Order of St. Olav for Asbjørn Kyrkjeeide

Asbjørn Kyrkjeeide, managing director of Electronic Chart Centre (ECC) in Stavanger, has been appointed Knight First Class by the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav for his contribution to Norwegian safety standards at sea.  

In its evaluation the Order has placed emphasis on Mr. Kyrkjeeide's untiring effort and ability to develop the concept of an electronic chart service. The Order stresses how important this is as a means of navigation, providing timely data for all ships and its importance for the safety at sea. The importance of this for Norway as a seafaring nation has also been taken into account.

Asbjørn Kyrkjeeide is 60 years old and originally from Strandebarm in Hardanger. He now lives at Jørpeland in the Municipality of Strand in Rogaland County. Mr. Kyrkjeeide was educated at the Royal Norwegian Naval Academy in Bergen. He has served on submarines and was submarine commander for five years.

Asbjørn Kyrkjeeide joined the Norwegian Hydrographic Service in Stavanger in 1982. He  was quickly given responsibility for major development projects. One of these was to provide for a global service of electronic navigational charts, which became the forerunner of the Electronic Chart Centre (ECC), which was set up in 1999.

ECC was organised as a state-owned limited company to provide the operational service on a 24-hour basis globally for the multinational Primar Stavanger ENC service under the management of the Norwegian Hydrographic Service. The Order was presented by County Governor of Rogaland, Tora Aasland.