Issue 45 News - European Shipping Week...
32
A publication of THOME GROUP OF COMPANIES WWW.THOME.COM.SG Issue 45 | June 2016 News
Transcript of Issue 45 News - European Shipping Week...
A publication ofTHOME GROUP OF COMPANIES
WWW.THOME.COM.SG
Issue 45 | June 2016
News
A publication of the Thome Group
16 Raffles Quay#43-01 Hong Leong Building Singapore 048581
Tel: 65 6220 7291
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.thome.com.sg
Edited By:Maite Bolivar KlarupThome Group
Cheery Anne ArizalaThome Group
Sean MoloneyElaborate Communications
Phil PageElaborate Communications
Designed By:Mike ArglesElaborate Communications
Tel: +44 (0) 1296 682051Website: www.elabor8.co.uk
CONTENTSIssue 45 | June 2016
© Copyright – No article may be reproduced by any means in whole or in part without the written permission of Thome Group.
Flexibility in an uncertain market 3
THOME WORLD
Senior Management visit to FSPO AL ZAAFARANA 7Building a strong supplier network 8Thome India wins bestemployer for tanker fleet 10 Sanctions 101 11Management of bitumentankers 12Two new recruits join theThome team 13A new era begins forThome Zadar 14BSP Best PerformingOperator Award 2015 15
EFFICIENCY
Offshore cost reductionstrategy 16
SAFETY & PREPAREDNESS
Emergency responseShip-Shore Drill 4Vetting: Key to flawlessoperation 5PSC and USCG inspections 6
TRAINING
Adaptability in changing times: Theme for Thome’s annual officers’conference, Manila 20Officer in the Office Program 21Communication & reporting is the key to success 22You and I will go home safely 23
OWNERS PROFILE
Naming of Mari Jone 30
CREW MATTERS
Sharing our experiences willmake us work better 24The right balance betweenwork & leisure 25Listening to music helps to preparetasty meals for the crew 25Sociable events at sea aregood for the soul 26HSSEQ Safety campaign 27E-appraisal system in COMPAS 28A Cadet’s view 29
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Thome ROHQ at 5th ScholaRUN ScholaRUN 31
News
2 | ISSUE 45 | JUNE 2016
FLEXIBILITY IN AN UNCERTAIN MARKET
By Olav Eek Thorstensen, Executive Chairman
The Shipping Industry has always been cyclical. These fluctuations are apparent in all sectors of the maritime market – ship building, ship finance, ship owning and related services including ship management.
The oil & gas and dry bulk markets
has been through a particularly tough
time, especially last year. However with
an over capacity of tonnage being built,
all shipping segments will be affected.
The demands of the charterers and
industrial bodies are becoming more
stringent and with reduced charter
rates, there is pressure to be more cost
effective. The knock-on effect for ship
managers is that clients are demanding
lower opex costs yet they still want
improved efficiencies.
Manning costs have always
been the largest part of a vessel’s
operational expenditure and crew
wages have drastically increased
during the last few years driven by
supply and demand.
This means that trying to operate
vessels at a profit is becoming very
challenging and not even financially
viable in some cases.
As a result of the current market
downturn, owners are demanding a
reduction in manning costs and have
asked us to also look at alternative
manning sources.
This means that our managed
vessels will have a more international
blend of crew onboard in the future
as we recruit from nations where
the wage levels are lower. There will
additionally be pressure to reduce
crew staffing levels onboard which will
put further pressure on our human
resource planning.
We take the “Human Element”
very seriously and through events such
as officer conferences, training and
onboard kits, we are focusing on better
communication both onboard, ship to
shore and with third parties such as pilot
and marine inspection bodies.
With an increased variety of
nationalities onboard, higher work
pressure, and a reduction in human
resources, the Human Element will
become ever more important to us.
As Thome’s CEO, Olav Nortun,
pointed out in his latest interview with
Shipping Watch online “Thome is under
pressure to work smarter”.
I agree that this is the case and we need
to utilize IT solutions and organizational
structural changes to improve productivity.
In the current market downturn we
need to work together to reduce costs,
work smarter and more efficiently while
keeping compliance and safety as our
first priority.
The year will be used to restructure
and re-align the organization, positioning
us for future growth.
I believe we have made a good start
this year to reach our goal of constant
improvement.
Let us keep the focus and remember
that complacency is our worst enemy.
JUNE 2016 | ISSUE 45 | 3
SAFETY & PREPAREDNESS
Emergency response Ship-Shore Drill
By Capt Atul Vatsa, Senior Manager, Marine
Standards & Vetting, Tanker Division
Contingency planning is the key to a successful emergency response as emergencies on board vessels are inevitable. Contingency plans allow shore based management and shipboard staff to deal with them effectively and efficiently.
Thome through the Health Safety
Security Environment and Quality
(HSSEQ) system clearly identifies potential
emergency situations and established
stringent procedures to deal with them.
In spite of technological development,
the number of accidents at sea are not
decreasing. The majority of the incidents
can be attributed to human error,
which might have been caused by bad
communication, a lack of knowledge
or experience, poor training, wrong
management system and many others.
Understanding the role of the human
element within the system is essential
for safety improvement. One of the ways
of pinpointing the dangers onboard and
ashore due to the human factor is to
check employees’ respective skills and
improve them with drills.
Thome performs ship-shore drills on a
regular basis to enhance safety standards
and improve the system based on the
shortcomings identified during the drill. As
a minimum, Thome carries out one ship-
shore drill per quarter. Drills and exercise
programmes are formulated to prepare
ship and shore based organisation to
efficiently deal with such emergencies and
all scenarios are realistic in nature.
Two recently simulated drills involved
the Hafnia Sunda and Ardmore vessel.
The Hafnia Sunda conducted a drill where
a scenario was played out involving a
collision followed by hull breach while the
vessel was on departure from Antwerp.
Whilst on the Ardmore Chippewa a
drill involved a gas- oil leak due to a burst
hose causing a spillage over the side of the
ship and also on deck.
The ship- shore drill was performed
in real time - notifying all third parties
involved like Class-ERS, Flag State,
Insurance, Owners and port authorities via
agents. The response of all external parties
were verified by sending notification.
