UBT Ocean: east of Haradere

UBT Ocean hijacked on March 5, chemical tanker, Marshall Island flagged , is now reported in the vicinity off the pirate stronghold east of Haradere.

Brovig, engaged in most trades, crude, oils and products, chemical tankers,
Th. Brøvig Group was founded in 1889 by Tharald Brøvigs great-grandfather Gunder Christian Brøvig and has followed the development from sail through steam up to the modern fleet. Throughout more than a century the company has sailed through rough weather and calm seas in a world shifting in world trade and politics. The Group has been engaged in most trades, crude, oils and products, chemical tankers, dry cargo bulk, fruit, live stock and container vessels. It also established a liner service between USA and Mexico. This line was operated by Brøvig for three decades. Eventually this line was sold to the Mexican state. Throughout the years the company has operated as time-charterer for both tank and dry cargo tonnage. During the late 1970’s the shipping business world wide suffered from overcapacity and decreased demand for transport. During this period several old vessels were sold and some new vessels came into the fleet. In the early 1980’s the Norwegian K/S system was reintroduced, and this led to a giant investment by Norwegian shipowners, mostly in second hand tonnage. This was also the case with Th. Brøvig. These new investments, however turned out to be very expensive, and the company suffered heavy losses due to very high operational costs and falling freightmarkets. It finally was decided to cut losses and the vessels were sold, the last one in 1992. The Group was restructured by Tharald Brøvig in 1992 as the sole owner of the Group. The Groups activities have from then been diversified in venture and shipping where venture has been the main activity.

UBT Ocean: no contact with pirates

The last message was from the captain of the Norwegian oil product tanker "UBT Ocean" which was captured by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean on March 5 was that pirates had entered the tanker, and no contact has been re-established. here

The shipping investment of Ugland Holdings compromise of five chemical carriers owned together with partners via Ugland Brøvig Tankers Pte Ltd, a Singapore based company, Kjell Rune Staddeland, 46, the former head of JB Ugland Holding in Grimstad, has lodged a NOK 125 million (USD 20m) claim against his former employer after having been kicked out of the company last November with only two days´ notice. Staddeland was replaced by 27-year-old Johan Martin Ugland, the son of owner Johan Benad Ugland. Staddeland also quit board membership of 15 companies in the Ugland group. He owns four percent of the shares in JB Ugland Holding and for the past six months has been negotiating a deal whereby his stake would be repurchased by Ugland, However, the talks broke down and Staddeland has brought the case against JB Ugland in a local court. He is demanding NOK 5m in compensation for what he considers an unlawful firing by the company and is suing Johan Benad Ugland personally for not standing by a deal to puchase Staddeland´s stake in the company for NOK 120m. Staddeland has been with the company for 17 years.JB Ugland sold most of its shipping activities to Siva Ventures of India early last year before the market crashed.Some observers have suggested that the value of JB Ugland Holding is NOK 2.5bn..here

UBT Ocean: NAVFOR tracking hijacked tanker

The EU's anti-piracy mission said March 6 it was tracking a hijacked chemical tanker off east Africa

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.