Unicom was founded 25 years ago to manage Sovcomflot ships. Over the years, Unicom has become one of the most recognizable brands of SCF, and the quality of its work is highly appreciated by charterers.

ABOUT today of the company, its history, key principles of doing business and its own life path, the Managing Director of Unicom, Sergey Popravko, tells the Marine Fleet magazine.

MF: Sergey Gennadievich, out of the 25 years of the company's activity, which years do you consider crucial in its development and why?

– First of all, it is 1991, when the company was founded. Then 2003, when Unicom entered a new segment: the company was approved by Exxon Mobil as an operator of ice-class shuttle tankers for the Sakhalin-1 project. The year 2006 was very important, when Unicom began operating LNG tankers, and 2008, when the company began regular transportation of Arctic oil by icebreaking shuttle tankers as part of the Varandey project.

MF: Today, a quarter of a century later, I would like to remember how Unicom was born, how its goals and objectives were formulated? And why did Cyprus become the place of its registration?

– To answer these questions, we need to turn to the history of Sovcomflot. Since its inception, it has ensured the acquisition of new and used ships abroad under a long-term leasing scheme. The acquired ships were transferred to trust management of the shipping companies that were part of the system of the Ministry of the Navy of the USSR (Morflot). In 1991, the Morflot system ceased to exist. Former Soviet shipping companies could no longer fully fulfill their duties in managing the fleet. All responsibility for the fulfillment of financial obligations to Western banks fell on the shoulders of Sovcomflot.

Under these conditions, the management of the company (by that time the commercial enterprise) decided to create its own structure to manage the fleet. In Cyprus, on a parity basis with the Swiss company Acomarit Services Maritimes S.A., a joint venture (JV) was founded, which became Unicom, the technical manager of the Sovcomflot group of companies. Initially Unicom operated a fleet of dry cargo ships. In 1994, he began operating tankers. At the same time Acomarit withdrew from the joint venture. The staff of Unicom was formed from Morflot system specialists sent by the Moscow office of Sovcomflot, Acomarit employees, as well as local professionals.

Why was Cyprus chosen? By the time Unicom was created, a large international ship management center had already been formed in Cyprus. The beginning was laid by German shipowners in the second half of the 1970s. Cyprus meant stability, favorable taxation for the shipping business, a legal system based on English common law in shipping, a flexible immigration system that was convenient for obtaining work permits for expats, relatively low costs for acquiring or renting offices and housing, and much more. Partially, these advantages were lost with the entry of Cyprus into the EU.

Initially, one of the main tasks of Unicom was to ensure the company's survival. New strategy aimed the SCF group at entering new market segments: transportation of hydrocarbons from the Arctic and subarctic shelves, from newly opened oil terminals on Sakhalin and the Baltic. Unicom was given the task of mastering the operation of new types of vessels - shuttle tankers, LNG carriers, supply vessels for production platforms, etc. I believe that we have successfully completed it.

MF: Where and how was the celebration of the anniversary of the company and, by the way, can you name all the directors of Unicom since the day of its foundation?

– Solemn events were held in Limassol on March 11th. We were honored by the presence of the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Anastasiades, as well as the Minister of Transport and other state officials. The Russian delegation was headed by Deputy Minister of Transport Viktor Alexandrovich Olersky. We were also pleased to welcome you among the guests of honor CEO"Sovcomflot" Sergei Ottovich Frank, President of the Russian Chamber of Shipping, member of the Board of Directors of "Sovcomflot" Alexei Yuryevich Klyavin. The events were attended by Vadim Dmitrievich Kornilov, who, as the General Director of Sovcomflot, signed the founding documents of Unicom, and other veterans of the company.

The first director of Unicom was Ian Mc Broom representing Acomarit. Then at different times the company was headed by Mikhail Charushin, Valery Shapovalov, Sergey Terekhin, Nikolai Spichenok and myself.

MF: How does Unicom differ from other companies of the Sovcomflot group?

– The uniqueness of Unicom is that, having emerged as a joint venture, it absorbed the traditions and best experience British, Soviet and Greek merchant fleets. To this day, Unicom remains a world-class multinational company, which employs both Russians and Cypriots, as well as British, Greeks, Ukrainians, Latvians, Estonians, Spaniards, Germans, Swedes, Indians, Singaporeans ... In addition, Unicom, undoubtedly , consolidated its position as one of the world leaders in the field of ice-class ships operation. Unicom seeks to meet the most urgent requirements of the time and the industry in order to maintain leadership positions. Today, Unicom is undergoing a process of restructuring followed by rebranding as part of the SCF Group's strategy aimed at creating a single company in the field of technical management.

MF: Sovcomflot's motto is "Safety is above all." What place is given to the security system on Unicom ships and what is the key element of this system?

– “Safety is above all”, or Safety comes first, as it is written on the superstructure of our ships, is not just a motto. This is an element of the ideology of the group of companies and one of key tasks that SKF puts before its technical managers.

Statistics is a ruthless science. Every year, dozens of ships of the world fleet are lost, taking hundreds of human lives. Moreover, over 80% of the total number of incidents at sea are related in one way or another to the human factor - errors in the operation of ships, inattention, neglect of established rules, fatigue, etc. That is why Unicom pays close attention to the selection of personnel, training and retraining of specialists , social conditions workers.