The qualified individual for the US
related drill was also activated and
further necessary calls have been made
to USCG/OSRO/ and other relevant
parties to ensure the communication was
tested and verified.
The drills enabled the team leaders
and the drill coordinators to see the
ability of the people to work under
stressful conditions. The level of stress
during the drill cannot be compared with
that of an actual emergency, however
prior planning always prevents poor
performance.
Also these drills helps us to:
• test our various emergency procedures,
• use of alternative members as per our
contact list to lead the drill as Incident
coordinator,
• ensure key people know their duties as
per the emergency plan,
• test the 24 hour emergency contact
number,
• check the availability of the ship’s plan
electronically,
• validate contact details of the external
parties,
We also invite observers from various
departments to participate in such drills. All
new superintendents need to attend such
drills as part of their final requirement.
During the two aforementioned drills,
we had new joiners in office, one sailing
master and one CE, as part of the senior
officer assignment program, who attended
as an observer. There were also owners’
representatives from Ardmore during the
Ardmore Chippewa drill.
A post evaluation of emergency drills
is carried out by the Incident coordinator
with proposed recommendations for
improvements and/or amendments to the
applicable contingency plans.
4 | ISSUE 45 | JUNE 2016
SAFETY & PREPAREDNESS
VETTING:KEY TO FLAWLESS OPERATION
By Capt Atul Vatsa, Senior Manager, Marine
Standards & Vetting, Tanker Division
Given that market conditions are still very tough, I am pleased to report that the 1st qtr. results are on par with 2015.
1st Quarter result: 103 inspections @ 3.23 observations
per inspection.
After a good result in Jan (2.88 observation per inspection)
the trend has been negative and has had a 20% increase in the
number of observations from Jan 2016 to Mar 2016.
Key performance indicators which need improvements on:
• 30% of the inspections which are outside the KPI
• 50% of the observations are moderate to High Risk
Just as a reminder – some key focus areas for 2016 based
on the 2015 results are as follows;
• Remove High Risk Observations
• Reduce the number of repeats
• Observations related to Chapter 11 & 12
• Reduce number of observations recorded as “Rectified
during the inspection”
MONTHLY & QUARTERLY PERFORMANCE Our Quarterly performance has been encouraging but this
quarter we have slipped.
THOME – 2015 VS 2016Comparing 1st Qtr result with 2015
Following chapters have had a percentage drop (improved
performance)
• Chapter 4: 12% reduction• Chapter 5: 12% reduction• Chapter 12: 8% reduction
Following chapters have had a percentage increase
(Negative performance)
• Chapter 6: 50% increase• Chapter 8: 27% increase• Chapter 11: 16% increase
VETTING OBSERVATIONS PER VETTING INSPECTION 2008–2016
20
08
0
19.51 7.48 6.25 5.82 5.16 4.07 3.76 3.24 3.23
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
20
09
20
10
20
11
OC
IMF
STA
TS
– 6
.34
20
12
KP
I WA
S 5
.75
OC
IMF
STA
TS
– 5
.77
20
13
KP
I – 4
.75
– 2
1%
RE
DU
CT
ION
OC
IMF
– 6
.41
20
14
KP
I 3.7
5 –
8%
RE
DU
CT
ION
FR
OM
20
13
OC
IMF
3.9
2
20
15
KP
I 3.5
0 –
14
%R
ED
UC
TIO
N F
RO
M 2
01
4
20
16
KP
I 3.0
0
2010-2016 QUARTERLY PERFORMANCE
Q1
20
10
- 6
0/3
53
5.8
8
6.5
7
6.3
4
6.1
4
5.6
1
6.2
3
5.3
3
6.1
3
5.8
1
5.2
5
4.7
7
4.7
7
4.4
6
4.5
5
3.5
0
3.6
9
3.7
6
4.1
8
3.6
4
3.5
0
3.4
8
3.2
9
3.2
2
3.2
3
2.9
7
0.00
1.00
2.00
3.00
4.00
5.00
6.00
7.00
8.00
Q2
20
10
- 7
9/5
19
Q3
20
10
- 5
8/3
68
Q4
20
10
- 7
2/4
22
Q1
20
11
- 6
5/3
65
Q2
20
11
- 6
0/3
74
Q3
20
11
- 7
2/3
84
Q4
20
11
- 7
4/4
54
Q1
20
12
- 8
4/4
88
Q2
20
12
- 9
1/4
78
Q3
20
12
- 7
0/3
34
Q4
20
12
- 9
4/4
48
Q1
20
13
- 8
1/3
61
Q2
20
13
- 8
2/3
73
Q3
20
13
- 7
4/2
59
Q4
20
13
- 7
4/2
73
Q1
20
14
- 8
8/3
31
Q2
20
14
- 8
5/3
55
Q3
20
14
- 8
5/3
10
Q4
20
14
- 9
6/3
36
Q1
20
15
- 8
5/2
96
Q4
20
15
- 6
6/1
87
Q1
20
16
- 1
03
/33
3
Q3
20
16
Q2
20
16
Q4
20
16
Q2
20
15
- 1
03
/33
9
Q3
20
15
- 1
16
/37
3
The following vessels achieved “NIL” observations during
1st Quarter of 2016:
Ardmore Cherokee Koch
Front Dee ENOC
JS Greensand p66
Front Cheetah Koch
BW Stream BP
Key Chapter performance compared to OCIMF
THOME (OBVS./INSP.) 2014–2016 PER VIQ CHAPTER
0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
1 -
GE
NE
RA
LIN
FO
RM
AT
ION
2 -
CE
RT
IFIC
AT
ION
&
DO
CU
ME
NTA
TIO
N
3 -
CR
EW
MA
NA
GE
ME
NT
4 -
NA
VIG
AT
ION
5 -
SAF
ET
YM
AN
AG
EM
EN
T
6 -
PO
LLU
TIO
N
PR
EV
EN
TIO
N
7 -
STR
UC
TU
RA
L C
ON
DIT
ION
8 -
CA
RG
O &
BA
LLA
ST S
YST
EM
9 -
MO
OR
ING
10
- CO
MM
UN
ICA
TIO
NS
11
- E
NG
INE
&
ST
EE
RIN
G
CO
MPA
RT
ME
NT
S
12
- G
EN
ER
AL
AP
PE
AR
AN
CE
&
CO
ND
ITIO
NS
13
– IC
E O
PE
RA
TIO
NS
OBS./INSP. (2014) OBS./INSP. (2015) OBS./INSP. (2016)
THOME VS OCIMF - CHAPTER 4, 5, 8, 11 & 12
0.4
2
0.7
8
0.5
0
0.4
5
0.3
2
0.3
4
0.5
8
0.4
8
0.5
2
0.4
8
0.00
0.25
0.50
0.75
CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 8 CHAPTER 11 CHAPTER 12
JUNE 2016 | ISSUE 45 | 5
SAFETY & PREPAREDNESS
PSC and USCG InspectionsBy Capt. Mayuresh Jayade, Superintendent, Group HSSEQ
The Port State control (PSC) and United States Coast Guard (USCG) inspection task force was formed in May 2015 and has worked tirelessly to uplift our PSC performance. The task force is being efficiently supported by staff onboard ships as well as in the office.
