NEWSLETTER WINTER 2014

NUMBER 8

In 2013, we made the observation that a certain distance began to settle between operations and corporate services. This is why we have initiated a strategic review of the positioning of our business and the performance of our various business centers. Accompanied by external experts, we came to the conclusion that a new organization of resources would create synergy within our company.

We find it important to talk about the transition that took place in recent weeks and reassure all those who feel concerned about the situation. It is a thoughtful and planned reshuffle which aims at a better sharing of knowledge and expertise in order to continue to develop successfully. The potential and interests of each were considered to create multidisciplinary teams in which members are complementary.

Following the recent changes in the human resources and supply teams, we face the unknown which raises questions and insecurity. It is quite normal in the situation to question these changes and we often imagine the worst.

Do not hesitate to raise your questions and offer your ideas to your supervisor. Communicating effectively not only helps to find answers, but also to create a relationship based on mutual respect.

Finalement, le changement est souvent une source de stress importante, pour mettre toutes les chances de notre côté, il est important de prendre soin de nous pour éviter qu’il nous envahisse.Finally, change is often a major source of stress, to put all the chances on our side, it is important to take care of ourselves to prevent it from taking over.

We are confident that this new organization is positive for all of us and we see that already, some of you are experiencing the benefits.

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CHANGE TO GROW JEAN-FRANÇOIS DIONEXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT ADMINISTRATION

Great example of synergy in background

A barge of TMOadapted by RNI for the blessing of OCEAN TUNDRA organized by the Ocean Group built by Ocean Industriesthat will be operated by Océan Remorquage

ACCESS BARGE FOR HEBRON

OCEAN TUNDRA

On December 13, we proceeded to the blessing of our newest tug OCEAN TUNDRA. The traditional blessing ceremony was held in the presence of Sophie Piette, first female pilot on the St. Lawrence and the ship’s godmother.

The tests have been completed and we are very impressed with the performance of «The Beast», to quote Gordon Bain. The maximum speed of the ship is 15.13 knots and bollard pull (static) 113 tonnes. We are pleased to note that despite its large size and weight, the ship is easy to handle.

The team at Ocean Towing put the ship into service at the Port of Quebec in February.

CONVERSION OF AML SHIPS

The RNI team won a major contract for the conversion of a barge that will be used for the Hebron project. The contract of more than $ 5 million consists in transforming one of the barges on the deep water site into an access barge. The latter will serve as an office and also as access to the gravity structure during construction.

The conversion project of the barge includes the installation of 76 containers in which offices will be installed, the manufacturing and installation of wire mesh and various marine equipment including winches, protective mattresses and other mooring accessories to the barge. Work should continue until April 2014 and thirty employees are assigned to it full time.

OCEAN INDUSTRIES FABRICATION NAVALE OCEANAND REPARATIONS NAVALES ET INDUSTRIELLES

Croisières AML has recently given us a mandate for the conversion of the ships Royal Cavalier, Cavalier des Mers and Katmar.

These whale watching vessels will be converted into ferries for the staff of the Hebron project. To do this, we will make some changes including the addition of seats, installing an access ramp at the front of the ships, modifying sliding doors and expanding stairs.

Work on the Royal Cavalier and Cavalier des Mers will be done at the shipyard, where they were already in wintering while the Katmar will be moved to the FNO workshops in Québec.

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Manon Lavoie et Sophie Piette, ship’s godmother

OCEAN REMORQUAGEAND OCEAN NAVIGATION

We recently entered into an agreement with the mining company IOC for the rental of two (2) tugs with crew. The OCEAN STEVNS and OCEAN ARCTIQUE are in service in IOC’s port since the beginning of October. Last December, they assisted in rescuing a worker who accidentally fell into the frigid waters of the Bay of Sept-Îles. We congratulate the team for the extraordinary work.

We also acquired two (2) tugs from SVITZER that used to offer towing services in Sept-Îles. These were renamed OCEAN SEPT-ILES and OCEAN BASQUES. The OCEAN SEPT-ILES is currently at the shipyard where it is being repainted to Ocean’s colors while the OCEAN BASQUES is in the Maritimes.

