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Why shipmanagers must lead the digitalisation debate

The rise of digitalisation ought to be a boon for managers, according to Splash’s in-depth survey carried in our brand-new 68-page special on the sector.

Speaking with Manish Singh, a long standing proponent for consolidation and change within the shipmanagement sector and now leading a boutique maritime investment and M&A advisory firm, he argues that greater digitalisation brings more transparency and data, thus unlocking greater insights to improve fleet performance, while also, importantly, giving owners greater confidence to outsource.

The number of shipping tech companies has increased rapidly in the last few years. It’s vital for managers to keep up with the new digital tools available to them as the same tools are also available to owners, says Kristofer Karlsen, business development manager at Norbulk Shipping.

“Technology can be incredibly democratising in that sense,” he says.

All too often owners want their own tools and push back against a standard from the managers, points out Frank Coles, ex-head of Wallem Group, and now a maritime consultant.

“Only the larger managers have been able to prevail in pushing a standard,” Coles says.

Quite so, agrees Bjørn Højgaard, CEO of the largest manager in the world, Anglo-Eastern.

“Joining a well-run and forward-investing shipmanagement club,” he says, “comes with the automatic benefit of a high-end digital solution – and one where there is space for individual customisation.”

Rajesh Unni, founder of CEO of Synergy Marine Group, says that by and large owners understand that to generate the savings, efficiencies and emissions cuts that digitalisation and smart shipping facilitates, they need to have access to vast pools of data.

“But that is only one element of the challenge because the data is obsolete unless it can be processed and turned into actionable solutions,” Unni says.

Owners also increasingly understand that digitalisation is not a plug and play, buy it and deploy it, type of challenge, he says.

Many managers talk up the reassuring importance of the transparency that digitalisation brings.

“The kitchen now is open to the client and there is very little left to the imagination on how a particular manager is doing or the value being added or destroyed,” says Vinay Gupta, managing director of Singapore-based Union Marine Management Services (UMMS).

“Increasing digitalisation assists with visibility of what is happening on a daily basis, demonstrates achievement to shipowners’ requirements and complies with the various reporting requirements that have been mandated by various stakeholders,” says Philip Fullerton, managing director of Northern Marine Group.

Digital savvy staff

In terms of how managers can ensure their staff are more digital savvy, Singh argues that few companies are investing substantially in bespoke learning. Singh, whose career includes senior management positions at V. Group and Ocean Technologies Group, says he expects accreditation programmes to become the norm, wherein companies will invest in the onboarding of their personnel and upskilling them with various skills in digital, data, and regulatory compliance.

“Shipping is moving away from a job-based economy to a skills-based economy. Nimble, tech-savvy multi-disciplinary individuals and teams are now critical to success,” argues Unni from Synergy.

Focusing specifically on seafarers, Henrik Jensen, the founder of crew supplier Danica, tells Splash: “As systems become more advanced, with a greater degree of automation of machinery and vessel control systems – maybe even autonomous – then the crews’ situation awareness skills become a much more important factor.”

Arvind Mohan, managing director at Viridian Maritime, says shipping could learn a bit from other industries to create a culture of change within an organisation, promoting people not only based on experience or a hierarchical view but also for being technologically advanced, performance driven and based on delivery.

Culture of innovation

Hybrid is the order of the day, suggests Gupta from UMMS.

“People and process go hand in hand and it is therefore essential the technology should be made keeping people in view and people should be hired who are ready to buy into the processes,” Gupta says.

This buy-in can only happen, he reckons, when digitalisation helps people achieve results in a faster and more reliable manner. If staff are involved in the development process or the initial implementation process, that gives the technology a greater chance of success.

Overall, fostering a culture of innovation – such as running small-scale pilots to enable staff to see the latest technology products and involving them to gain feedback early – supports higher levels of trial and adoption, advises Angad Banga, chief operating officer at the Caravel Group, the parent of Fleet Management.

David Svensson, chief technology officer at online maritime training firm Seably, advises managers to promote cross-functional collaboration between different teams and departments, enabling staff to learn from one another and share digital best practices. He also urges managers to create a culture that encourages experimentation and innovation among their staff.

‘Get out of their way!’

Having digital savvy staff is not the problem, argues John-Kaare Aune, CEO of Wallem Group. Demographics mean that a majority of staff – both at sea and ashore – have either been exposed to digital technology from a young age or grew up with digital technology around them, he says. The focus ought to be, Aune says, to equip staff with the knowledge to make best use of the digital technology available for doing their jobs.

Quite so, agrees Carl Martin Faannessen, CEO of Manila-based crewing specialist Noatun Maritime.

“Get out of their way,” Faannessen advises in typically blunt fashion. “I think it is fair to say that all people below the age of 40 are more digitally savvy than most superintendents and senior managers.”

This article is one of many reports carried in our brand new 68-page Shipmanagement Market Report. Splash readers can access the full magazine for free by clicking here.

Splash

Splash is Asia Shipping Media’s flagship title offering timely, informed and global news from the maritime industry 24/7.
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