DNV powering on in its century-old cooperation with China

With a "V" in the abbreviation of its name - Det Norske Veritas (DNV) - the Norwegian non-profit foundation that delivers risk management services worldwide has marked a neat "V" for victory in its performance in China.

The global leader in a range of maritime industries, DNV has its roots in shipbuilding and today continues to set standards for building, evaluating and inspecting the seaworthiness of ships, as well as aiding shipyards with projects.

Through technological prowess, innovation, competence and extensive experience worldwide, DNV secured orders in China to certify 280 new vessels of 23 million deadweight tons (dwt) in 2007 alone, thus making DNV the biggest winner in the Chinese shipbuilding inspection industry, with 24 percent market shares.

Bonds between DNV and China can be traced back more than a century. In 1888 it established a foothold in Xiamen, a southeastern coastal city in east China's Fujian province, to provide inspection services to European merchant vessels.

The century-old relationship witnessed a resurgent closeness when DNV was among the early overseas business explorers during the country's opening-up in the 1970s.

The Norwegian foundation moved its China headquarters from Hong Kong to Shanghai in 1995, with then Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland attending the opening ceremony.

The far-sighted move shows DNV's confidence in its prospects in the country.

Dramatic growth

DNV's revenue growth rate of its China operations was reported at 45 percent last year, significantly higher than its global average growth.

The Chinese market has contributed to more than 10 percent of DNV worldwide revenue.

Chinese shipyards had about 23 percent of the global market in 2007, a significant increase over 18 percent in 2006, following South Korea and Japan as the world's top shipbuilders.

With ambitions to grow into the world's shipbuilding leader by 2015, the country is expected to embrace even faster growth of its shipbuilding industry.

DNV is well positioned to ride high on the industrial tide, with a growing number of China-made ships setting DNV records in recent years.

Among them are four 388,000 dwt very large ore carriers - the world's largest of their kind - for Bergesen Worldwide (BW) Shipping built at China Shipbuilding Industry Corp (CSIC) Group's Bohai Shipyard scheduled for delivery in 2011 and 2012.

DNV and BW Shipping worked closely on the design with the shipbuilder.

To better capitalize on China's huge industrial growth potential, DNV has expanded its presence and established a stronger team in the country.

With a network of 36 offices in 20 cities and nearly 800 staff, DNV's facilities in China are by far the biggest operational unit outside its Norwegian head office.

Technological solutions

In 2006 DNV selected China to debut its third Nauticus Hull edition, software on structural rules for both tankers and bulk carriers, released just two months after the rules by the International Association of Classification Societies came into force.

The new software helps Chinese shipyards improve their capacities in innovation, safety and design and also brings more benefits to ship owners to enhance flexibility in ship designs and shorter delivery time.

DNV established its third software development center in Shanghai in January to provide tailor-made technological solutions to local markets.

Its other software centers are in Oslo and London.

The CCS-DNV Technology Institute, jointly invested by the China Classification Society and DNV, has also evidenced DNV's efforts in this direction. The institute is the first of its kind in the country, providing laboratory and research services to the maritime and offshore industries in China and the Far East at large.

Combining its maritime know-how with IT competence DNV will be able to address key challenges that the Chinese maritime industry is encountering on its way to technology leadership, according to the foundation.

In addition, DNV has forged a strategic partnership with COSCO Shipyard Group, which was announced at the World Shipping (China) Summit 2007 held in Tianjin.

The cooperation with the leading Chinese maritime heavyweight gives DNV further involvement in China's shipping industry.

"As a knowledge-based company, our prime assets are the creativity, knowledge and expertise of our 8,500 employees from more than 97 nations," says DNV.

"We like to share the 'assets' with China and contribute to its growth."

To facilitate the competence building-up and DNV's expertise transfer, the foundation has set up training academies in Dalian, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The academic network has trained more than 2,000 professionals to date.

In addition, DNV has established scholarship at Harbin Engineering University and Shanghai Jiaotong University.

Business diversification

While DNV is known for its expertise in shipping and offshore operations, almost 30 percent of its business in China is derived from its certification operations, spanning industries, from certifying Tsingtao Beer to big American car producers in Shanghai.

As a leading certification organization, DNV has issued more than 5,000 certificates concerning all major international standards.

The foundation has made a record, issuing most of the first certificates in China, like the first ISO 9000 in 1991, the first OHSAS18001 in 1998, the first BS 7799 in 2000 and the first ISO 270001 IN 2006.

DNV also specializes in training and assessment services for risk management.

In the energy sector, DNV has been involved in verification and certification services for offshore oil and gas installations since the early 1980s and started to provide extended services to onshore downstream sectors like refineries, petrochemicals plants, and liquefied natural gas terminals in 2001.

The 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10) released by the central government has attached a far greater emphasis on energy efficiency and environmental issues than ever before, which meshes well with the future energy mix in the country, DNV says.

Beijing has committed to having 10 percent of all its energy from renewable resources, up from currently below 2 percent.

To achieve the goal for a populous country like China is a huge commitment, one that dwarfs almost every Western nation, says DNV.

The foundation has enhanced its cooperation with authorities in the bid to save energy and reduce carbon emissions.

DNV and China Energy Conservation Association will offer training on energy management from May 28 to 30 in Dalian, a northeastern coastal city in China's Liaoning province, where shipbuilding is the city's pillar industry.

Targeting energy management professionals, the training series will cover the current energy situation, related laws and regulations, energy measurements, technology, funding channels, a new saving-source mechanism and assessment on carbon emission reduction.

DNV has also expanded into IT risk management to help hi-tech firms control their risk in IT management.

"We are here to help with new solutions in maritime, energy and industrial sector," says DNV.

"We all increasingly feel part of the Chinese community so we will continue to support social initiatives and programs in the local communities."

(China Daily 05/16/2008 page18)