In 2015 the Average Observation
per Inspection ratio was 0.95, about
16 % improvement since 2014 when
the recorded average was 1.13
We must strive to achieve even
better results in 2016.
In addition to exceptionally high observations, we also had
a few PSC detentions in the past and this is very detrimental to
our image, particularly in such a phase of fierce competition.
However, we have worked tireless to reduce the
observations and detentions. In 2016 our USCG PSC
performance has improved significantly as compared to 2015.
As of Q1-2016, we have managed to meet our KPI of 0.75
by scoring our average observation/Inspection as 0.58 with no
detentions until 2016.
We need to be consistent in our efforts and strictly adhere
to the PSC action plan – the salient points are detailed below:
• Compliance to HSSEQ Safety Management System.
• Proactive preparations as guided by the HSSEQ department
comprising of PSC checklist, detention preventive actions,
past observations in the port of call.
• Crew training and raising awareness through shipboard
training using PSC Animated DVD VOL 1 to 3.
• Reporting of issues and concerns as soon as they are
discovered so that appropriate rectification measures or
further reporting to authorities can be carried out.
• Making professional use of 3rd party audits under Thome
Internal Focused Inspections (TIFI) project to ensure
unbiased assessment of readiness of our fleet.
• Strong bonding and seamless communication between
ship and office and within the office amongst various
departments to resolve issues through team work.
LAST 12 MONTHS
2.1
7
1.1
2
0.7
8
0.6
3
1.0
4
1.2
7
0.7
5
0.8
2
0.7
1
0.5
8
1.0
9
1.2
5
0.00
1.00
2.00
2.50
1.50
0.05
MA
R-1
5
AP
R-1
5
MA
Y-1
5
JUN
-15
JUL-
15
AU
G-1
5
SEP
-15
OC
T-1
5
NO
V-1
5
DE
C-1
5
JAN
-15
FE
B-1
5
FREQUENCY OF INSPECTIONS V/S NO OF OBSERVATIONS
68.07%
0 1 2
12.61%
7.56%2.52%
3
2.52%
4
2.52%
6
1.68%
5
0.84%
10
0.84%
12
0.84%
190.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
80.00%
Sometimes we get occasional
hiccups in an otherwise
continually improving trend line;
this is due to exceptional PSC
inspections where as many as 19
observations can
be issued.
To offset such exceptionally
high observations in one
single PSC, we need to get
around 25 inspections with
NIL observations to ensure the
average remains within the KPI
bandwidth.
Reference to adjacent graph
- our frequency of scoring NIL
observations is approximately
68%, and scoring 19 is just 0.84%.
6 | ISSUE 45 | JUNE 2016
Senior Management onboard visits are an important element of Thome’s safety management system, and to the oil and gas industry at large, to ensure that senior leaders stay in touch with Officers and Crew offshore, and to check the quality standards of safety and operations are being met by the fleet on behalf of vessel owners.
On the 2 March I had the pleasure of visiting Floating
Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) facility AL ZAAFARANA to meet the officers and crew in the Gulf of Suez.
AL ZAAFARANA is a 260m, 122,715 MT deadweight FPSO
built as a tanker in 1969 and converted to an FPSO in 1994.
It produces up to 7000 barrels of oil per day and there are 26
crew onboard comprising local Egyptian and foreign seafarers.
We provide ship management, operation and maintenance
services to Egyptian operator and client GEMSA Petroleum
Company (GEMPETCO). The vessel is ably supported by
Senior Vessel Manager Leif Magnusson, Thome’s Cairo Office,
Singapore HQ and ROHQ.
An interesting factor about AL ZAAFARANA is her age. She
is now 47 years old. While the age is endearing and the vessel is
well loved by Officers and Crew, it also presents challenges for
the maintenance and upkeep of the vessel.
It has also necessitated an active life extension programme
under Classification requirements while the vessel is on site
producing oil. Together with the ship’s crew we have been
proactive in supporting the owner and operator GEMPETCO in
this endeavour.
Thome has been assisting the client with preparations for
the vessel’s life extension programme. During the course of the
contract, the ship’s company has taken on extra work to assist
the owners with cleaning, preparing and refurbishing cargo
tanks on-board. This is a significant task owing to the size and
age of the tanks concerned.
They have also assisted the client with a major repair to the
mooring turret saving significant costs to the client. In addition,
ship’s crew were able to reinstate the client’s platform diesel
generator that had been in disrepair for some 4 years prior to
Thome Oil & Gas taking over the contract.
An inspection of the vessel showcased the good work
conducted by the officers and crew in taking care of AL ZAAFARANA despite her age, and a visit to one of the ballast
tanks showed the size and extent of the challenges ahead to
refurbish the ageing tanks.
A gathering was held on-board with the officers and crew to
discuss safety in the work place and general welfare issues.
GEMPETCO and Thome have enjoyed close relations
since the contract commencement in 2009, and this is
underpinned by the enthusiastic and capable support of
the officers and crew on the AL ZAAFARANA. We wish
GEMPETCO and the AL ZAAFARANA crew every success in
its endeavours and we look forward to many more years of
cooperation to come.