ICEBREAKING CONTRACT FOR THE WATERWAY

The intense cold that prevailed at the beginning of the winter season caused difficult navigational conditions on the St. Lawrence and the holiday season was very busy for our towing crews in Québec, Trois-Rivières and Sorel.

The OCEAN HENRY BAIN escorted the bulk carrier Rainbow Quest between Sault-au-Cochon and the port of Baie-Comeau. The BRAVO served as icebreaker in Trois-Rivières in order to avoid the formation of an ice jam. The tugs JUPITER and DUGA had to bring the Thalassa-Desgagnés back safely when its moorings gave way under the power of ice and it was drifting in the Sorel-Tracy area.

We thank our crews for their great availability.

DIFFICULT WINTER CONDITIONS

SEPT-ÎLES

Océan Remorquage Montréal completed a major icebreaking contract on the Great Lakes Seaway St. Lawrence System (GLSLS) which included the clearing of harbors, of approaches and communication channels in order to complete the navigation season.

From December 12 to January 3, two (2) locks of the South Shore, St. Lambert and Côte-Sainte-Catherine Canal and two (2) locks of the Beauharnois Canal linking the St. Lawrence, Lake St. Francis and Lake St. Louis have used the services of the OCEAN GOLF for icebreaking. The OCEAN ROSS GAUDREAULT had to be called in to assist due to the extreme winter conditions that we experienced at the beginning of winter. Crews assigned to the project had to work around the clock to keep the waterway open to ships.

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On January 29, Steve Côté gave a lecture on dredging during the first national workshop on maritime infrastructure organized by the Real Property Institute of Canada (IBIC). RPIC’s workshop represented a unique opportunity for networking, collaboration and exchanges between the guardians of maritime infrastructure, professionals in the field, academic researchers as well as companies specializing in the construction of marine structures in Canada.

On February 3 and 4, OMW representatives attended the annual conference of the Ontario Road Builders Association (ORBA) in Toronto. It was a first experience for the team who tries to penetrate the Ontario market; good contacts have been established.

SUCTION DREDGING IN MEXICO AND MAGDALEN ISLANDS

MECHANICAL DREDGING CONTRACTS

NATIONAL WORKSHOP ON MARINE INFRASTRUCTURE AND ORBA ANNUAL CONFERENCE

OCEAN MARINE WORKSAND OCEAN DREDGIN DSM

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After a long three-week trip to the South, the crew of the OCEAN NORTH TRAVERSE arrived in Mexico. The dredging contract at Port of Dos Bocas began in November and the work was completed in January; nearly 300,000 m3 of sediment were extracted and discharged on the shore with the unloading pump.

It was the first international contract for Ocean and an interesting cultural experience! The customer is very satisfied with the work done by our team.

We entered into a 10-year agreement with Mines Seleine on the Magdalen Islands for the extraction of 100,000 m3 of sediment every two (2) years.

Last fall, our mechanical dredging team completed numerous projects across Quebec.

The projects of Marina Saurel, of Kildair, of Baie-Comeau, of Ultramar, of Rimouski - Grosse Île and of the Port of Montreal have all been successfully completed. Over 75,000 m3 of sediment were extracted and the new bucket designed by our director Denis Caron has undeniably proven itself, and particularly for the Ultramar and the Port of Montreal projects.

The Ultramar project represented a good challenge for our team who had not expected such a large traffic at the terminal.

Louis Thomassin in Ocean booth at the annual conference of the Ontario Road Builders Association.

OUR WORLDNEWS

Thank you all for giving so generously to the 2013 Québec and Chaudière-Appalaches United Way campaign.

For the first time, Ocean decided to give the organization an amount equal to the sum of employee contributions. Thus, $ 11,930 has been donated to it last November. Your donations totaled more than $ 5,965, an amazing result!

Special thanks to our solicitors and to the contribution of our pastry bakers, without whom the campaign could not have been such a success.

This photograph may seem strange, but the bake sale took place on Halloween at the offices in Québec.

