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| Lauritzen Fleet Management Senior Vice President Claus Pavar Lauritzen Fleet Management is the ship management function of JL. The objective is to undertake quality ship management for JL’s fleet, primarily the gas carriers and reefer vessels but also other vessels owned or controlled by JL. Environmental protection, maritime security, safety and cost control have top priority. In addition to full technical and crew management, Lauritzen Fleet Management offers a wide range of support services such as inspections, performance monitoring, IT-services, dry-docking supervision, special projects, insurance, quality assurance, technical purchasing and controlled atmosphere management. Lauritzen Fleet Management was responsible in 2003 for technical management of 36 vessels, with seven of these being managed by Lauritzen Kosan’s Spanish subsidiary, Gasnaval. The vessels fly quality flags such as British, Danish, Hong Kong, Portuguese and Spanish and are manned with a complement of experienced and qualified officers and ratings. After a successful two-year TeamShip project, all Family Class reefer vessels are now operated under this challenging concept, thus improving onboard co-operation, job satisfaction for crew and, not least, the overall performance of the vessels in question. Unexpected off-service was 0.6% for the reefer fleet and 0.8% for the gas carriers, compared to 0.9% and 1.3%, respectively, in 2002. The target for 2003 was 0.5% for the reefer vessels and 0.9% for the gas carriers. In the aftermath of the tragic 11 September 2001, in December 2002 the UN International Maritime Organisation (IMO) adopted new provisions in The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea and the International Ship & Port Security Facility code with 1 July 2004 as the deadline for implementation and certification of ports and ships. All vessels under Lauritzen Fleet Management will have obtained their International Ship Security Certificate in due time before the deadline. JL expects its early compliance with the ISPS code to provide competitive advantage. Naturally, all vessels under management are ISM certified. Owned vessels regularly calling at US ports have also received the Certificate of Eligibility in recognition of their compliance with the requirements of the US Coast Guard’s Qualship 21 Scheme - fewer than 10% of all foreign-flagged vessels operating in US waters have earned this designation. Environment and safety Protection of the environment, safety at sea and a high degree of maritime security have top priority at JL. Lauritzen Fleet Management acknowledges the possible impacts sea transport can have on the environment and is committed to maintaining a high standard for environmental protection for all activities whether ashore or at sea. JL provides and maintains a healthy working environment for our employees. The IMO has sanctioned a number of comprehensive regulations and conventions covering a range of matters such as prevention of pollution, maritime security, safe operation of ships and standards of competence for seafarers. To ensure these conventions are observed, a considerable number of audits and inspections are carried out around the world not only by Lauritzen Fleet Management’s superintendents and the Flag States, but also by Port States and customer’s vetting departments. More than 200 inspections in all have been carried out, with NIL detentions. In addition to the International Safety Management Code (ISM), an environmental accounting system based on ISO 14000 is in force. Lauritzen Fleet Management is aware that a number of systems and contaminants aboard can have a negative impact on the environment, so we are continuing to focus and take measures to also reduce such impacts. In line with international legislation, Lauritzen Fleet Management has for some while now only applied TBT-free antifouling so as to avoid the contamination from the old TBT-based paints previously used. Again in 2003, all JL vessels voluntarily participated in the AMVER System to help make the seven seas safer. Three vessels were involved in rescue operations, saving ten lives. Incidents that could lead to industrial accidents, pollute the environment or create other damages or loss of valuable items are carefully examined and analysed, with the conclusions and recommendations being distributed to all vessels so as to avoid such occurrences in the future. Energy consumption Over the period, the total energy consumption used for propulsion and power production for the fleet was fairly stable; however, the minor changes seen are due to actual trading patterns combined with cargo capacity utilization. Compared to the gas vessels, the reefer fleet has somewhat higher consumption due to refrigeration and controlled atmosphere plant. 
CO2 emissions Emissions are closely connected with energy consumption and can only be reduced by minimizing the consumption of bunker oil, so Lauritzen Fleet Management focuses on optimizing engine performance, best possible route planning, having clean underwater hulls/propellers and a minimum of ballast time. SOx/NOx emissions Emission figures are based on the oil quality and type of engine concerned. However, the availability of low sulphur oil is limited. About 50% of the gas carrier fleet uses marine diesel oil (0.2% sulphur), whereas the entire reefer fleet uses heavy (2.5% sulphur) fuel. |