HIGH ACTIVITY IN ØSTENSJØ’S CORONA TASK FORCE
Busy in the Corona Task Force meetings.
In the middle of February we saw the contours of the infection that could come, and created our own Corona Task Force. We were, in other words, quick to realise that we could expect large challenges in our shipping operations. The work in this Task Force took a lot of time and effort, explain Sveinung Zahl and Elias T. Nornes. They are convinced that the Task Force played a large role during the pandemic. BY TERJE EMIL JOHANNESSEN
- We quickly began to work with a strengthening of the emergency preparedness in the whole organisation. This proved to be a wise decision in hindsight. We developed advice and guidelines to all of our clients and we set up a good and detailed information distribution system to all our crews on board. We were in fact extra vigilant throughout the whole 2020, and managed to limit any damages, Sveinung Zahl explains. - Well along the way, we got to the point that the crews and officers on each vessel took ownership of all measures that we made, adds Elias T. Nornes. The Task Force did not implement 28
ØSTENSJØ REDERI
any measures before all vessels were informed of these and understood them in advance. - A huge job has been done on board of all vessels, he ascertains and continues: - In the office we had to deal with a complicated human landscape. Some vessels have a crew on three, others have full compliment of 70 persons, many from different countries. Requirements and regulations form clients, local and foreign authoreties and ports states that continuously changes in line with the development of the pandemic has made it challenging