THOME WORLD
JUNE 2016 | ISSUE 45 | 7
SENIOR MANAGEMENT VISIT TO FPSO AL ZAAFARANA
By Phillip Chamberlain, COO, Thome Offshore Management and Thome Oil & Gas
THOME WORLD
BUILDING A STRONG SUPPLIER NETWORK By Ryan Dalgado,
Procurement & Supply Chain Manager
1. How important is it to build relationships with your suppliers and how do you
choose who to buy from - what are you looking for in your ship suppliers?
2. Do you tend to stick to the same small number of suppliers or are you always
looking at potential new sources of products and services?
3. What are some of the main issues you have with suppliers and please explain a little about each? How can suppliers help you
with any of these issues?
We would not be able to keep our managed fleet operational without support from our suppliers so building good relationships with all our suppliers is very important. Aside from supplying our vessels with the required goods and services, many are experts in their respective fields and so are able to provide us with information and advice in their areas of speciality.
At Thome we have strict criteria for the selection of new suppliers as well as for ensuring that existing suppliers continue to perform to our required standards. Selection criteria for new suppliers broadly consists of whether they are equipment manufacturers, authorised sales and/or service agents or meeting ISO quality standards and have the appropriate approvals. Where necessary, we carry out onsite audits of the suppliers’ facilities as well as their management systems, processes, documentation, sustainability policies and HSSEQ standards. New suppliers are generally sourced when there are no existing suppliers offering similar supplies or services or we identify gaps in our global coverage.
Over the last few years we have rationalised our supplier base and come down from about 5000 active suppliers to about 1000 suppliers. The rationale is to channel more business to these fewer carefully chosen suppliers for both our mutual benefit.
Nevertheless, we are always looking for new and better suppliers of products and services, either to fill gaps in our supplier portfolio or to replace suppliers who are not performing to our required standards.
The issues we face are very varied – some occur only occasionally whilst other issues we are often faced with.
Some of the common issues we see are items supplied either not in the same material or specification as quoted and also items quoted for but not supplied. We are also noticing that delivery times for spare parts are getting longer as suppliers appear to be keeping less stock on their shelves.
We receive feedback from our vessels on every delivery received onboard – this feedback is collated and issues related to the quality of supplies and missed deliveries are taken up with the respective suppliers during their performance review meetings. Suppliers usually take the feedback constructively and implement corrective measures to avoid the repetition of such issues. Repeated failure by a supplier to correct deficiencies could result in them being delisted from future business.
8 | ISSUE 45 | JUNE 2016
THOME WORLD
4. Is cost still a major factor in who you use or do you place a higher importance
on others such as quality, business relationships, etc, and what do you look for when buying supplies?
6. How sophisticated should 21st century ship
supply become and how has technology moved things along?
5. How has procurement changed at your
company in recent times?
7. Please give me a brief overview of how many vessels
you look after in terms of supply?
Cost is always an important consideration, however, it is not the only criteria used when deciding whom to buy from. Quality, specification, delivery time and the location of the items relative to the delivery port are other important criteria.
Quality and specification are necessary factors to be considered along with price to ensure that the comparison between suppliers is on a like for like basis.
On occasions, getting the spares to the vessel quickly is more important than the price so the supplier with the quickest delivery time is selected over others.
The cost of freight when despatching heavy main engine components can be considerable so availability of such items close to the delivery port is an important consideration.
Over the years, technology has changed the procurement landscape dramatically with the function becoming increasingly sophisticated. Not long ago, the transactional process was manual and very laborious with quotations having to be manually entered into the purchasing system and all RFQ’s and Purchase Orders having to be sent by email. With the increasing sophistication of purchasing systems and the introduction of e-procurement platforms, the efficiency of the process has improved dramatically as has transparency. Further enhancements are under development and when available in the near future, will probably mean that most routine and repetitive transactions will be fully automated. At Thome, we are willing and keen partners to these developments.
In recent times, procurement at Thome has changed from being purely transactional to being a much more strategic function – our processes have been streamlined, performance of systems have been improved, business intelligence extracted from systems is analysed and used as the driver for planning ahead. Category Management has resulted in our substantial annual spend being managed in a far more structured and therefore efficient manner whilst the introduction of Supplier Relationship Management has led to a closer and much better working relationships with all our key suppliers.
Thome is the biggest ship manager in Singapore with a mixed fleet of approx. 240 vessels under full technical management – these include vessels in the tanker, bulker, offshore and oil & gas sectors. The vessels are all trading internationally and the purchasing team are responsible for the supply of the whole spectrum of shipboard requirements world-wide.
We would not
be able to keep our managed fleet
operational without support from our
suppliers
“
”
JUNE 2016 | ISSUE 45 | 9
THOME WORLD
THOME INDIA WINS BEST EMPLOYER FOR TANKER FLEET By Capt Pierre D’Silva, Chief Operating Officer, Thome Shipping (India) Private. Ltd
This is to proudly inform you that Thome Shipping India has won the award for “The Best Employer for Tanker Fleet – (Mid Segment)” at the “Indian Seafarers’ Choice Awards 2015” organized by Offing.
This is particularly pleasing as the award
winners were voted for by Indian seafarers and
the total number of online votes were verified by
a voting committee made up of three prestigious
figures in the Indian maritime industry.
A total of 13,005 Indian Seafarers voted
online for over a month for the various award
categories which also included “Best Employer
for Dry Cargo Fleet” and “Best Employer for
Offshore Fleet”.
The award categories were split into
2 segments: (Mid - less than 1000 Indian
seafarers and Large - greater than 1000
Indian seafarers).
Additionally, there were awards for
the “Best Crewing Team” and for the best
training institutes.
The award was presented to
representatives of Thome Shipping at an
award ceremony at the Lalit, Mumbai on the
6th February 2016.
Thome wishes to thank everyone for their
support, especially for the seafarers who voted
for us and our staff who have been rewarded
for their hard work.
10 | ISSUE 45 | JUNE 2016
Sanctions 101By James Baker, Head of Legal
Recently there has been a lot in the news about “sanctions”, so we thought it might be useful to give a brief explanation of what sanctions are.
In general terms, sanctions are restrictive
measures that one country, or a group of
countries, put in place to bring about a change
in policy or activity by a target country, part of
a country, government, entities or individuals.
