GOTHENBURG, Sweden, April 18, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Being concerned with the long-term supply of qualified officers and crews for operating in ice conditions and to secure both companies' future supply of well-educated officers and crews, Sovcomflot and Stena today signed a Crew Education and Cooperation Agreement.
Sovcomflot and Stena have jointly agreed to sponsor the Admiral Makarov State Maritime Academy in St. Petersburg in order to secure a steady supply of talented young officers. Stena already has an existing cooperation with Chalmers Lindholmen Maritime School in Gothenburg, and all parties have now agreed to work towards a closer integration between these education centers. The support for the Admiral Makarov State Maritime Academy will primarily go towards the creation of an ice-training centre and existing training programs. The sponsorship is a continuation of Sovcomflot's long term support of the Admiral Makarov State Maritime Academy.
All parties have agreed to cooperate in the field of exchanging ``best practices" to continuously collect experience from Sovcomflot and Stena Bulk in the running of the existing tankers. Sergey Frank, President of Sovcomflot comments; "The safe and efficient operation of oil tankers in the Baltic Sea is totally dependent on the skill of the officers and crews that man the vessels. What better way can we support education than by supporting the Makarov Academy and the ice-training centre in St.Petersburg, right in the "heart of the ice-trade".
Dan-Sten Olsson, CEO of Stena, comments; "Our objective of providing ever safer tanker transportation is clearly visible of our new building program. We have a special focus on ice traffic in our home waters. We want to show our commitment to the Baltic region by teaming up with Sovcomflot to secure the stable supply of well educated and trained officers and crews for our tankers."
Stena Bulk operates 69 vessels with a total deadweight of 6.0 million tonnes and is active in the international tanker and bulk-carrier markets with offices in Gothenburg, Moscow, London, Houston, Singapore and Beijing.
Sovcomflot is the largest Russian shipping company. It operates 47 vessels with a total deadweight of 3.6 million mt via its offices in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Limassol, London and Geneva. Its 35 strong tanker fleet is one of the youngest in the industry. Sovcomflot currently employ 3,500 seafarers.
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