In July 2013, the company Hyperterm traveled to the shipyard for a promotional photo shoot of their Powermax plasma system. The company was on tour in order to capture images of their equipment in action for their new promotional tools such as website, product catalogs and training manuals. Photographs taken at the shipyard were selected for the cover of their brochure and some other uses.

Hypertherm designs and manufactures the most advanced plasma cutting systems in the world. They are used in various sectors such as shipbuilding, oil and gas industry, heavy machinery, structural steel and manufacturing. Their products are used by tens of thousands of companies around the world.

We held the first contest of children’s drawings to illustrate Ocean’s Christmas Card. To this end, we called upon the creativity of your children aged 12 and under, to produce a festive work on the theme of Christmas.

We received nearly fifty drawings, each more beautiful than the other. This is why management has decided to award a participation prize to all artists.

The grand prize was won by Maïla Morin, daughter of Dominic Morin, Engineer Officer at Océan Remorquage Côte-Nord. The 7-year old girl was lucky to see her drawing on the greeting card and receive a mini iPad.

DRAWING COMPETITION FOR OCEAN CHRISTMAS CARD

2013 UNITED WAY CAMPAIGN

OCEAN INDUSTRIES TO PROMOTE HYPERTERM

6Special thank you to Claude Santerre for planning and Marin Dufour who has agreed to be our ambassador.

OUR WORLDNEWS

The Institut maritime du Québec (IMQ) held its 4th exhibition for students’ internships on January 28 and 29. Aiming to promote the development of links between students and the maritime industry, the IMQ greeted at this show over 16 shipping companies including Ocean.

The event is an opportunity for us to present ourselves to future officers and technicians in naval architecture through a series of lectures. Frederik Roy of Ocean Industries introduced students to career opportunities for technicians within Ocean.

The students also had the chance to meet François Turcotte from HR at the new Ocean exhibition booth.

On January 29, 2014, the Charlevoix Chamber of Commerce recognized the excellence of companies in the region during the annual gala «Charlevoix reconnait» at the Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu. The event, hosted by the Painchaud Family, crowned 11 winners selected from 22 finalists.

The «Innovator for outstanding achievement» award went to Ocean Industries for the construction of the OCEAN TUNDRA.

In the photograph from left to right: Philippe Filion, Claudette Simard, prefect of the MRC de Charlevoix, Manon Lavoie and André Simard, Director General of the CLD of the MRC de Charlevoix.

Jean-Philippe Brunet and Steve Côté recently participated in a trade mission to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. It helped to identify business opportunities and promote Ocean services to government authorities.

With a gross domestic product of $ 56.1 billion (CAD), the Dominican Republic is the second largest economy in the Caribbean and Central America. Through its ports and infrastructure, the country is an excellent business opportunity.

In the photo, you can see Steve with members of the mission during the presentation of Jean Alain Rodriguez, Secretary of State.

OCEAN IN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

OCEAN AT IMQ’S EMPLOYMENT FAIR

OCEAN INDUSTRIES WINS INNOVATION PRIZE

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Peggy Flowersin front of the

new Ocean exhibition booth

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OBJECTIVE:SYNERGYCAROLE GOUDREAULTDIRECTOR HUMAN RESOURCES

During his speech at the Christmas party, Jacques Tanguay brought up 2014: Year of synergy. Thereafter, Mireille Bérubé told us it was a new corporate objective. In his editorial, Jean-Francois Dion also touches on the subject.

LET’S ALL DEMYSTIFY SYNERGY!

Synergy is this wonderful phenomenon that occurs when people work together in harmony and produce well above what they could accomplish if they acted separately in their own interest results.

Synergy is needed in business, family or in any environment. Synergy not only allows people to work better together, it makes sure they do much more than what they would result in if operating separately. In some cases, synergy allows us to create or do things that would have been quite impossible to do in a separate way.

When there is lack of synergy, people work less effectively in regards to goals they aim collectively. They are more focused on achieving their own goals than those of the team. For all sorts of reasons, there is then waste of energy and creativity in unproductive friction, depriving them of the full potential of his/her skills. At times it looks like a poorly tuned engine, losing a significant amount of energy that could be used to better propel the vehicle forward.