Sanctions are designed to put pressure on
the economic activity of the target to bring
about a change in something that the target
is doing that the sanctioning country does not
agree with.
In other words, commercial pressure on
the part of one country to change an activity
of another country. For many years sanctions
have been used by governments with varying
success but it has only been in the last 10 years
that they have become much more prevalent
and wide spread.
Some well-known sanctions are the US
sanctions against Cuba which have been
in place for over 50 years and history will
probably determine they were not effective in
bringing about change.
In comparison, the US/EU sanctions
against Myanmar and Iran (regarding its
nuclear ambitions) can be credited with having
accomplished some degree of change. The jury
is still out as to the level of success in regards to
the sanctions against North Korea and specific
individuals and companies in Russia as a result
of its intervention in the Ukraine and Crimea.
As an example of how sanctions operate,
the US maintains a list, commonly referred
to as the “OFAC” list where non-compliant
countries, companies, groups and individuals
are identified.
A party can find itself on the OFAC list for a
multitude of reasons that range from terrorism
to organized crime (drug dealers), to being a
target of a US sanction and finally a party that
does business with someone on the OFAC list.
For this reason, companies must be
vigilant in their day to day business by making
sure that the parties they work with are not
identified with an applicable sanction.
THOME WORLD
JUNE 2016 | ISSUE 45 | 11
MANAGEMENT OF BITUMEN TANKERSBy Josko Jurjevic, Fleet Group Manager
Thome Fleet Group 4 is specialized in managing specific types of tanker vessels – asphalt / bitumen carriers.
Bitumen ships are specially designed to carry asphalt/bitumen
products, pitch, coal-tar products or similar.
What is so special about bitumen carriers?
The characteristics of these ships is that they are designed with
“floating tanks” i.e. an independent structure which means that
the tanks are allowed to expand due to the high temperature
of the product they carry, up to 250°C. Each tank is insulated
with a special heat resistant material to minimize heat loss.
Cargo heating is another specific factor for these
vessels; usually heating is carried out with thermal oil
boilers in order to allow the cargo to reach the desired
temperature and keep the cargo in liquid form. Prior
to loading, the tanks have to be pre-heated as well.
There are no medium or large bitumen
carriers; the size of a bitumen carrier is
categorized in the smaller segment (<10,000
DWT) typically between 1,000 – 6,000 DWT.
Thome Ship Management specializes
in the management of bitumen/asphalt
carriers. In our fleet there are 8
bitumen carriers (6 in FG4 and 2
in FG7) operating mostly in the
Far East, Mediterranean and
Caribbean.
Special attention has been
given to crew training for
these vessels with a high
retention rate where
crew have to be well
trained in handling
such specific cargo.
12 | ISSUE 45 | JUNE 2016
THOME WORLD
Hanus Mikkelsen Sean Hutchings
THOME WORLD
JUNE 2016 | ISSUE 45 | 13
Thome is very pleased to introduce two new employees to the group. Hanus Mikkelsen joins the executive management team as Chief Strategic Crewing Officer and Sean Hutchings is Thome’s newest recruit in his role as Chief Technical Officer for Fleet Support and Innovation.
Two new recruits join the Thome team
Hanus joined Thome in April 2016 to manage and develop
the offshore human capital element of the organisation, with the
aim of supporting the overall strategic objectives of the Thome
Group of Companies as well as Thome’s broad range of clients.
Before joining Thome, Hanus’ 15 years’ experience in Marine
HR, at both strategic and operational levels, gave him a deep
knowledge of the global crewing environment across a wide range
of vessel segments; working with Clipper, Nordic Tankers, Gulf
Energy Maritime and most recently with Viking Supply Ships.
As well as being a Master Mariner, Hanus has an Executive
MBA from the Copenhagen Business School in Denmark.
Sean Hutchings joined on 1st May as Chief Technical
Officer for Fleet Support and Innovation. He has 17 years’
experience in Asia with DNV GL, including 10 years at senior
management level.
During his time there, he led a team of managers
overseeing all maritime and offshore Classification activities
for South East Asia and brings with him a wealth of managerial
and technical expertise.
Sean has a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons), University
of Auckland, New Zealand and is also a Member of Royal
Institution of Naval Architects, United Kingdom.
A NEW ERA BEGINS FOR THOME ZADAR By Capt. Boris Matijasevic, Office Manager, Marine/HSSEQ Manager-Tankers, Thome Zadar
It is my pleasure to announce the official opening of Thome Zadar’s new office held on 10th May 2016.
Located at 7. domobranske
pukovnije 1, Zadar, the new office
provides a focal point for activities and
initiatives spearheaded by the Thome
Group to support the continued growth
of the shipping industry in Europe.
Operating from Zadar, Croatia since
2009,Thome Zadar has 30 employees.
Thome provides a range of essential
services to shipowners in line with a
modern vision of ship management
to support the industry. With this
relocation, our skilled and dedicated
staff will be able to provide even better
service to their counterparts across the
globe with 24/7 assistance.
Our industry partners have played
a very important role in shaping
the masterplan for the new office
which is 500 square meters and can
accommodate all departments in a
modern open office layout.
The new office will be separated
into individual departments, with
additional space for two meeting rooms,
two interview rooms, a training room,
kitchen and lounge area.
In our new office, the work area
has been strategically designed to
provide effective interaction between
employees from different
departments working in an open office
layout, and to include the managers who
will work with their designated teams.
The open plan layout integrates
the departments that have direct or
indirect contact which will facilitate
more effective cross departmental
communication.
This visionary design in a friendly
environment will provide a positive
role in improving work efficiency and
promoting communication and contact
between all departments.
The fitting-out of the staff office
area and meeting rooms has been
completed and it is expected that
the training room and
presentation
room
THOME WORLD
14 | ISSUE 45 | JUNE 2016
BSP Best Performing Operator Award 2015
By Phillip Chamberlain, COO for Thome Offshore Management and Thome Oil and Gas
While attending a Brunei Shell Petroleum Safety Conference (BSP) in Brunei, Thome Group - Offshore Management - was awarded, in conjunction with local clients Hycotech, “Best Performing Operator 2015” for the management of OSV BERANI. Thome Offshore Management joined the likes of Swire Pacific Offshore and Miclyn Express Offshore as award winners out of 27 vessel operators working for BSP.
