One of the best-known names in Asian OSV circles is today’s Maritime CEO interviewee.
Venkatraman Sheshashayee (better known simply as Shesh) has been ceo of Singapore-based Miclyn Express Offshore since April 2015. Previous positions including heading up Jaya Holdings and a lengthy stint with India’s Greatship.
MEO has 146 vessels in its fleet and none on order. No orders are likely anytime soon, Shesh says.
“However tempting current prices are, we have decided that we will focus on deploying our existing fleet and paying down debt rather than take on additional capex liability,” Shesh says.
Shesh’s short-term strategy at MEO consists of four prongs: to maintain utilization, reinforce teams, manage costs and pay down debt.
Long term, Shesh has more ambitious goals.
“We are determined to achieve our strategic vision,” he tells Maritime CEO, “to become a globally reputed group, in the world’s top ten, measured by fleet size, EBITDA and RoI, as well as by safety performance and operational uptime. We hope to become a market leader in crewboats, a preferred partner in project solutions, and the provider of choice of general and specialised offshore support vessels.”
The offshore veteran says he has stopped looking for any recovery in the sector.
“Our time is much better served dealing with the here and now,” he says. “When a recovery comes, it is unlikely to be sudden or overnight. It will be gradual, and we have a clear plan of action to execute when that ascent commences.”
Shesh was also one of the participants in yesterday’s astonishingly frank Splash Chat Q&A session, highlights of which can be accessed here.
