Anders Fjord, CEO for North Sea Hagland Shipbrokers, met up with PES to tell us about the changes in the company over the last couple of years. The company has expanded, there is an increase in demand for more vessels, with higher specifications from the renewables market and new horizons opening in the US and Taiwan. So things are looking good….
PES: Welcome back to PES Wind magazine. Thanks for talking with us. It’s been a couple of years since we last spoke, so for the benefit of our new readers, would you like to begin by explaining a little about the background of your organisation and how you currently serve the wind industry?
Anders Fjord: The company was founded in 1976 by Orla Fjord, and has since developed from a small sale & purchase shipbrokers, working with the fishing industry, into one of the leading shipbrokers supporting all maritime industries.
The company entered the offshore renewables market in 2007. Our impact was such that we are now one of the leading offshore renewables shipbrokers.
In January 2018, RG Hagland, Shipbrokers from Haugesund, Norway, acquired 49% of the company. Following this we changed our name to North Sea Hagland Shipbrokers ApS.
The two companies combined their shipbroking to serve the renewable markets. The two companies also cooperate closely in other areas, strengthening the service solutions within other segments, such as subsea, oil and gas, tugs, and sale and purchase.
Then in May 2018, North Sea Hagland Shipbrokers ApS, Denmark, acquired the majority of shares in NSH-Shipbrokers GmbH Germany. This combined organisation is now well placed to provide a broader range of integrated services and solutions to the industry worldwide.
PES: Has there been much change in the market since we last spoke?
AF: Yes we see now the market is picking up after a hard 2016 and 2017, when in fact a lot of projects were postponed. A low oil price has also had an effect on the market. We are now seeing the markets picking up for many vessel types, such as CTVs (Crew Transfer Vessel) and WTWs (Walk to Work). There are not many bigger CTVs and WTWs available for the summer 2018 campaigns.
