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TWST: Can we start with a brief historical sketch and introduction to Odfjell (Oslo: ODF.OL)?

Mr. Bjelland: Odfjell was established back in 1916. It started off by as a shipping company, mainly operating in the tanker and broker sector. In the 1950s, the company was one of the pioneers in establishing the chemical tanker trade and we also went into tank terminals in the 1960s. We were one of the earliest public terminals, built primarily in South America. We steadily grew the business in the 1970s building new ships. In 1982 built a big tank terminal in Houston, US. We have become quite interested in tank terminals, which is the link between the shore and the ship, over recent years. Primarily, they are in important logistical distribution centers like Houston, Rotterdam, and Singapore, and Korea, which is a very important shipment distribution point for chemicals. The main area of business is large ships that are transport between the continents, e.g. from Europe to U.S, U.S. to Far East, and we have a substantial global market share.

TWST: How many ships do you have in the fleet?

Mr. Bjelland: We have a total of 87 ships, and we own about 50 of those ships.

TWST: Do your activities in the tank terminals involve partnerships or are they fully owned and operated by Odfjell?

Mr. Bjelland: It’s a mixture. In most of tank terminals we have the operational responsibility ourselves. We do also have joint ventures in some places. The biggest terminals are Houston and Rotterdam, and we own 100% there. But in the Far East and the newly industrialized countries we have local partners. In Singapore, for example, we have 50:50 joint venture with another tank terminal operator; in Korea, we have 50:50 joint venture with a chemical producer; and in Dalian and Ningbo, China we have local port authorities present.

TWST: What is your quick analysis of the next 6 to 12 months?

Mr. Bjelland: We believe that the market will be a little bit better than last year, but we don’t expect too much improvement over the year. So, basically the base case scenario is the level of results we experienced in the fourth quarter.

TWST: Can I extend that question and ask specifically what's on your agenda over that same time period?

Mr. Bjelland: Last year, we merged with a big competitor. In 2000 we merged with a big competitor and bought the terminal in Rotterdam. In 2001 and 2002, we invested in some tank terminals in the Fareast. And we would like to work to improve the efficiency both in the ships and the terminals, improving the link between the two and thereby increasing operational efficiently, speeding up ship turnaround times, which increases revenue because at the end of the day you don’t money staying in ports. So the goal is to improve overall efficiency a little by little across all areas; it is a business that required gradual changes and fine-tuning.

TWST: In terms of competition, do you benchmark against other companies?

Mr. Bjelland: The largest competitor that we have is probably Stolt-Nielsen. Their transportation group is quite comparable to our operation. I think we are fairly evenly matched; they have a bigger tank container operation than us; we have some more terminals than they have. On the shipping side, we are fairly even and we record similar earnings, particularly on the big ships where there is more market information.

TWST: What do you see as your advantage?

Mr. Bjelland: We have the core focus on transportation and storing of the chemicals and liquids. They have a fish farming operation; they have offshore exploration, and so on. They have more of a conglomerate philosophy, whereas we are more focused.