Our personnel

Our employees are our most valuable asset and we maintain high standards when recruiting. Site teams report directly to head office, which acts as a support organisation with 24/7 duty.

Vessel crew

Our personnel policy is unique for a crew vessel operator. We employ all our personnel full time and have a double crew on all vessels. The personnel rotation schedule allows crews to work approximately two weeks on and two weeks off. Crew members onboard are always rested and alert. This allows for flexibility when so required – changing working hours on a specific day for example. When crew members are unavailable we have a full crew off duty from which to select a replacement. This crew member is familiar with the vessel, the site, company requirements etc. Standby crews can be onsite within 12-24 hours. Having worked on several subcontracting projects for offshore wind farms, we have a considerable experience of transferring both crews and equipment. All crews are experienced in operating to/from windturbines and provide expert service of high excellence.

Weather at a site can change very suddenly. Which means clients sometimes need to change working hours on a specific day in order to reach a weather window. Our method of dealing with such situations is highly appreciated by our clients and our flexibility gives them added value difficult to measure in purely monetary terms.

It is of great importance for our employees to have specific “know-how” about the type of vessels we operate. Other qualities we highly value in our crews are versatility and helpfulness. The majority of our Masters have been working at sea their entire working life. And our seamen are highly experienced and possess the right seaman mentality.

Vessels used in the crew transfer industry have become more and more specialised in recent years. If the wrong person handles the vessel, efficiency drops. To avoid this all new employees are given a practical course with our vessels and our quality system is explained to them in advance. This enables them to read and understand our specialised procedures and other important operations data. When arriving at a new project all our masters are well prepared, either through experience gained from working with similar projects in our company or by training in our home harbour.

All personnel serving on vessels managed by Northern Offshore Services shall have passed Basic Safety (Sea Survival), First Aid, Fire Fighting courses etc. All onboard crew hold certificates issued by STCW-95, for safe manning aboard and are directly employed by Northern Offshore Services. Our aim is to establish personal relations with each and every crew member. The extensive contact network operated by our home base results in almost 75 per cent of our employees being well known to senior management.

Office crew

Project management and support facilities are based at the headquarters of Northern Offshore Services, located on Donsö, Sweden and our office in Esbjerg, Denmark. From here, a staff of 12 persons supply our vessels with quick and professional support. Our aim is to keep downtime as low as possible, and pre-maintenance as good as possible.

At the offices, technicians, safety-, quality- and operational managers, all dedicated to and experienced in their special working areas, provide optimum support and function as part of our vessel team. All administration, including financial, marketing departments etc., is located in our offices. The level of communication between the offices departments is high and likewise between the offices and vessel teams.

A 24 hour emergency number known to our personnel ensures that we work to our main guidelines, stay prepared and enables pro-active action, that all personnel in our organisation know. A technical superintendent is constantly on duty to answer any emergency calls and the crew can obtain support from the shore based organisation at all times. This facility has proven very important and successful. Thus our superintendents become familiar with our vessels and can provide appropriate support to the crew or service company attending the vessel in a short amount of time.

One staff member in each department is responsible for ensuring that all systems are in order all the time. And we make sure that prior to weekends and other holidays the chain of emergency command is well known to all.

Danish office

In February 2010, Northern Offshore Services AB formed a Danish subsidiary: Northern Offshore Services A/S. Northern Offshore Services A/S is located in Esbjerg. The office is run by a technical director and an administrator. Together with the HQ, they are responsible for Danish registered vessels and their crews. All crew members working on our Danish flagged vessels are hired by Northern Offshore Services A/S.