for the company. The annual employee satisfaction survey - the so-called engagement survey - shows that three out of four ESVAGT employees are satisfied or very satisfied with their jobs, their immediate man-ager and compliance with ESVAGT values.

The company can be proud of that, says HR Manager Nick V. Ørskov:

- It is a super analysis. It is the most positive report we've seen - and we can in principle only be satisfied with it, says Nick V. Ørskov.

The little reservation is due to the survey being completed before the financial crisis hit. It has probably also affected job satisfaction:

- The employee engagement survey took place in the autumn before the financial crisis set in. There has been division of labour since then, and it may have influenced the result. That has to be mentioned, too, says Nick V. Ørskov:

- But we can be very satisfied with the sur-vey. From the results from our employees, it seems that people are content.

And even when we adjust for the financial crisis, it looks reasonable. Our staff circulation, which over the years has been at an average of 4-5 percent of the resignations, also points at being a good work place, says Nick V. Ørsk-ov. Appraisals and objectives There is not much idea in examining satisfac-tion without addressing the responses. So that process is now underway:

- The next step is to go deeper into detail. Now we have a general idea of how satisfac-tion is - the next will be to continue work on the response we have received, says Nick V. Ørskov.

All managers with more than five employ-ees have received a report which describes in detail how the employees of the department feel. It will be the basis for the future work:

- Over the next three months we will start with employee appraisals for onshore person-nel, and over the next four months we will have interviews with the masters.

Each manager must formulate his own objectives and suggest what can be done bet-ter and work with that the coming year, says Nick V. Ørskov.

The Engagement Survey 2009 had a response rate of 97 - and from HR we want to thank everyone for the high response rate. n

There is generally great employee satis-faction in ESVAGT: • 71 percent are either very satisfied or

satisfied with working in the company (2008: 65 percent)

• 74 percent think they have a good or very good relationship with their immediate manager / captain (2008: 73 percent)

• 78 percent believe that ESVAGT live the values such as open two-way commu-nication and respect for each other (2008: 75 percent).

The report in short:

Satisfaction among employees in the company is at a high level - and even better than last year.

Employees in ESVAGT are happy at work

clients and classifica-tion societies, says Steffen Rudbech, HSEQ Manager of ESVAGT.

Clients audit ESVAGT’s work and organization, just as ESVAGT audits our own units. And Stef-fen Rudbech is really happy with this:

- An audit is a spot check of how it goes in the company. We do not know what is being asked or how they intend to act. Therefore, we must be sure that we always are in control. If we fear an audit, then we fear that we do not perform our work properly, and do what we are certified to do, says Steffen Rudbech.

In his view client audits are a really good opportunity to check if we are performing

well enough in ESVAGT. Therefore, it is always welcome when our clients want to audit us:

- We see it as an opportunity to learn something new and get better - and improve continuously. Client audits are not used to pester us, but to ensure that we are good enough and perform accordingly. An audit can be a very good co-operation, where we adapt ourselves and improve ourselves. A good auditor leaves his imprint here with us so we become a better business. It's both in our clients’ interest and a common interest, says Steffen Rudbech.

The 15 audits that have been performed at ESVAGT over the past two years have shown very few deviations. And Steffen Rud-bech is happy about that:

- In all humbleness, it goes well. But it's something that we constantly focus on and work with, he says. n

9

From "near miss" 'to "learning event"

Graduates visiting ESVAGT ships to see business culture and safety

Mistakes occur – also in ESVAGT. But if you do not learn from your mistakes, it is a mistake

Students from the Naval Academy visited "Esvagt Beta" to look at FRB operations.

In 2008 ESVAGT had four accidents - a man had to go onshore, get medical treatment and subsequently go on sick leave.

In 2009, there have been two accidents.You might therefore be tempted to con-

clude that ESVAGT were twice as safe a place to work. But then you will get a distorted pic-ture of reality, Steffen Rudbech, HSEQ Mana-ger in ESVAGT, points out:

- If we want something with safety, we must focus not only on the number of work-place accidents. We must also look at the inci-dents where nothing happened, but the potential for injury was present, says Steffen Rudbech.

The difference between accidents and near misses is whether someone is injured. But it says nothing about how bad you were hurt or could have been hurt. That is the prob-lem if you only focus on the damage.

