UPDATE
GREEN LIGht fOR mega merger
DNV GL Group Now the worLD’s LarGest cLass
Henrik O. Madsen, Group CEO of DNV GL
The merger beTween Oslo-based DNV and Hamburg-Based GL Group is now a reality, creating the world’s largest classification society. Last month, one of the final hurdles was completed when competition authorities in South Korea, the U.S., the EU and China cleared the merger between the two organizations. The companies started operating as one entity on September 12. The new company, formally called DNV GL Group, will have 17,000 employees across 300 sites in more than 100 countries, and revenues of EUR 2,500 million per year. The merger leapfrogs DNV GL to the top spot in the world based on gross tonnage in class, ahead of ClassNK and ABS. All three classification societies have registered fleets in excess of 200 million gross tons. DNV GL will be the world’s largest ship and offshore classification society to the maritime industry, a leading provider of
technical assurance and risk management services to the oil & gas industry and a leading expert in wind and power transmission and distribution. DNV GL – the first consolidation of two leading classification societies – will be the world’s leading risk management service provider to the industries it serves. “It is with great pride that we can now inform that this vision-driven merger for growth has been cleared by the competition authorities in all four required jurisdictions. The merging companies both represent leading market positions, complementary commercial positions and an acknowledged reputation for advanced technology and high quality and integrity,” says Henrik O. Madsen, Group CEO of DNV GL. “DNV GL will be uniquely positioned to offer a broader set of products and services, more in-depth expertise and a denser global network of sites second to none,” he says. “Importantly, there is a strong commitment by both DNV and GL to the merged company continuing to invest heavily in technology, research and innovation.” Adds Madsen, “In today’s risk-sensitive environment, a company’s failure to manage risk properly may lead to adverse events, loss of life, damage to the environment or critical business consequences, putting trust and credibility at risk. I firmly believe that DNV GL will be in a stronger position to help companies manage their challenges in the new risk reality and enable them to advance the safety and sustainability of their operations.”
biz notes USCG exercises option for six more FRCs lasT monTh, the U.S. Coast Guard exercised a contract option worth $250.7 million with Bollinger Shipyards of Lockport, LA, to build six more Sentinel-class fast Response Cutters (fRCs) and deep insurance spares. the six fRCs delivered under this option will be delivered in 2016. the option brings the total number of fRCs under contract with Bollinger to 24 and the total value of the contract (to date) to $1.1 billion. to date, the Coast Guard has taken delivery of seven fRCs from the shipbuilder. Six have been commissioned into service. the seventh, Charles David Jr, will be commissioned into service this November in Key West, fL. the fRC uses a proven, in-service parent craft design based on the Damen Stan Patrol Boat 4708. It has a flank speed of 28+ knots and a 2,500 hours per year operational employment target.
One of the FRCs, the USCGC Robert Yered, supported a narcotics interdiction resulting in the seizure of $35 million worth of cocaine
NaVy officer, Ncis aGeNt aND DefeNse firm ceo accuseD iN bribery schemes In crImInal complaInTs unsealed September 17, a commander in the United States Navy, a special agent for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) and the CEO of a multinational defense contractor have been charged with two separate bribery schemes. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the complaints allege that Leonard Glenn Francis, CEO, Glenn Defense Marine Asia Ltd. (GDMA), paid U.S. Navy Commander Michael Vannak Khem Misiewicz and NCIS Supervisory Special Agent John Bertrand Beliveau II with luxury travel and prostitutes in exchange for confidential information and other assistance in relation to hundreds of millions of dollars in Navy contracts. 8 MARINE LOG October 2013
All three men were arrested on September 16, Francis in San Diego and Misiewicz and Beliveau in Colorado and Virginia, respectively. Francis is a Malaysian national who resides in Singapore. A multi-national company with headquarters in Singapore, GDMA provides hundreds of millions of dollars in “husbanding” services to the U.S. Navy, including procurement of items and services for ships and submarines when they arrive at port. Misiewicz, a commander and captain-select in the U.S. Navy is assigned to U.S. Northern Command located at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, CO. He previously served as the deputy operations officer for the U.S. Commander, Seventh Fleet aboard
the USS Blue Ridge, where he had high-level exposure to the operational planning for ships in the Seventh Fleet and for any U.S. Navy ship traveling through the Seventh Fleet’s area of responsibility. He also held influence in determining or modifying the schedule of port visits for U.S. Navy vessels. As a supervisory special agent for NCIS at Quantico, VA, Beliveau had access to the internal NCIS database containing investigative reporting, including reports into an investigation by NCIS into possible fraud committed by GDMA in billing the U.S. Navy under its contracts. Each defendant was charged with conspiring to commit bribery, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.