The award is scored by BSP based first and
foremost on the safety record, followed by vessel
operational uptime and efficiency.
Thome Offshore Management has been managing
BERANI since March 2014. BERANI is a 78m DP2
FIFI 1 multifunctional support/safety standby &
rescue vessel which provides accommodation
services for upwards of 200 personnel and is fitted
with an Ampelmann motion compensated gangway
for safe “walk to work” transfer of personnel to BSP
offshore oil & gas platforms.
Congratulations to those involved with BERANI
for the award which is an acknowledgement of
good team work on all elements of support for
this prestigious award in a very challenging but
rewarding operation.
THOME WORLD
JUNE 2016 | ISSUE 45 | 15
will be completed by the end of April 2016 so we will be
open for business once this work has been completed.
It will create an unparalled positive business
environment for all current and future employees, and
our customers and let them be a part of this
exciting journey.
EFFICIENCY
16 | ISSUE 45 | JUNE 2016
EFFICIENCY
OFFSHORE COST REDUCTION STRATEGY
Crew costs represent over 60% of the total Operating
Expenses (opex) budget for vessel owners, by far the greatest
operational expense.
During the period of high oil prices, the cost of crew wages
increased dramatically as the demand for skilled and experienced
offshore personnel was high but the labour market was in scarce
supply. Now with the advent of low oil prices, and many offshore
vessels going into layup to cut costs, the supply and demand
balance has tipped the other way.
Owners have had to make tough decisions on crew wages.
Cutting wages creates a risk of losing good people in the
process, when retention is an important element of safe and
efficient operations. Not cutting costs however will drive an
owner into an uncompetitive situation when competing with
the rest of the market.
Thome Offshore has supported owners in their quest for
crew savings, and at the same time has had to balance the
retention of skilled and loyal crew. Fortunately, most crew have
accepted such market conditions with grace and are sharing
the pain that everyone is feeling in the current downturn. Crew
wages continue to be monitored and bench marked to provide a
fair but competitive wage to seafarers.
By Phillip Chamberlain, COO for Thome Offshore Management and Thome Oil and Gas
The downturn in the oil and gas market has driven offshore vessel owners to radically cut costs in order to weather the current storm affecting the industry. As these changes in the market were taking shape, Thome Group has responded to the challenges facing owners by conducting an extraordinary and intensive review to drive down operating costs.
The outcome has resulted in a bespoke cost cutting programme for each of Thome Offshore’s clients, the savings from which
have provided immediate and ongoing bottom line savings for respective clients in addition to the cost savings measures afforded
to owners through Thome’s procurement channels.
The offshore industry enjoyed a period of high oil prices before mid-2014 after which the oil price suddenly dropped before
recovering to the current comparatively low price levels. With lower revenues and high production costs, oil companies have had
to radically change how they manage costs and this has had a subsequent impact on all oil and gas subcontractors in the industry,
including offshore vessel owners. Those in the market have had to rethink the way in which they operate and how to adapt to a new
low cost environment.
Owners do not have control over the market conditions, but they do have control over costs. Thome’s cost reduction
programme for offshore clients has identified and challenged every cost element of its operation, and has leveraged Thome’s
capacity and relationships with suppliers in the market to minimise costs on behalf of vessel owners.
Reducing Crew Costs Efficient Crew ChangeCrew changes are a high tempo activity in the offshore
industry with short duration change cycles between 4
to 10 weeks, compared to other sectors in the marine
industry which are measured in months. The short cycle
and complexity of selection, vetting, medicals, personnel
approval, visas, safety passes and travel brings a lot of
pressure to bear on the skills and supporting systems of the
crew management team in a very demanding and dynamic
environment.
Any slip ups can see crew waiting on a crew boat or
helicopter transfer while those awaiting to be relieved are still
onboard. This represents a double cost in wages and hotel
expenses that is unbearable in current market conditions.
Effective management and control of crew movements
using robust IT systems for crew management, and a
pool of available seafarers, is essential for effective crew
management.
It is critically important to have a high level of
communication between owners, field operators, offshore
personnel and relievers to make sure that any overlaps are
avoided or where unavoidable situations occur (such as bad
weather for crew transfers), the overlap is minimised.
JUNE 2016 | ISSUE 45 | 17
EFFICIENCY
Cost Reduction in Dry Dockings
Negotiations with Suppliers
Dry docking is a significant cost to the owner
and can vary considerably depending on a number
of factors. The best way to minimising the costs for
this essential activity is to provide careful planning
in advance, and to involve suitably qualified and
experienced technical personnel early in the
process. For example, in a recent case a new client
for Thome requested support on a docking the
client had planned. After a review of the planned
scope and site visit to the yard and vessel by Thome,
the cost was reduced by half and the time in dock
reduced by two thirds after alternative repair
methods were recommended and adopted.
Thorough planning is required to ensure the
scope of work is complete prior to docking. If any
important maintenance issues are missed, it may
result in the vessel off hire and/or in detention
with a higher cost of repair before the vessel is
back in operation.
The competition between repair yards is
fierce, therefore advanced planning allows for
comparative quotes and competitive prices.
Thome Offshore’s owners already gain the
benefit of the many discounts and special rates
that the Thome Group has secured for its clients.
During the course of the cost cutting programme,
Thome’s operational personnel together with the
procurement group, met with suppliers who provide
goods and services to the offshore fleet.
The suppliers are acutely aware of the market
conditions facing offshore and most have been
cooperative in providing lower rates. For the
competitive procurement of goods and services, three
quotes are recommended, where feasible, to ensure
the most competitive price on behalf of owners.
Saving costs on Class fees can be low hanging
fruit for some owners. Class societies offer up to
20% reduction in Class fees if owners elect to adopt
a Block Fee arrangement over a five year period.
The Thome Group manages some 12,000
crew on a worldwide basis which provides good
purchasing power for travel. Thome is able to
minimise costs by working with relevant service
providers to provide the best possible deals on
travel. Accommodation costs were also an area of
focus during the cost reduction activity.
