Marine Management

"Fredriksen did not succumb to the overpowering force. From his hiding place, he had several lengthy conversations with Morten Kristiansen, who, in addition to Warpe and Fredriksen's wife Inger, was among the very few who knew the location. The shipowner and his friends made plans. The order to Kristiansen was clear; the fleet was to be sold off as quickly as possible at proper prices. No one was trusted with the ability to manage the ships in Fredriksen's absence. In the discussions, no one used the word prison. They planned as if Fredriksen was facing a six-month long vacation. Kristiansen also got the job of securing new insurance. No fewer than 27 boats sailed without insurance. As if this little revenge was not enough, Gard had also seized the money Marine Management had in the bank. The newly appointed boss faced problems far beyond his white collar. Normally, Gard’s taunts would be a financially lethal dose. Reporting, suing, cancellation of insurance, and freezing of accounts at the same time are tough to handle for any shipping company. As an outsider, one was even worse off. Kristiansen solved the insurance problem simply and effectively. He approached Gard’s main competitor. The management of Skuld, the country's other important mutual insurance association, was in doubt. They contacted chairman Steen Olsen and asked for advice. Olsen's advice was to say yes for three reasons. The justification was cynical: "Firstly: If they have done something wrong, you can be sure that they will not do it again. Secondly, they are skilled people. And thirdly, money does not smell." Skuld welcomed its new member with open arms, and eventually the financing also fell into place. The head of Bankers Trust's shipping department, John Sawyer, flew in from London. He was informed about the desperate situation and chose to support the client. Sawyer did not hesitate long to make available the money the major client needed to weather the storm. Against all odds, Kristiansen had managed to steer the damaged ship into calm waters. But"

"In the summer of 1984, Fredriksen and Sejersted Bødtker's ships made frequent trips in the Persian Gulf. They got increasingly better rates, but the pace was far from golden-edged – at least not in SSB's accounts, especially after the fuel was paid. While the ships were powered by free fuel, Marine Management sent invoices as if nothing had happened to SSB. Sejersted Bødtker kept receiving invoices for bunker purchases for "Cougar", "Alta", and "Torill". Over a little more than a year, there were at least eight invoices totaling 2.3 million dollars."

"Fredriksen did not succumb to the overpowering force. From his hiding place, he had several lengthy conversations with Morten Kristiansen, who, in addition to Warpe and Fredriksen's wife Inger, was among the very few who knew the location. The shipowner and his friends made plans. The order to Kristiansen was clear; the fleet was to be sold off as quickly as possible at proper prices. No one was trusted with the ability to manage the ships in Fredriksen's absence. In the discussions, no one used the word prison. They planned as if Fredriksen was facing a six-month long vacation. Kristiansen also got the job of securing new insurance. No fewer than 27 boats sailed without insurance. As if this little revenge was not enough, Gard had also seized the money Marine Management had in the bank. The newly appointed boss faced problems far beyond his white collar. Normally, Gard’s taunts would be a financially lethal dose. Reporting, suing, cancellation of insurance, and freezing of accounts at the same time are tough to handle for any shipping company. As an outsider, one was even worse off. Kristiansen solved the insurance problem simply and effectively. He approached Gard’s main competitor. The management of Skuld, the country's other important mutual insurance association, was in doubt. They contacted chairman Steen Olsen and asked for advice. Olsen's advice was to say yes for three reasons. The justification was cynical: "Firstly: If they have done something wrong, you can be sure that they will not do it again. Secondly, they are skilled people. And thirdly, money does not smell." Skuld welcomed its new member with open arms, and eventually the financing also fell into place. The head of Bankers Trust's shipping department, John Sawyer, flew in from London. He was informed about the desperate situation and chose to support the client. Sawyer did not hesitate long to make available the money the major client needed to weather the storm. Against all odds, Kristiansen had managed to steer the damaged ship into calm waters. But for how long?"

"When the police on June 5, 1986, emptied the premises of Marine Management of documents, important and unimportant, they dug their own grave. The police's seizure of documents filled an entire room from floor to ceiling. By not returning all documents that were irrelevant, they jumped into the grave themselves. Truls Dramer and Sture Eriksen had the pleasure of filling it back in. The idea came by sheer coincidence. The two lawyers were on the phone discussing the case when Dramer stumbled over some technical terms. "Hey, you’re not qualified to defend in this case. You don’t know the facts well enough," joked Sture Eriksen. "I have a basic degree in English, but I’m not used to using these English terms. We should have had them translated," Dramer replied. Suddenly, a brilliant idea dawned on both of them. "All documents should have been translated, absolutely all. We must demand it for the sake of correct legal procedure," Sture Eriksen beamed. The district court could hardly do anything but accept the request, while the police were seething with rage. It was going to get worse later on. The case was initially scheduled for March 1988, but on January 15th, news came that the case was to be postponed for the third time, now due to "partially severe translation errors." It is rare for defenders to get free passes for an open goal, but here the Fredriksen side was served the ball on a silver platter. The police chose an unauthorized translator, and the defense was eventually able to demonstrate some astonishing misunderstandings. The common word "gearing," which means debt ratio, was translated as "transmission," as if it concerned a vehicle with gears. The translator obviously had no knowledge of shipping or economics, and several of the documents appeared as complete gibberish. The defenders rejoiced, the police despaired – and then came the next trump card from the defense."

"When the police on June 5, 1986, emptied the premises of Marine Management of documents, important and unimportant, they dug their own grave. The police's seizure of documents filled an entire room from floor to ceiling. By not returning all documents that were irrelevant, they jumped into the grave themselves. Truls Dramer and Sture Eriksen had the pleasure of filling it back in. The idea came by sheer coincidence. The two lawyers were on the phone discussing the case when Dramer stumbled over some technical terms. "Hey, you’re not qualified to defend in this case. You don’t know the facts well enough," joked Sture Eriksen. "I have a basic degree in English, but I’m not used to using these English terms. We should have had them translated," Dramer replied. Suddenly, a brilliant idea dawned on both of them. "All documents should have been translated, absolutely all. We must demand it for the sake of correct legal procedure," Sture Eriksen beamed. The district court could hardly do anything but accept the request, while the police were seething with rage. It was going to get worse later on. The case was initially scheduled for March 1988, but on January 15th, news came that the case was to be postponed for the third time, now due to "partially severe translation errors." It is rare for defenders to get free passes for an open goal, but here the Fredriksen side was served the ball on a silver platter. The police chose an unauthorized translator, and the defense was eventually able to demonstrate some astonishing misunderstandings. The common word "gearing," which means debt ratio, was translated as "transmission," as if it concerned a vehicle with gears. The translator obviously had no knowledge of shipping or economics, and several of the documents appeared as complete gibberish. The defenders rejoiced, the police despaired – and then came the next trump card from the defense."