- Accidents cannot stand alone in a realistic assessment. We would like to be measured on the potential, too. We must also include near misses which contain potential in this assess-ment so we get the complete picture, says Steffen Rudbech:

- If a man cuts his finger and has to go ashore to be stitched, then it is an accident. If a wire on a crane breaks, and a pipe falls down next to a man on deck, then it is a near miss. But if his head had been 15 inches to the left, we maybe had a fatal accident, and it puts everything into perspective, emphasizes Stef-fen Rudbech. The trick is to learn from the incidents To emphasize that near miss reporting is important, ESVAGT now evaluates whether the company should change the name – to change focus on the incident. A near miss is also called a "learning event". The possible change should be seen as something more than just pure linguistics:

- We have benefited much from our near miss reports, which are useful tools in ensur-ing that incidents do not recur as accidents. And we can learn from it - when something is about to go wrong or when something goes wrong. If we do not learn from it, then it is an equally big mistake. The bill is paid already, and the incident happened. So we must also make sure to implement what we have learnt, says Steffen Rudbech.

In HSEQ we will not only learn from own mistakes. We can also learn from the mistakes other companies experience:

- We are closely following what happens in the industry. We may have the same problems or situations, but it could also be that other companies had some good solutions we could use. We would rather improve ourselves based on others' mistakes, but are also open to others, says Steffen Rudbech. n

In November, 26 newly appointed officers - former students of the Naval Academy visited ESVAGT.

As an ending to their training, the stu-dents have one week available where they are to arrange a professional content relevant to their future operation and management train-ing as officers.

And the students had contacted ESVAGT to hear whether it was possible to visit ESVAGT to see business and everyday life in the company:

- They inquired into our tasks and would like to hear more about our way of working, says Thomas Fauerby, Marine Superintendent of ESVAGT - and also a former Reserve Officer in the Navy:

- We have many tasks, similar to the tasks that the Navy resolves. For example, opera-tion of rescue boats, launching of boats and oil spill preparedness. They wanted to hear more about that part and they were very interested in our HSEQ programme and the whole safety culture in ESVAGT, says Thomas Fauerby.

He and HSEQ Manager, Steffen Rudbech, took care of the 26 students when they visited

"Esvagt Beta": - We would like to show them the environ-

ment so they could "see with their fingers". They also saw ESVAGT’s FRBs, and I felt that they had a good day in ESVAGT, says Thomas Fauerby.

- And at the same time we can learn from them. We hear about their way of doing things and get professional input we can use in our process of self-improving. It's always good to see how others solve the tasks, and I have agreed with them to visit their patrol vessel to see if I can get some good ideas from my visit, says Thomas Fauerby. n

Guests from the Naval Academy were parti-cularly interested in hearing how ESVAGT handles safety - both in terms of maritime safety but also in terms of internal safety culture. The newly appointed officers also showed great interest in ESVAGT’s FRBs.

NO. 3. 2009. SAFETY & SUPPORT AT SEA

10

Model maker is looking at "Esvagt Preventer" Model maker Harley Poulsen wants to build "Esvagt Preventer" in size 1:50. A year of patient fiddling work is ahead. Follow the progress in ESVAGT News.

There is hardly anyone who knows "Esvagt Preventer" as well as the crews working on the ship. But Harley Poulsen from Aabenraa comes close.

He has never been sailing on the ship, but in a year's time he will know every closet, eve-ry capstan, every nut and every riveted plate. He will know the precise measures and dimensions of the whole ship - and in his sleep he will be able to tell how many steps there are on the stairs, and the exact length of rope.

In a year he will have worked with "Esvagt Preventer" for about 1800 to 2000 hours - at home in his workshop. And he will be able to show an exact copy of "Esvagt Preventer" in scale 1:50:

- I was at the IOS model ship exhibition that took place in Esbjerg last summer, and I saw some ESVAGT ships, which I really wanted to build, says Harley Poulsen:

- First, I fell for "Esvagt Charlie", but it was not so easy to get onboard since it is not in port very often. And I have to be able to get close and see everything. So we asked ESVAGT whether they could provide us the drawings for "Esvagt Preventer" and luckily it was possible. ESVAGT has been very helpful - and I have been allowed to get onboard

"Esvagt Preventer" to take some photos, says Harley Poulsen.

