First the port got a new ownership strategy, and then the management was fired last week. Now the mayor is looking forward to new solutions from the board and a new management that will increase revenue.
Rumors have been circulating in the port industry for a while about the municipal self-governing port in Frederikshavn with a debt of 1.5 billion. DKK. That's why DOI.dk made an interview appointment with Mayor Birgit S. Hansen (S). Between the agreement and the interview, the port's management was fired. She makes one thing clear right from the start.
- I don't sweep things under the carpet. The Port of Frederikshavn is in a severe economic crisis. Therefore, the board has decided that a new management is needed to navigate the difficult waters, says Birgit S. Hansen, who also says that chairman of the board Karsten Dybvad has just arrived in town, where he will be in the coming days to work on sorting out the situation.
As the owner of a municipal self-governing port, the mayor has had a clear feeling of not being well informed enough about the port's situation.
- We had difficulty gaining insight into the economy, and we experienced closed curtains again and again, explains Birgit S. Hansen and emphasizes:
- This does not mean that municipalities are not capable of owning ports, because we already own a well-run port in Skagen.
When the municipality tried in vain to get information about the financial situation of the Port of Frederikshavn, they received a clear message.
- We were told that there are watertight bulkheads between the board and management on the one hand and us on the other. as the owner on the other hand, explains Birgit S. Hansen.
New ownership strategy and replacement of the board
Due to the closed nature and repeated loan guarantees, the port made a decision in the spring of 2023.
- In May 2023, we made a new ownership strategy in a unanimous city council. It was decided in close cooperation between all group chairmen in a healthy collaboration, explains the mayor.
But in the fall of 2023, four board members chose to leave the port's board, and Karsten Dybvad was then brought to the port as chairman of the board. The economist has experience both as a department head in the Prime Minister's Office and as chairman of the board of Danske Bank, and the mayor herself remembers how she contacted Karsten Dybvad leading up to the election of chairman, which is a bit of a scoop for the port.
- I called Karsten Dybvad and explained the situation. He said: I'll be right up, she says.
Since then, the dismissal of the entire board of directors has proceeded quickly, where the port director had otherwise provided stability in the position since 2011. Although stability is good and healthy for a port and most organizations, the limit had been reached.
- Now I can blame myself for my 10 years as mayor. But when it's so difficult, it's time for a change, says Birgit S. Hansen.
She is popular herself, and probably almost an elected city queen, who in the 2021 municipal elections received the support of 42.1 percent or 13,230 of the municipality's votes.
- I have been given a lot of power, but I have not been involved in the decisions in the port. And I don't run away from anything. There must be an arm's length from the mayor to the port, and I am glad that there has been, she states.
The delayed and expensive oil terminal
But if it had not been for the oil terminal for Stena Oil Terminal A/S, everything would have looked very different. The terminal ended up costing not the originally planned 210 million. DKK but a whopping 460 million. DKK.
- Until we expanded our port, it was a good investment, where the business case looked good. Now we have a new state-of-the-art oil terminal, but it is delayed. It has taken a heavy toll on our liquidity, explains the mayor.
Whether the more expensive and over three years delayed oil terminal can earn more money for the port with higher prices for the tenant Stena Oil and thus earn more money for the port, is not up to the mayor.
- It is the new management and board's finest task to find out whether it can be brought home, says Birgit S. Hansen.
When you ask the mayor if there is anything that could have been done differently with the oil terminal, the answer is clear.
- We could not stop work on a half-finished oil terminal for 450 million. DKK, she justifies the guarantee from the municipality.
"Call our port"
But even though the situation may be tough for the Port of Frederikshavn, the mayor feels the support from local companies.
- There are a lot of companies that want the port to do its best, and I feel that. When they ask, I say: Call our port, she says.
The port is also in a favorable situation, because while the business foundation in other ports may be weak, it is different in the Port of Frederikshavn.
- Regardless of the challenges that the port is facing now, we have a large port with ferries and conventional port operations with freight coming in over the quay. We have three recycling companies with M.A.R.S., Stena and Jatop. Then we have maritime service with MAN and Ørskov. And we are next door to Denmark's largest naval station, which is also a NATO port, says Birgit S. Hansen, who sees the Port of Frederikshavn's strength as a business that rests on four business areas.
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