Sustainability is more than nice flashy words - Grieg Maritime Group

This article was featured in the official IMPA publication - Supply Chain and Sustainability Magazine, Issue 1 2024

Grieg Maritime Group has always taken the long-term view – and that translates into a focus on sustainability across all aspects of the business, says Eli Vassenden, VP Fleet Support at the group’s ship management arm, Grieg Star. She spoke to Felicity Landon.

Perhaps, back in the 1880s, the word ‘sustainability’ wasn’t even in the vocabulary of the founder of Grieg Maritime Group. However, what we do know is that there was definitely a focus on doing the right thing. Today, Grieg’s vision is ‘Creating maritime solutions for a better future’, and that vision has clearly come down the generations of this still family-owned enterprise.

“We have long had a saying within the group that we are here to make money, have fun and behave properly,” says Eli Vassenden. “For us, sustainability is more than the environment and it is more than the climate. It is everything – people, society, diversity, education, innovation, anti-corruption, the economy. For us, sustainability is more than nice flashy words. It is what we strive to be, and what we actually do.”

Grieg Maritime Group bases its mission on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, with a specific focus on five SDGs: 4, quality education; 5, gender equality; 9, industry, innovation and infrastructure; 13, climate action; and 14, life below water.

“When these SDGs were implemented in the company, we ran a workshop for our employees and also our board of directors, CEOs and top management, so everyone got it under their skin at the same time,” says Eli.

Grieg, based in Bergen, is still 75% family owned. Crucially, the other 25% is owned by the Grieg Foundation, which was set up in 2002 with the objective of giving something back to society.

“That means that on each dollar we make, 25 cents go back to society, with a focus on children’s education, health research and women’s health, music, culture and environmental and climate policies,” she explains. “This is about the company behaving properly and also for us as employees knowing that for each dollar that we help to earn, we are contributing back to society. That makes us proud. The other important factor is that our owners have always been active partners. They are there for the discussions and the decisions and that clearly helps the company to take the long-term view.”

Grieg Maritime Group owns 31 open hatch vessels and employs more than 680 people. It has set a goal of cutting emissions from the fleet by 50% by 2030 versus 2008 emissions and will then seek zero emissions by 2050.

The company has recently signed a contract for up to four ammonia-ready, 82,300 dwt open hatch vessels for delivery in 2026. These vessels will join the G2 Ocean fleet; a partnership between Grieg and Gearbulk, G2 Ocean is the world’s largest ship operator in the open hatch segment.

While the shipping industry continues to discuss and debate the correct choice of fuel for decarbonisation, Grieg has taken a flexible option by ordering the vessels as ammonia ready. “This means they can be retrofitted for ammonia but can also be retrofitted to other fuels,” says Eli. “It is important to have the flexibility and the time to decide, because the answer is not there yet. We need to be sure that the bunkering infrastructure is in place.”

In 2022, Grieg did a major study into ammonia as a fuel and many clients were very happy that someone finally took a lead to dig into one of the solutions, she says. “We had a queue of companies wanting to participate in this study. The industry does need to take the lead – if we are just hanging back waiting for the authorities to decide something, we won’t move forward. We hope that everyone will share their projects so that we can learn as an industry. You need to lead the way, be open, and share for the common good.”

Meanwhile, Grieg’s joint venture with Peak Group, Skarv Shipping Solutions, has ordered four 7,000 low-carbon multipurpose vessels, with an option for four more. The first will be delivered in 2025 and will run on short sea trades in Europe.

Scrapping of vessels – or, to put it better, recycling – is a major area of concern across the industry. Eli says the company long ago made the decision that it did not want its ships to end up dumped on a beach, causing pollution and possibly harming workers. “We wanted to do it properly. We were chasing yards to assist us in this – and we were successful. That developed into Grieg Green, and ever since then we have always done proper green recycling, making sure it is sustainable as far as possible.”

She says Grieg is like many shipowners in Bergen, focusing on shipping from cradle to grave – design, build, operate, recycle. “We are not asset play shipowners.”

Equally, the company chooses its financial partners carefully. “We make sure they are the right ones – we do our due diligence. Lately, we have seen that financial partners are imposing new requirements on us as shipowners – for example, they require green recycling if they are going to agree a loan. So it goes both ways and that is very good. We are only able to grow together and can’t reach our sustainability goals alone.”

Grieg is also proactive in the drive to reduce plastic. It has already reduced single use plastic bottles onboard its ships by 75%. “This is a solid result. Our suppliers are a vital part – we as shipowners cannot do it alone. Our suppliers need to stop packing everything in plastic and find new methods. We also have guidelines for the vessels, which are not allowed to land plastic just anywhere in the world. We have defined areas for landing plastic – that means they need to have compactors on board, so they can handle and store plastic until they reach an offloading point.”

Sustainability also includes, of course, the sustainability of the company itself. “You need to have cost-effectiveness and safety in place. You need to make money over time, or you will lose jobs or have to cut back and that would have an impact on the communities where our offices are, as well as our seafarers and their families,” says Eli.

“Our owners have always been there to do good and that has naturally evolved into what is now the buzz word of sustainability. It’s been the foundation of the company. We are not here to make shortcuts; we are here to behave and do it the right way.”