What's New In W. Africa (Nigeria)
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Caverton, Dancopter, ACN and now Heli Union. All contracted by Shell in one form or another to attempt to replace one operator (Bristow). Sounds like a good deal....
If SM is a salesman for PRISM he is doing a pretty poor job. His link is to a different PRISM!
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Dear All
I've followed this thread with interest recently as I'm very curious about operating in Africa. Does anybody know what remuneration Caverton is offering Captains. Is is fixed or is it flexible? Working conditions generally?
Can it be as bad as some would make out?
I very recently received a mail from Caverton HR but it was a little light on detail. Having said that it is not so unusual in this industry.
Thoughts?
I've followed this thread with interest recently as I'm very curious about operating in Africa. Does anybody know what remuneration Caverton is offering Captains. Is is fixed or is it flexible? Working conditions generally?
Can it be as bad as some would make out?
I very recently received a mail from Caverton HR but it was a little light on detail. Having said that it is not so unusual in this industry.
Thoughts?
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Elvis. If you are seriously thinking of working in Nigeria may I suggest you take the time to read through all 207 pages of this topic. Take particular notice of Shell Management. He is the type of person that you would be working for there.
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Elvis,
Maybe you should read more of this thread. I'm sure their former MD, John Goulay, sacked on the day they announced the Shell contract has his views. Ask him if he's been paid.
I'm sure may people have been paid by Caverton. Some of their employees have been paid on time by bank transfer. many other people have been paid in advance by less regular means
.
Caverton Crime Fighting Helicopters Scam
Maybe you should read more of this thread. I'm sure their former MD, John Goulay, sacked on the day they announced the Shell contract has his views. Ask him if he's been paid.
I'm sure may people have been paid by Caverton. Some of their employees have been paid on time by bank transfer. many other people have been paid in advance by less regular means
.Caverton Crime Fighting Helicopters Scam
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That is one view.
I've been happy to give some prospective Caverton pilots the other perspective by PM. Everyone has to make their own decisions.
I'm sure SASlass' comments on the Bristow Int. Division thread will also be considered too!
I've been happy to give some prospective Caverton pilots the other perspective by PM. Everyone has to make their own decisions.
I'm sure SASlass' comments on the Bristow Int. Division thread will also be considered too!
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I've been happy to give some prospective Caverton pilots the other perspective by PM
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I don't understand why you guys are so negative to DanCopter?
Is it only because it's a new operator, or is it because you lost a contract to a competing company?
I don't know Caverton, but DanCopter isn't new on the offshore-scene. They've been flying in Denmark, Netherlands and Norway for years.
I work for Blueway myself, but not offshore. DanCopter is part of Blueway, and it's become a pretty large company covering every aspect of helicopter services, except HEMS. But we have Offshore, Long-line ops, SAR (Svalbard) and work out of Denmark, Norway and Sweden.
We also operate in Polar areas (Arctic/Antarctic).
As we speak, we have just arrived i Abu-Dabi with a Super Puma for a flaretip-change. We ferried the machine from Norway!
And we just shipped an AS350 with crew for a 5,5 month expedition to Antarctica.
That's the kind of expertise we have available in Blueway.
So, what's REALLY the problem with DanCopter operating in Nigeria, except that you feel stepped on....?
Please, come with some serious answers, don't throw ****...
Is it only because it's a new operator, or is it because you lost a contract to a competing company?
I don't know Caverton, but DanCopter isn't new on the offshore-scene. They've been flying in Denmark, Netherlands and Norway for years.
I work for Blueway myself, but not offshore. DanCopter is part of Blueway, and it's become a pretty large company covering every aspect of helicopter services, except HEMS. But we have Offshore, Long-line ops, SAR (Svalbard) and work out of Denmark, Norway and Sweden.
We also operate in Polar areas (Arctic/Antarctic).
As we speak, we have just arrived i Abu-Dabi with a Super Puma for a flaretip-change. We ferried the machine from Norway!
And we just shipped an AS350 with crew for a 5,5 month expedition to Antarctica.
That's the kind of expertise we have available in Blueway.
So, what's REALLY the problem with DanCopter operating in Nigeria, except that you feel stepped on....?
Please, come with some serious answers, don't throw ****...
Nothing wrong with Dancopter but if you knew Caverton, you probably wouldn't ask the question. It's the local partner, Caverton which is likely to be the problem in the relationship.
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People are not concerned about DanCopter being in Nigeria, in fact most operators relish competition. But as industryinsider says - you are mixed up with some very dodgy people in the form of Caverton, and if you think having Smell Aviation backing you is of any meaning just wait till they shaft you as well! Anyway I expect you will learn the hard way. Best of luck with your new joint venture
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As we speak, we have just arrived i Abu-Dabi with a Super Puma for a flaretip-change.
YBB
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OK, I understand. As I said, I don't know Caverton. 
I'm quite interested in how it's going along down there with DanCopter, because it's an alternative for me to apply for a co-pilot position there now... The offshore-market in Norway is pretty slow these days.
Thank's for the answers.
I guess they have Super Pumas in Abu Dabi, or locations closer than Norway, but our Super Puma is rigged for Long-line ops with bubble-window, reinforcements etc. To be honest, I don't know why we were selected to ferry it the whole way down and up again for a day's work.
We usually send the pilot down....
But I guess noone else were available with the right machine and personell? The job is finnished now, and they are on their way up again.
Nice trip, though!
I'm quite interested in how it's going along down there with DanCopter, because it's an alternative for me to apply for a co-pilot position there now... The offshore-market in Norway is pretty slow these days.
Thank's for the answers.
I guess they have Super Pumas in Abu Dabi, or locations closer than Norway, but our Super Puma is rigged for Long-line ops with bubble-window, reinforcements etc. To be honest, I don't know why we were selected to ferry it the whole way down and up again for a day's work.
