Hong Kong delegation visits headquarters

Among the delegation were senior government officials overseeing maritime and port services, as well as members of the Hong Kong Maritime and Port Board. 

Odfjell was one of the stops on their tour, together with the Norwegian Minister of Trade and Fisheries, the Norwegian Shipowner’s Association, DNVGL, Grieg Group and the Mayor of Bergen. 

At Odfjell, COO Harald Fotland welcomed the delegation and highlighted our company’s tradition for innovation: 

“Odfjell invented the chemical tanker parcel trade in the late 50s, built the first stainless steel chemical tanker in the early 60s, ventured into storage terminals in the 70s, and build the world’s largest chemical tanker in 2013. We have a tradition for innovation, and today we will try to give you insight into how we define and meet expectations for green shipping.” 

VP Technology Erik Hjortland introduced the delegation to selected technology and sustainability solutions, showing tangible results. 

Featured projects:

• Fleet performance 
• Weather routing
• Propeller polishing
• Anti-fouling
• Reversed osmosis
• Propulsion system upgrade
• Newbuildings
• Fuel cell

“I must say we have come to the right place. Hong Kong has a strong base of ship owners and managers. We have a total 2200 vessels, dead weight tonnage of 180 million, we own and manage around 10% of the global fleet. In terms of energy efficiency, you show that Odfjell has already improved energy efficiency by 30% in the last decade. Think how much energy we can save in the years ahead if we could transfer this to our fleet. Very helpful presentation.”

Frank Chan, Hong Kong Secretary for Transport and Housing

After a Q&A session, the delegation was given a guided tour of the office by Harald Fotland and COS Øistein Jensen, before moving on to the next meeting.