On Wednesday the 24th of August, the chargé d'affaires a.i. of the Norwegian Embassy, Ms Marianne Damhaug, attended the naming ceremony of two new ships: the Nordic Star, and Nordic Space.
The two vessels are owned by Nordic American Tankers Limited (NAT) founded and chaired by Norwegian businessman Herbjørn Hansson. The company was founded in 1995, with offices in Bermuda, Oslo and and Sandefjord, Norway. Hansson's involvement with Korean shipbuilding began in the 1980s, and 24 out of 30 tankers owned by NAT were built in South Korea. Mr Hansson was present at the naming ceremony, along with the ships' two sponsors, Ms Marianne Lie, and Ms Siv Helset.
Ms Lie has extensive experience from the shipbuilding and offshore industry, and is currently the Executive Vice Chair of Herbjørn Hansson's company, Nordic American Offshore Ltd. Ms Helset is a Norwegian lawyer with experience with legal counselling in the industry. The two ships being named were both built by Sungdong, one of the world's leading shipyards. NAT ordered the ships built by Sungdong in December 2014.
The occasion of the naming of the ships was marked with the attendance of guests from both Norwegian and Korean parties. As a part of the celebration, Nordic American Tankers donated 10 000USD for each ship, intended for the care of the elderly, disabled and less fortunate in the region.
In an effort to minimize the environmental impact of their vessels, and to adhere to increasingly strict international environmental regulations, both ships are built with energy-saving designs, and are consequently able to consume up to 10 % less fuel.
While Nordic Space is still awaiting completion in the shipyard, Nordic Star will sail its first operation in early September.
Source: Nordic American Tankers