Effective January 1, 2009, Captain Art Bjorkner, currently Senior Manager, Safety, Security and Quality, will assume the responsibilities of Executive Vice President, Vanuatu Maritime Services Limited, and will be the executive in charge of the day to day operation of the New York office of the Vanuatu ship registry.
Captain Art has been with VMSL since October 2006 and has an extensive maritime background having graduated from the State University of New York Maritime College; having served in the US Navy aboard diesel submarines; having served as a master mariner; and having served in a managerial position at Keystone, a US Jones Act tanker company.
Art has quickly developed lasting friendships with the numerous technical and safety managers in the offices of our ship owners and is highly respected in the industry.
We wish him every success in his new position. Feel free to contact Art at
or .
PROMOTION TO SENIOR MANAGER SAFETY
In one of our recent Updates, we introduced Captain Mike DeCharles, who joined VMSL on October 1, 2008. With Art’s promotion to Executive Vice President, Captain Mike will assume the position of Senior Manager, Safety, Security and Quality. Contact Mike at .
RETIREMENT ??
On December 31, 2008, Don Sheetz, who has been with the Vanuatu registry for almost 18 years, will step down from the position of Executive Vice President and “slip away,” retiring from VMSL in February 2009 after taking some unused vacation. Don will not, however, fade away completely as he will continue to assist the registry, Vanuatu, VMSL, and possibly other companies, as a maritime consultant. He intends to remain active in the industry.
He will also continue to be involved with casualty investigations, assisting Captain DeCharles if necessary, and remain Vanuatu’s representative at the Marine Accident Investigators International Forum, where he was recently elected Deputy Chairman with effect from July 1, 2009. He remains involved in the issue of confined space entry, among others, hoping to be able to coordinate the submission of a paper on the subject to IMO in the near future. Don originally joined Vanuatu in March 1991 as Vice President, Safety; was appointed Deputy Commissioner of Maritime Affairs in December 1992; and was promoted to Executive Vice President in January 1997. He has been involved in the maritime and associated industries since his appointment to the United States Merchant Marine Academy in 1962 and his subsequent 1966 graduation. He has served in a licensed capacity as a deck officer rising up to, and serving as, a chief officer aboard dry cargo ships.
After leaving the sea he then spent over 15 years with the Chevron group of companies rising through the ranks from vessel operations assistant to operations planner, senior operations planner, senior operations analyst, and safety engineer - not necessarily in that order - in the shipping company; then becoming senior planner in the corporate supply and distribution department; then crude supply manager for five of Chevron’s refineries in Europe; and then manager of crude and products trading in both London and New York, leaving Chevron in mid-1986. He earned his MBA at Golden Gate University in 1981 while working in San Francisco.
After a short stint as a crude oil, then clean products, broker at a small Connecticut brokerage, “Hating every minute of it,” he says, Don joined Vanuatu, which he has loved from the beginning: the job, the people, and the country.
Then why retire? “I am not exactly retiring: I have two beautiful little granddaughters living in California, two sons and their beautiful wives, a huge extended family with 7 brothers and sisters, their spouses, and some 30 nieces and nephews. I just hope to spend more time with all of them.” Don and his wife June also want to travel having already logged some 61 and 45 countries, respectively.
Don sends his best wishes to all his friends, acquaintances, and colleagues in the maritime industry and welcomes their calls. He can be reached at
and at 203-609-9063, if he is not visiting family, friends, new countries, or revisiting the Great Wall, the Grand Canyon, etc.
THE MOVE TO 39 BROADWAY
One would think that a move 50 feet across the street from 42 Broadway to 39 Broadway would be simple and straightforward. Take it from the staff at VMSL: it isn’t. It is as complicated, stress inducing, and nearly as costly as a move across the city or across the country. However, it is finally done.
The only real loss: one coffee pot. But that could be as stress inducing as anything. To anyone that suffered as a result of our move and all the hiccups that occurred (phone problems, fax problems, mail being returned, etc), we sincerely apologize for your frustration. Just think what ours was like.
Vanuatu Maritime Services Limited
39 Broadway,
Suite 2020
New York, New York 10006
Phone: 212-452-9600
Fax: 212-425-9652
Email:
LATEST ADDITION TO THE VANUATU FLEET
We welcome to the Vanuatu fleet our latest VLCC: very little cute child, Rayan Sezen. Proud parents Sanaa (nee Dahbi) and Selim Sezen welcomed Rayan into the world on November 6, 2008. Sanaa says that she hasn’t slept in the last month. We think she had Rayan just to avoid the office move.
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