Nordic American Offshore Ltd. (NAO) announced that Tor-Øyvind Bjørkli will join the company as chief executive officer (CEO), effective April 1, 2014. Tor-Øyvind will be working from out of the Oslo office on the same premises as Orion Tankers; the chartering department of Nordic American Tankers Limited (NAT). A subsidiary of Nordic American Tankers is the manager of the recently established Nordic American Offshore Ltd. (NAO).
Tor-Øyvind graduated from Vestfold University College with a Bachelor of Science degree in Marine Engineering in 1992. He completed the Royal Norwegian Naval Officer Training School in 1993 and his Master of Science degree at Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in 1999.
Tor-Øyvind, born and raised in Bodø, Norway, started his working career in the Royal Norwegian Navy as an Officer onboard the Coastguard vessel KV Andenes. He has spent the last eight years as a Partner with RS Platou ASA's Offshore S&P/Newbuilding division. Before joining RS Platou ASA, a major international offshore and shipbroking firm, Tor-Øyvind held the position as a surveyor with the classification society, Det Norske Veritas' (DNV GL) in the Miami office.
Herbjørn Hansson, the Executive Chairman of NAO, commented, "With Tor-Øyvind as the CEO of Nordic American Offshore, we are confident that NAO will be developed into an important player in the offshore industry." Herbjørn Hansson will remain Chairman & CEO of Nordic American Tankers which will be operated as in the past.
NAO is a Platform Supply Vessel (PSV) company which is in the process of seeking to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Nordic American Tankers that is listed on NYSE is the sponsor of NAO and it is its largest shareholder, holding 26% of the shares. Nordic American Offshore owns six PSVs built by the Ulstein Group in Norway in 2012 and 2013, with additional two vessels under construction also by Ulstein for delivery in January 2015. NAO has entered into a management agreement with a subsidiary of NAT that will perform part of the day to day operation of NAO. The technical management services will be performed by Remøy Shipping AS.
