GAC Pushes Further into the Arctic with Polar Logistics Group

GAC Norway AS and Polar Logistics Group ApS (POLOG) have formed a strategic partnership to further strengthen GAC's network within the Arctic Circle.

The move is the latest stage in the company's Arctic strategy to better serve the region by bringing together organisations and individuals to create a unified network of expertise, experience and local resources.

By combining GAC's shipping, logistics and marine expertise with POLOG's network throughout Greenland and ability to meet remote location logistical needs from ice runways to mountain-top camps, the alliance offers tangible benefits to the energy sector.

Leading the way

Since the opening of the LNG plant in Hammerfest, Norway, in 2007 GAC has supported the increasing number of oil majors looking to move further north. GAC Spitsbergen opened in 2010 supported by Pole Position AS, followed by a joint cooperation between GAC Norway and GAC Russia - GAC's branch in Murmansk - two years later. Also in 2012, GAC and Henriksen Shipping Service AS in Kirkenes began supporting offshore operations in the Barents and Kara seas. Last year, when the LNG carrier Ob River became the first vessel of its kind to transit the Northern Sea Route (ice-free for only two months of the year), GAC was the agent.

Jan Almqvist, Managing Director, POLOG says: "This partnership adds a new dimension to the services POLOG provides to the oil and mineral exploration industries in Greenland and Canada. Together with GAC, we shall further strengthen our focus on the Arctic market whilst also broadening our global perspective by taking our wealth of experience in complex remote location operations wherever it's needed."

Continued exploration and new frontiers

Herman Jorgensen, GAC Norway's General Manager, GAC Norway, adds: "POLOG's skills are a perfect complement to GAC's, enabling us to jointly offer global customers the same unique solutions and support provided in the Arctic at any remote location. They are a professional and dedicated team which shares our values and our belief that integrity and quality are critical. We are excited to begin exploring the world's remotest locations together, to extend our portfolio of services to the shipping and energy industry and help our clients venture to new frontiers."