18 | ISSUE 45 | JUNE 2016
EFFICIENCY
Fuel Savings and Efficiency Maintenance and Spares
Cost Monitoring and Cost Reduction Mentality
While the cost of fuel has reduced with the price of oil,
the attention of the end user who pays for the fuel has not
relaxed. Fuel efficiency is an important KPI for oil majors in the
Offshore industry. Charterers will track the fuel consumptions
of all the vessels under charter, and fuel efficiency can be a
deciding factor if a vessel is to remain on charter.
Offshore vessels can operate in several modes including
in-port, transit from port to an offshore location, on dynamic
positioning waiting outside an offshore facility’s 500m safety
zone, or in dynamic positioning mode to keep the vessel
stationary against environmental conditions alongside a
facility while operations occur.
For good fuel efficiency, care must be given to each
operational requirement. During transit for example, if it is
permitted by the end user, it is best to choose the economical
speed for the vessel to save fuel. There are times where
vessels need to wait outside the 500m safety zone of an
installation until permission is granted to enter. This is a good
time to get permission from the end user to shut down any
additional generators if they are not required for redundancy.
Keeping machinery maintenance up to date is essential
for good fuel efficiency and for ensuring a high level of
machinery availability and redundancy.
During dockings it is important for owners to choose the
right hull paint schemes to avoid hull fouling by biological
growth depending if the vessel is going to be mostly stationary
(such as a Dive Support or Subsea construction vessel or
vessel intended for long term layup) or regularly in transit
(such as a Platform Support Vessel or AHTS). Fitting properly
maintained Marine Growth Protection Systems is also
effective in preventing the formation of marine growth which
causes drag on the hull and increased fuel consumption.
Fuel theft is a big issue in some parts of the world.
Systems can be fitted and procedures put in place for fuel
monitoring purposes plus CCTV for additional security to
discourage this behaviour.
Cost cutting concerning maintenance needs
careful consideration. A mistake in this area can
result in breakdowns or the attention from regulatory
authorities, both of which can cause the vessel
being off hire and loss of revenue/additional cost.
Maintenance must be kept up to date to maximise
vessel uptime and avoid costly repairs. Condition
based maintenance methodologies, diagnostics
and the purchase cost of associated hardware have
improved over the years and provides an opportunity
for improved reliability and efficiency.
Remote diagnostic tools have improved significantly
in recent years and can be very useful for monitoring
and accessing critical systems such as cranes, dynamic
positioning and power management systems. This
allows Original Equipment Manufacturers to access
systems and provide diagnostics and/or repair from
onshore when needed, thus in some cases avoiding
the time and cost of sending a technician to a vessel in
a remote location, and minimising off hire time in the
event of a breakdown.
The purchase of consumable spares needs
to be carefully monitored to avoid over ordering.
Unnecessary spares are costly and can sometimes
degrade during storage on vessels at sea. Personnel
need to plan ahead and order only what is necessary to
minimise cost and wastage.
The carriage of critical operational spares should
be carefully considered according to the operation,
location and logistics lead time. While such spares are an
added cost, without the right critical spare for repairs,
a vessel can be off hire for a considerable time while
waiting for a spares delivery from the manufacturer. A
thorough risk assessment will balance the technical risk
and cost necessary to strike the right balance of critical
operational spares procurement.
A healthy culture of cost monitoring and reduction is essential in today’s market. Cost control and monitoring
expenditure against budget plus cost cutting needs to be an everyday part of operations on shore and at sea. Operations,
purchasing and finance team members must work in unison to ensure that budgets are adhered to and opportunities for
cost improvement are identified, and any waste trimmed. It is essential to conduct regular cross functional meetings
between all stakeholders to ensure that budgets are monitored, and the lessons learned are shared across the fleet. This
ensures a healthy balance of technical and commercial consideration in keeping costs in check.
In today’s market it is critical to control costs in order for offshore owners to stay competitive and survive a
downturn market. The price of oil is not expected to rise significantly in the foreseeable future for offshore, therefore
owners are having to adapt to new market conditions as a long term prospect. There are many areas for cost efficiency,
and there is a constant requirement across all elements of cost control which involves continuous and careful analysis,
monitoring and control of costs, plus good communications with all stakeholders to ensure the best prices and most
efficient cost savings are implemented. It is a team effort for personnel both on and offshore to implement a cost cutting
culture, plus the right tools and knowledge to ensure the very best cost profile plus safe and efficient operations are
delivered to vessel owners and ultimately the end user.
JUNE 2016 | ISSUE 45 | 19
TRAINING
ADAPTABILITY IN CHANGING TIMES: THEME FOR THOME’S ANNUAL OFFICERS’ CONFERENCE, MANILABy Eloisa Dagami, Training Assistant
This year’s conference opened with a powerful message from Thome ROHQ Managing Director Capt. Ivar Thomasli outlining the Annual Officer Conference theme on “Adaptability in Changing Times”.
The well-attended conference of over 100
seafarers and almost 50 principals along with
shore based personnel was then apprised by
the remarks echoed by Thome Group CEO ,
Olav Nortun on the topic of “Changing Times –
Thome Priorities in 2016”.
The conference and its linked breakout
sessions comprised of interactive group
discussions and short presentations aimed
towards gaining insight into how maritime
change can be planned for, managed and
led from personal, interpersonal and
organizational perspectives. Core topics
included the officers as models of change
management, leading through change and
setting goals and action planning.
There is no doubt that the Group will be
met with a lot of unfamiliar challenges in 2016
and that is why this year’s theme is very timely,
focusing on different strategies to be able to
deal with the unknown events ahead.
“Thome Officers’ Conference” has been
held annually in the Group’s major seafarer
source nations with the main objective of
explaining measures to enhance the quality
of Thome Group operations and exchanging
opinions and best practice of Thome seafarers
around the world.
Sartaj Gill, Deputy Managing Director and
Head of Group Training, closed the day with
the topic “Leadership Attitude & Resilience”
and said “We can choose and are accountable
for our personal response to change. Our
response has an impact on ourselves, others
and on safety.”
Thome’s greatest strength is its’
dedication to safe operations demonstrated
through years of quality ship management.