Synergy provides the motivating and creative energy. Those who have experienced it know well that we produce much more when it is present. Synergy is like a catalyst that helps people to harmonize well with each other and grow together to produce the desired results.

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To write this article, we questioned some of you on synergy; I got some quite interesting responses worth presenting:

For Daniel Boudreault of OMW, synergy is teamwork.

For Harold Baker of DODSM, synergy is the energy of the group. People, which together, generate a force.

Éric Boivin of IO: synergy combines teamwork among all employees. There will be no progress without synergy. It must be a whole.

For Amelie Simard from QSO, synergy is teamwork. We are a small group of employees and it facilitates good mutual understanding since everyone knows each other.

Guy Daneau of ORS, synergy is the result of teamwork, together. 1 1 = 3

I was pleasantly surprised by your definitions!

Synergie

Vision and objectives

RelationsOrganization

• Leadership• Communication• Roles and

responsibilities well defined

• Efficient processes

• Respectful behavior• Open-mindedness• Positive and

constructive attitude

• Mutual help and collaboration

• Common goals• Clear communication • Stimulating challenges

Two groups of Ocean employees participated in a facilitated discussion on the theme of synergy. Participants identified the foundations of synergy and the results were very similar. We have grouped these foundations in three: organization, relationships, vision and objectives.

In short, the basic ingredients for good synergy are:

• Havingcommongoalsthatareclearandstimulating;Aimallforthesametarget!• Collaborateandhelpeachotherbetweendifferentsectors;Buildingagreatteam!• Clarifytheroleandresponsibilitiesofeachandmakeothersawareofthem;Eachinhisplace!• Establishaclimateofcooperationandmutualassistancebetweenindividualsofdifferentsectors.

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In the Spring 2012 edition, Carole had informed us of the positive effects of physical activity on our quality of life and well-being at work. I think it is not necessary for me to once again praise the many benefits of activity on our physical and mental health, but rather help you to find a place for it.

Practice an activity with colleagues helps develop team spirit and a sense of belonging.

This year, I want to share with you the passion that drives me. I discovered jogging a few years ago and since then I cannot do without. I have designed for you a 16-week training plan which can be customized depending on the distance you wish to travel and your goal time; it is available on my blog franckmarchand.blogspot.ca/p/groupe-ocean.html. I also organize, on occasion, «jog» group for employees of Québec.

Companies participate in the Défi Entreprises can share the same goal, to help each other, to promote these values and contribute to strengthen our ties. For three (3) years, a team of ambassadors represents Ocean at the Défi Enterprises of Québec. This year, it changes place to allow more participants to take part in the event. It will be held in Ste-Catherine-de-la-Jacques-Cartier on Sunday, June 1st at 8 am. I hope to meet you there! It is not necessary to run to take part in the event, there will be walking and work-out groups. The event is not competitive, the goal is simply to move and have a good time together outside of the work context.

I invite you to visit the Défi Entreprises website www. defientreprises.com for more information or to complete your registration. The registration fee is $ 49, but Ocean offers registration for $ 21 enter the code GROUPEOCEAN2014 (all caps) to receive the discount.

DÉFI ENTREPRISESFRANÇOIS MARCHANDFINANCIAL CONTROLLER

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OCEAN CHRISTMAS PARTY & BLESSING OF OCEAN TUNDRA On December 13, we celebrated the holidays in the Ross Gaudreault Cruise Terminal. The blessing of the OCEAN TUNDRA was undoubtedly a great opportunity to get together in Quebec for a wonderful evening.

We wish to thank the organizing committee of the event, without whom this event would not have been possible. Here are a few pictures of the event.

EVENTS TO COMEEMPLOYEEGOLF TOURNAMENT

DATE AND TIME: Saturday July 12, 2014

PLACE : Club de golf Le Grand Portneuf2 Route 365, Pont-Rouge, QC G3H 3R4

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You have comments, suggestions or would like to publish an article in the quaterly newsletter?

Contact : vicky.boivin@groupocean.com