Thirteen Captains and eight Chief Engineers traveled to Bergen together with shore colleagues from Sao Paulo, Singapore and Manila. The Bergen team also welcomed seven Chief Officers and Second Engineers who are currently in the Ship Management internship program and who spent the full week in Bergen with intensive training before and after the official Fleet Week program.
The Fleet Week featured a series of seminars and workshops and provided a platform to exchange ideas, learn from experts, uncover improvement potential and celebrate progress and accomplishments.
The extensive SM Summit and Op Tech program included an HSSEQ status from Gunnar Moen and an SM Portal update from Manager Asset Maintenance Group Robert Øksnes, as well as several workshops where the participants shared perspectives and discusses solutions on various cases.
CTO Torger Trige kicked off the event by emphasizing the importance of maintaining high standards to ensure long-term success and provided an overview of the company's ship management capabilities. He also expressed his optimism for 2023 and highlighted that the company's long-term targets remain the same.
Digitalization was one of the recurring themes through the summit. VP Corporate IT Alena Pedersen's presentation on the long-term benefits of digitalization for Odfjell SE prompted lively discussion among the attendees. She elaborated on how data and connectivity can facilitate improved decision-making and productivity, as well as the significance of collaboration between Tankers and Ship Management to foster innovation.
Meanwhile at the Tankers Day, CCO Bjørn Hammer highlighted our company's strategy, which includes capturing the strong market, being a consolidator, and having a solid ESG standing. He noted that Odfjell's current position gives us a competitive advantage, as we have the most energy-efficient fleet and an efficient port rotation. He also discussed the challenges facing the tonnage side of the business, including uncertainty over technology and steel prices. Hammer concluded his presentation by emphasizing the importance of efficiency and safety, underlining the risks in taking shortcuts.
“It's all about capturing the short term and de-risk (taking advantage of) the long term.”
The introduction was followed by a workshop where the participants were presented with a scenario covering a port rotation in Houston. The workshop was structured in a way where new challenges came into play as the workshop proceeded—an effective way of having good discussions and knowledge sharing. The workshop was facilitated by Senior Ship Operator Christine Egge and Ship Operator Jørgen L. Steinsvik, supported by Project Manager Port Performance Thor Erik Haugland, Manager Demurrage Ingelin Jacobsen and Senior Demurrage Analyst Marte Kristin Jørgensen.
"It is the first time we did this type of setup and the feedback from the participants was positive. Hence, we will do a similar setup on future Tankers days," said program lead, Manager Quality Management Fredrik Larsen.
The day continued with our Port Captain Europe, Nils Tofterå, with a session on tank cleaning and cargo operations. He went through new regulations added to our industry and gave insights about new ideas for improving our cargo operations. Among many, one of the new suggestions is to increase the thermal oil heating capacity of our Hudong Class.
Manager BET Team Tore Vågenes and Manager Fleet Performance Kristoffer Ramstad ended the day by going through the systems we use at Odfjell Tankers, reminding the participants about correct and timely reporting.
Our decisions are based on data and we are therefore dependent that the entered data is correct. Food for thought in the quote saying: “Without data you’re just a person with an opinion.”
Another important factor regarding data quality is the regulatory landscape we are part of. We see more and more requirements when it comes to reporting on emission and consumption, hence another reason why we need to make sure that we have our numbers correct.
One of the highlights of the week was the session with guest speaker John Hammersmark, better known as the Captain in the Norwegian blockbuster TV series "Kompani Lauritzen”. Hammersmark, a former special forces soldier, shared valuable knowledge on how to work effectively in teams and make better choices both as an individual and in groups. He emphasized the importance of communication, trust, and respect in fostering a cohesive and productive team environment.
As part of the session, Hammersmark facilitated a workshop where all the participants were tasked to reflect upon their own team contribution and improvement potential, and write it on a post-it. The aim of the exercise was to uncover the potential to boost teamwork. The session resulted in about 200 notes that will be included in the Ship Management strategy going forward. See the word cloud of the input below.
At the informal dinner on Wednesday evening, Chair Laurence Odfjell was a welcomed surprise guest. He greeted the seafarers and the shore colleagues with an inspirational talk, underlining each and every one's importance for Odfjell's success.
The week culminated in an awards ceremony, where four seafarers were honored for their long and loyal service. The recipients received recognition for their contributions to the company's success and were praised for embodying Odfjell's values of safety, sustainability, and excellence.
