Mon 10 Nov 2014, 14:19 GMT

OW Bunker staff meet to discuss the future


Employees have today attended meetings with the estate's trustees and Denmark's largest union for salaried employees.



Employees of bankrupt marine fuel supplier OW Bunker have today attended a meeting with the estate's trustees, where they were informed about developments within the company and what lies in store for them in the future.

Also present in Nørresundby today was Kate Ziegler [pictured], chairman of HK Handel Nordjylland, Denmark's largest union for salaried employees.

Danish newspaper Berlingske today quotes Ziegler as saying: "Many of those we spoke to reacted with shock. They are deeply shocked, frustrated and sad. They walked home from work in crisis."

This afternoon, HK has been holding an information session where employees of OW Bunker have had the opportunity to learn about their rights and obtain advice from the union about the future.

"They have been crammed full of information, and it's all a little hard to handle right now. So it's really the most to the tell them that we are here for them and support them," Berlingske quotes Ziegler as saying.

"It's a kind of collective group therapy; for many it is a crisis to lose their job. In the worst-case scenario it is 140 people out of work now, and we all know well that vacancies do not grow on trees these days. It's not fun just before Christmas," Ziegler added.

Pernille Bigaard, partner and head of insolvency law at Plesner, and John Sommer Schmidt, partner at Gorrissen Federspiel, were officially appointed as trustees of the estate on Friday, November 7.

According to Bigaard's company profile, she has been involved in a number of bankruptcy and restructuring proceeedings involving Danish organizations, including Sterling Airlines A/S, Centerplan A/S, Sandgården A/S, Buksesnedkeren A/S and BIVA A/S. She is said to be a trained mediator, a member of Foreningen af Mediatoradvokater (a Danish association for mediation lawyers) and been involved in the drafting of several reports on insolvency law through her membership and chairmanship of the insolvency law committee of the General Council of the Danish Bar and Law Society.

Sommer Schmidt specializes in financial difficulty issues, which includes restructuring, voluntary debt arrangements and the settlement of financially distressed companies.


Alisios vessel. Axpo completes first LNG bunkering in Valencia, with over half bio-LNG  

Ship-to-ship transfer to a container vessel makes Valencia the company's fourth Spanish port for LNG bunkering.

Christening ceremony of Makua vessel. Matson christens Makua, first of three LNG-ready Aloha Class container ships  

Dual-fuel vessel, due for delivery in early 2027, is the first of three ships worth around $1bn.

CMB.Tech logo. CMB.Tech seeks Singapore-based ammonia operations manager for Asia Pacific  

New hire will oversee ammonia chartering and bunkering and liaise with Far East partners.

Lumi Aurora vessel. IINO Lines deploys first Ice Class IB VLGC on long-term charter to Borouge International  

LPG-fuelled Lumi Aurora will carry North American gas to Borouge International's Porvoo plant in Finland.

Abelina Wagenborg vessel launch. Wagenborg launches first EasyMax 2.0 vessel, prepared for methanol, ammonia and LNG  

Abelina Wagenborg, built at Niestern Sander, is the first of a new generation designed for multiple alternative fuels.

NYK and MISC joint venture signing. NYK–MISC joint venture signs charter for 18,700-cbm LNG carrier with Malaysia LNG  

Asia LNG Transport will operate the dual-fuel diesel-electric newbuild, due from Hudong-Zhonghua in 2028, on routes to Japan.

Tsuneishi logo. Study finds methanol dual-fuel retrofit of Kamsarmax bulk carrier would take about 75 days  

Report by Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center, involving Tsuneishi, puts conversion costs at 25–30% of the cost of a conventionally fuelled newbuilding.

LR, Shell and GTT joint development project (JDP) launch. Lloyd's Register, Shell and GTT launch joint project on hybrid-electric 200,000-cbm LNG carrier  

Partners to develop a concept combining hybrid-electric propulsion with GTT NEXT1 cargo containment technology for larger LNG carriers.

ClearMariner homepage. ClearMariner expands maritime sanctions screening with ESG, emissions and API support  

Online service now combines sanctions checks with voyage CO₂, CII, EU ETS and FuelEU Maritime estimates.

Long Jing Xin, Flex Commodities. Flex Commodities adds Long Jing Xin to Singapore marine fuels team  

Company appoints associate for marine fuels as part of plan for regional expansion.