UBT Ocean: far south of the hijack zone

Marshall Island flagged , UBT Ocean, IMO 9408360, is reported to have been hijacked on Friday morning 300 nautical miles from Dar El Salam. a chemical tanker operated commercially and technically from Singapore. The ship's operating company Nautictank received the message at 06.30 Norwegian time-time and notified the Norwegian government through the Norwegian Maritime Directorate.

Ugland Brøvig Tankers (UBT) is the owner of the initial 4 ships operated by NT. The ship was far south of the zone where most of the hijacking occurs, and where the ship's captain must report their position and route to military patrol vessels. Basically this was a completely safe zone, and we had no reason to believe that the pirates operated in these waters" said managing director Svenn O. Pedersen. UBT Ocean was not registered on MSCHOA. UBT Ocean has a crew of 21 and they are all from Myanmar/Burma.

Following the sale of J.B.Ugland Shipping AS in February 2008, the shipping investment of J. B. Ugland Holding AS compromise of five chemical carriers owned together with partners via Ugland Brøvig Tankers Pte Ltd, a Singapore based company.
Lux Nordic Wealth Management S.A. was established in October 2007 in Luxembourg by JB Ugland Holding AS. The JB Ugland family has traditions in farming, trade and shipping dating back to 1290. JB Ugland Holding AS is the parent company for the JB Ugland family’s activities which involve shipping, real-estate, industry and finance. JB Ugland Holding AS is a long-term investor and owns the premises in 60 Grand Rue, where Lux Nordic Wealth Management S.A. is located.
In one of the largest cross-border corporate acquisitions in India valued at Rs.1,200 Crores (USD 300 million), Siva Ventures Limited (SVL), the flagship company of the USD 2 Billion Sterling Infotech Group announced the acquisition of the Norwegian shipping firm J.B. Ugland Shipping AS (JBUS) from J.B. Ugland Holding AS for a total consideration of approximately US$ 300 million (INR 1,200 Crores). The transaction was agreed in January 2008 and closed on 15 February 2008. As part of the transaction the incumbent management of JBUS, led by its CEO Mr. Bjorn Bergsland, will continue to manage the company. And as part of the negotiated deal the company has the rights to use the brand name of JBUS for 3 years and will continue trading under the J.B.Ugland name following the acquisition.

Gezina AS is controlled by Tharald, Thea and Ina Brøvig. The shipping activities are operated by the subsidiary Brøvigtank AS. Brøvigtank AS owns 41% in Brøvig UBT AS which owns 50% in Ugland Brøvig Tankers Pte. Ltd. in Singapore.


The Marshall Islands Registry is the world’s third largest open registry with more than 52.3 million gross tons and 2,102 registered vessels.