We usually send the pilot down....
But I guess noone else were available with the right machine and personell? The job is finnished now, and they are on their way up again.
Nice trip, though!
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cDS,
DanCopter is more than welcome as fair competition is a healthy thing. However, I think they were called ConDoctor because in choosing Caverscam they may well have been conned (albeit willingly because everybody knows that they've been desperate to get into Nigeria even dating back to the days when Susanne Lastein was a director of DanCopter).
The problem is that they chose a partner with no business ethics or morals and have a dodgy provenance:
Lagos Helicopter Scam
Their partners have a history of sacking people as can be seen by the fact that their previous MD was given 72 hours to leave the country in the day they signed the Shell contract.
I wish DanCopter well and hope that they will force Caverscam to operate more openly and honestly. Certainly anyone wishing to work for either partner should only contemplate DanCopter as a contract with Caverscam is worth less than the paper it's written on.
DanCopter is more than welcome as fair competition is a healthy thing. However, I think they were called ConDoctor because in choosing Caverscam they may well have been conned (albeit willingly because everybody knows that they've been desperate to get into Nigeria even dating back to the days when Susanne Lastein was a director of DanCopter).
The problem is that they chose a partner with no business ethics or morals and have a dodgy provenance:
Lagos Helicopter Scam
Their partners have a history of sacking people as can be seen by the fact that their previous MD was given 72 hours to leave the country in the day they signed the Shell contract.
I wish DanCopter well and hope that they will force Caverscam to operate more openly and honestly. Certainly anyone wishing to work for either partner should only contemplate DanCopter as a contract with Caverscam is worth less than the paper it's written on.
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Smell is close to settling one of the bribery cases it's been found out in
Shell to Settle Bribery Case
Is this part of the 7/7=1 or whatever codswallop SM is preaching this week
Shell close to settling bribery case
Shell has almost reached a settlement with the United States in a bribery case in Nigeria. It is expected that the Dutch-British oil company will receive a 30 million dollar fine.
Shell is being accused of the large-scale bribery of Nigerian officials to speed equipment through customs and to secure contracts. The payments were made through the logistics group Panalpina.
Panalpina is expected to pay 85 million dollar in charges to settle charges it violated the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
Many companies, including Panalpina, claim that corruption is part of doing business in countries like Nigeria. Shell is planning to leave Nigeria and sell the countries’ four major oil fields.
Environmentalists believe the intended departure is bad news for the Nigerian population. Although the multinational is seen as the 'enemy' by activists, it is easier for them to negotiate with Shell than with the corrupt Nigerian government.
However, if Shell decides to leave environmentalists demand that Shell cleans up the pollution resulting from the oil business.
Shell has almost reached a settlement with the United States in a bribery case in Nigeria. It is expected that the Dutch-British oil company will receive a 30 million dollar fine.
Shell is being accused of the large-scale bribery of Nigerian officials to speed equipment through customs and to secure contracts. The payments were made through the logistics group Panalpina.
Panalpina is expected to pay 85 million dollar in charges to settle charges it violated the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
Many companies, including Panalpina, claim that corruption is part of doing business in countries like Nigeria. Shell is planning to leave Nigeria and sell the countries’ four major oil fields.
Environmentalists believe the intended departure is bad news for the Nigerian population. Although the multinational is seen as the 'enemy' by activists, it is easier for them to negotiate with Shell than with the corrupt Nigerian government.
However, if Shell decides to leave environmentalists demand that Shell cleans up the pollution resulting from the oil business.
Is this part of the 7/7=1 or whatever codswallop SM is preaching this week
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Shell warns of US probe into corruption claims - Business News, Business - The Independent
http://http://dearkitty.blogsome.com...tion-scandals/
There's no evidence whatsoever of this showing how Shell roots out corruption. It used Panalpina to make its unethical bribes for years and finally came clean only when it was caught out. It got a smaller fine (if you call $30 million small - would have bought a new S92 for Shell) only because it was one of several companies involved in this particular scandal. So much for promoting the right way to do things. The sooner the world discovers an alternative energy source to oil and companies like Shell slide back into the primeval slime from which they make their money, the better in terms of making the world a better place
http://http://dearkitty.blogsome.com...tion-scandals/
There's no evidence whatsoever of this showing how Shell roots out corruption. It used Panalpina to make its unethical bribes for years and finally came clean only when it was caught out
. It got a smaller fine (if you call $30 million small - would have bought a new S92 for Shell) only because it was one of several companies involved in this particular scandal. So much for promoting the right way to do things. The sooner the world discovers an alternative energy source to oil and companies like Shell slide back into the primeval slime from which they make their money, the better in terms of making the world a better place
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SM,
Are you claiming that Shell is responsible for the teaming of a respectable company like DanCopter with Caverscam? You also talk about 'honest' commitment to doing the right thing and you laud Caverscam when one of its directors is Edmund Daukoru who appears as #11 on the list of persons indicted in the SEC's Halliburton bribery scandal as below:
http://http://www.elombah.com/index....news&Itemid=69
Are you claiming that Shell is responsible for the teaming of a respectable company like DanCopter with Caverscam? You also talk about 'honest' commitment to doing the right thing and you laud Caverscam when one of its directors is Edmund Daukoru who appears as #11 on the list of persons indicted in the SEC's Halliburton bribery scandal as below:
http://http://www.elombah.com/index....news&Itemid=69
Said Shell Management: "Thanks. It is important to promote the right way to do things in order to make the world a better place."
You'll forgive me if I'm inclined to dismiss the notion that Shell's aim is to "make the world a better place"
You'll forgive me if I'm inclined to dismiss the notion that Shell's aim is to "make the world a better place"