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9 February 2015
The end of 2014 saw the Atlas office in Stavanger Norway achieve a two year QHSE goal. Atlas Cerno AS and Atlas Drift AS were audited and attested as compliant with the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC). This achievement builds on the attestation of a number of other Atlas offices, and demonstrates that Atlas Professionals are suitably focused on the health, safety and working conditions of its seafarers.
As Atlas already has 20 certifications throughout the corporation, the QHSE team was already familiar with this procedure, and was happy to adapt its current quality management system to meet the requirements of Norway. As Kate Knott, QHSE Manager explains, “It is the ambition of our Atlas office in Stavanger to gain a greater market share in the marine offshore industry, offering specialist knowledge in handling the many aspects of Norwegian employment legislation and taxation. By obtaining this attestation of compliance, the Atlas office in Stavanger is now able to break into this new market to compliment its current services.”
Former Director of Norway Christian Christiansen describes how the day went, “The day was very open and straightforward. The auditors visited the office in Norway and inspected all aspects of our operations in relation to the requirements of MLC. In their final report the auditors summarised that ‘The Company operates in a well organised manner and has systems in place to protect seafarers.’ Having this certification in our business line is a necessity.”
The Consolidated Maritime Labour Convention has been implemented worldwide as a result of the demanding physical working conditions, potentially hazardous environments and high levels of stress and fatigue that seafarers face on a daily basis. The certificate ensures attested companies provide sufficient cover for health protection, medical care, welfare measures and other forms of social protection. The document also lists the responsibilities of governments, ship owners and seafarers in emergency situations and that they comply with international standards.
“We are satisfied with securing the MLC Attestation of compliance for the Norwegian office,” says Norway Account Manager Mette K. Haugvaldstad. “We believe that both our clients and seafarers will feel confident that we comply with the MLC standards and procedures. We believe this will make us an even more attractive supplier of personnel to the offshore marine industry.”
Since becoming part of Atlas, Atlas Cerno AS & Atlas Drift AS Atlas’ offices in Norway are determined to supply skilled seafarers to our clients while investing in the needs of our personnel.