Unicom tries to ensure the proper safety of the crew on board the vessel by improving procedures and strengthening control over their implementation. Efforts are directed primarily to the elimination of accidents and injuries. Particular attention is paid to the introduction of new rules and methods of work, the desire to change the "usual" attitude of the seafarer to his safety. I would like to note that it was on the basis of Unicom that a unified security management system was developed and implemented for all companies of the SCF Group. For this, the best specialists were selected.

Safety on ships is a complex concept. It includes, along with the safety of navigation and labor protection, environmental protection, the prevention of accidental spills of oil, oil products and other dangerous substances, as well as the prevention of terrorist attacks, pirate attacks, and much more. In addition to personnel supervision, safety is also ensured technical means. Much attention is paid to the accumulation and processing of experience in the operation of ships in various conditions, which are taken into account when developing projects for new ships, improving ship equipment, etc. Unicom had a design department that dealt with these issues for many years. Its successor was the engineering center, which successfully operates in St. Petersburg.

I believe that the commitment to safety in the company should apply to all employees - from an ordinary specialist to the first manager. This is the key to the success and competitiveness of the company.

"MF": Where and what routes ships go, technical management carried out by Unicom? What projects do they serve?

– Vessels managed by Unicom operate all over the world, but special attention is paid to projects on the Russian shelf: Sakhalin fields, Varandey, Prirazlomnoye, transportation in the Baltic and along the Northern Sea Route. We recently went to new market in the Canadian Arctic.

MF: What kind of fleet does the company have in terms of tonnage and age of ships, what vector of specialization has been chosen?

- Mainly tankers, gas carriers. But there are also ice class bulk carriers. The average age of the fleet is below 10 years. However, we have a successful experience of operating and "age" vessels: for example, our first LNG carriers SCF Arktika and SCF Polar were decommissioned at the age of over 45 years.

MF: Unicom is a highly competitive company in the market of marine transportation of hydrocarbons. How has this been achieved for 25 years?

– In the market of oil and gas transportation, the rules are dictated by large international suppliers of hydrocarbons (Shell, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Statoil, etc.). If you do not comply with these rules, you will find yourself in the subprime market. Therefore, it is necessary to win the reputation and trust of serious charterers, and this takes years. The newly created company, no matter how new and technically advanced tankers it manages, the oil giants will not trust their cargoes and will not give permission for processing at their terminals.

"MF": "Cadres decide everything!" This well-known expression, no doubt, applies to your company. You are the captain of a large crew of Unicom workers. How do you rate professional quality human?

- As they said in the film “Only Old Men Go to Battle”: “You don’t have to be a pilot, we’ll teach you how to fly anyway ...”. The main thing is that a person should be focused on the result, and not on the process. Some learn faster, some take longer. The only thing we do not forgive our employee is lying, as it is incompatible with the concept of security...

MF: Sergey Gennadievich, please accept my sincere congratulations on your 55th birthday and wishes of health and happiness! And let me ask you a few personal questions. How did it happen that you decided to become a sailor, what was the motive for the decision - family tradition, romance, career? Where did you study and work, where did you visit and on what ship did you become a captain? Do you still have friends from your youth? Could you then, at the beginning of your life, wish for such heights that you have reached today?

– My childhood and youth were spent in Vladivostok. We lived by the sea. There was a port nearby, and 100 meters from the house there was a maritime and nautical school. The father worked as a boatmaster. Mom graduated from the shipbuilding faculty and taught at the nautical school. And I knew from childhood that my life would be connected with the sea.

In 1984 he graduated from the Navigating Faculty of the Far East Higher Marine Engineering School named after Admiral Gennady Ivanovich Nevelsky in Vladivostok. Then he worked in the Primorsky Shipping Company in various positions and went from a sailor to a general director. Engaged in the transportation of petroleum products, animal fats. He has been a navigator on all oceans. I had to work on the Arctic delivery. He performed the duties of the captain on the tanker "Solnechny" of the Primorsky Shipping Company. This is a vessel of the Baskunchak type: a marine single-deck, diesel, single-screw tanker. Length - 83.55 m, width - 12.02 m, deadweight - 1660 tons.

Of the friends of youth, someone continues to live in Vladivostok, someone left Primorye. In his youth, he did not think about a career on the shore. It was important for me to become the most professional navigator, to go through all the stages of mastery. He planned to actively work at sea until the age of 45-50, and then work in tow or as a pilot in the port. But then perestroika happened, and new opportunities appeared, more broad horizons in the maritime industry. Additional Perspectives opened with a personal decision to expand their own qualifications - to learn maritime business from the side of fleet management. Since then, I have been constantly learning. And I don't regret anything.

MF: Thank you.

Navy №2 (2016)

SKF Group is the leading global manufacturer of bearings, seals, mechatronics, services and lubrication systems. Services include technical support, maintenance services, condition monitoring and training.

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SKF Russia

First SKF came in Russian Federation in 1914 and reopen its branch in 1991. Today there are around 200 highly qualified professionals working for SKF in Russia at different locations: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Tver region, Yekaterenburg, Cherepovets, Novosibirsk and Krasnoyarsk, Rostov-On-Don. They are engineers, sales, product specialists, customer service, production operators and logistics. More than 30 distributers serve SKF`s end-users all over Russia. A factory in Tver uses the cutting edge technology to produce CTBU and TBU for the railway industry.