11

Harley Poulsen will have to work some-where between 1600 and 2000 hours to create an exact copy of "Esvagt Preventer". We will follow the process and progress in construction here in ESVAGT News. There are more pictures at on the website http://modelskibe.informe.com/portal.html where Harley Poulsen will create a link. Search for "Esvagt Preventer".

It is not just "Esvagt Preventer" which is being scaled down to size 1:50. Also "Esvagt Echo" is being made in miniature. Harley Poulsen's model building col-league Anders Villesen will build "Esvagt Echo" - but he will work in plastics.

Facts:

With a beard The photos are now to be catalogued - there are 600 shots from all parts of "Esvagt Pre-venter’s” internal and external, from door handles to the tabletops. The trick is to repro-duce everything as accurately as possible:

- I have to get as close as possible. It is also why I have chosen to use materials such as fibre glass for the hull, tires will be a mix of aluminium and phosphor bronze, wheel-house etc. in phosphor bronze, various fit-tings - such as pipes, cranes, lights, railing - in a mix of brass, plastic and perspex. It costs, and I have to buy new tools so that I can work with it. But it gets more accurate scale-wise in this way. It also takes a little longer and is more expensive, says Harley Poulsen.

Are you also going to photograph the crews and build them up at 1:50?

- Ha, ha, no persons. But otherwise, I had made them with moustache and clothes, says Harley Poulsen.

And what if ESVAGT rebuilds "Esvagt Pre-venter"?

- Yes, that situation is classical. However, I choose to build my model from what the ship looked like the day I started. Otherwise, you will never get finished.

Harley Poulsen has built model ships since he was 14 years old. But it becomes a double debut as it is the first ESVAGT model and the first one he will build in phosphor bronze.

It is OK to knock on the workshop door!As with many other hobbies - stamps, coins, puzzles - it is time consuming to be a model builder. Harley Poulsen must first obtain the exact drawings. If he can get them from the yard, that is. Next, he must photograph the ship from fore to aft, whereafter the actual work must be planned carefully. It is pointless to start the job in the wrong order. And only then he can start building.

- We do it all ourselves. Turning, drilling, milling. There are no parts we can buy ready-made because they must fit exactly to scale. So yes, it takes time. But it is great. And in fact I have time for other hobbies, too. I help my daughter with her horses, for example. And I spend much time with my family. They are always welcome in the workshop, says Harley Poulsen with laughter. n

NO. 3. 2009. SAFETY & SUPPORT AT SEA

12

“Polar bear” was a canard It caused a stir when "Esvagt Champion" found a dead polar bear at the Gullfaks field. For a standby vessel "no news" is "good news".

Thus, it is far from common that ESVAGT’s standby vessels are able to supply news of such a kind that Norwegian TV2 is interested.

But in autumn "Esvagt Champion" found a floating - and very dead - "polar bear" west of Florø.

From the rig Borgland Dolphin something had been observed floating near the rig.

"Esvagt Champion" acting as standby vessel at Borgland launched an FRB in order to investi-gate the matter.

Initially the crew thought that it was a container, but when they came closer, they could see that it was a dead "polar bear". Or rather - a very dead "polar bear". The bear missed its head and feet because it was putre-fying. But the fur was still white and delicate, as was reported.

The story was broadcasted in Norwegian TV2 by reporter Ronald Toppe, who in his article

ESVAGT-NEWS PUBLISHED BY:ESVAGT A/SAdgangsvejen 1DK-6700 EsbjergTlf.: +45 33 98 77 00Fax: +45 33 98 77 05E-mail: mail@esvagt.dkWebsite: www.esvagt.dk

EDITOR:Anette Sørensen

TEXT:Sune Falther

LAYOUT: Webservice

PRINT:Tarm Bogtryk A/S

called it a “sensation” that a polar bear was seen so far south as the Gullfaks field.

The carcass was transported ashore where it still caused much fuss. But the "polar bear" turned out to be a canard.

It was indeed an animal of some kind and it was very dead - but it was not a polar bear:

"Department manager John Rune Buzzard from Herøy municipality, firmly believed it was a polar bear he and his men had found. Until the carcass came ashore", the website smp.no concluded:

“Then it became evident that it was a pre-liminarily unidentified sea mammal" the web-site writes.

That the animal resembled a polar bear was explained by the process of putrefaction having formed fibres that looks like fur. n

NO. 3. 2009. SAFETY & SUPPORT AT SEA