This is why all officers are strongly
encouraged to attend the annual conferences
to learn how to set sail through the ever-
changing waves of the vast sea which we
consider as our global work place.
20 | ISSUE 45 | JUNE 2016
TRAINING
Officer in the Office ProgramBy Goran Kovacevic, Chief Officer
My name is Goran Kovacevic and I have joined Thome back in 2001 as a deck cadet and now as Chief Officer on Marinvest vessels. I was given a chance to participate in the “Officer in Office Program” for one month and I was assigned to work as a Vessel Manager reporting to Capt. Veeresh Bahadur, Senior Manager - Tanker Operation and Environmental Compliance.
Some of primary assignments
were to assist on developing new
procedures to simplify the use of
Personal Protection Equipment (PPE)
on board chemical tankers to ensure the
compliance of the current “Management
of Change / Implementation of PPE” on
board chemical tankers.
I was also given some other tasks
such as evaluating workshop tests,
briefing new candidates, participating at
the “Task Force Compliance” meeting. I
consider this assignment as definitely of
great value and I highly recommend it to
all senior officers.
During the program, I saw things
from the ‘office’ perspective and I will
bring that with me when I am on-board
- sharing with the ashore team the
views from the office and so be able to
communicate and perform our duties
on-board in a safe and professional
manner.
I am very grateful to all of my
colleagues in the office for their
kindness, hospitality and courtesy.
Also, thanks to Thome Ship
Management for giving me this
opportunity to progress and make me
aware of the importance of reviewing
issues from different perspectives.
JUNE 2016 | ISSUE 45 | 21
Very often we seem to forget that communication is more about how you get your message across rather than the mode used to send it. By this, we mean your message needs to be – simple, clear, concise, timely and with empathy - depending on the type of message it is of course.
The overall value of any message can
be measured by its results. Put simply,
communication must be effective for it
to be of any use.
How often have we seen
communication lines breaking down
onboard and between ship and shore?
Onboard incidents due to
communication errors, equipment
failures due to poor or non-existent
reporting, or a lack of information
exchange from shore to vessel, are
all testament to a breakdown in
communication.
With the advancements of modern
technology and onboard communication
systems, the demand for prompt and
quality information exchange between
all stakeholders (vessel, office managers,
owners and charterers) is constantly
increasing.
Effective communication is vital
for ensuring smooth, high quality and
incident-free operations with high
efficiency. This requires ship staff and
personnel ashore to have a good level
of understanding and maturity whilst
interacting with all relevant stakeholders.
We all have our areas of
improvement. A lot is attributed to our
understanding of diverse cultures and
nationalities. As Tony Robbins said:
“To effectively communicate, we must
realize that we are all different in the
way we perceive the world and use
this understanding as a guide to our
communication with others.”
It’s important to be clear and
professional in your communications,
whether that’s over email, in meetings,
or one-on-one. Take care in composing
emails to your colleagues onboard,
ashore and with clients and charterers to
avoid any misunderstanding.
To be an effective communicator,
it’s just as important to listen and ask
questions as it is to put forth your own
ideas. Listening carefully to others
will help you determine whether your
words are being understood. Don’t
shy away from difficult conversations.
They are an important part of effective
communication and are better tackled
directly rather than avoided.
Certainly we can see, that without the
knowledge of how to communicate well,
and properly, even a solid organization
can cease to function properly and fail.
With this in mind, we, at Thome, have
included communication aspects and case
studies as part of our Human Element
training ashore and onboard. In 2016
we are adding modules pertaining to
Leadership & Communication, Mentoring
& Coaching and Resilience into the
Human Element training for the Onboard
and Shore based staff.
I would like to end by quoting Brian
Tracy: “Communication is a skill that
you can learn. It’s like riding a bicycle or
typing. If you’re willing to work at it, you
can rapidly improve the quality of every
part of your life.
TRAINING
COMMUNICATION & REPORTING IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS
By Sartaj Gill, Head of Group Training & Deputy
Managing Director, ROHQ
22 | ISSUE 45 | JUNE 2016
You and I will go home safelyBy Vanessa Abrenio, Senior Fleet Coordinator, Thome Offshore Management
On February 15, 2016, Mr. Phil Chamberlain, Chief Operating Officer (COO) for Thome Offshore Management (TOM), led a familiarization session, in cooperation with Brunei Shell Petroleum (BSP), entitled: “YOU AND I WILL GO HOME SAFELY”.
The session aimed to ensure that all
BSP contractor staff understood BSP
Safety Performance requirements and the
consequences of non-compliance.
It also highlighted the importance of
intervention as part of building a positive
safety culture, emphasizing the need to
encourage everyone to watch out for
each other and keep everyone safe in the
workplace.
“Statistics are not just numbers of time
lost, injuries, near misses and accidents but are
an important reminder for us that “YOU and I”
have a commitment to “SAFETY.”
As a fitting final activity for the session,
TOM personnel sealed their support to the
“YOU AND I WILL GO HOME SAFELY”
initiative by signing a commitment board
created specifically to strengthen their resolve
and put everyone’s heart into it
How about you? Who are you
responsible for?
TRAINING
JUNE 2016 | ISSUE 45 | 23
As the shipping industry is developing everyday, the requirements to reach a high standard are also increasing. To reach these high standards, the crew needs a continual process of learning and understanding, of developing as a person and as a team, to keep everyone safe on board and to keep the vessel in business.
In our opinion Communication and Safety Culture are the
keys to individual and team development.
A proper, open and free communication between the ship’s
departments, between Officers and ratings and also ship
to shore communication will increase mutual respect. If we
respect our team then they will start respecting each other and
will work together like a well-oiled machine.
As ship’s managers we have to ensure good
communication between departments and between crew
members. During the meetings we have to let the crew, from
all levels, to share their experiences regarding the ship’s
operation and safety aspects and we need only to guide them
to the final purpose of the discussion without interfering too
much. By doing this they will become more confident and will
be sure that people will listen to what they have to share.
Sharing experiences is the first step to building a fair and open
communication and to build a team.
We have to explain to our crew that nowadays the shipping
industry and vessels are not a “one man show” anymore and
they are part of a big machine and only by working together
can we make the machine run properly and safely.
A trained crew will always run a safe vessel. We have to
build the Safety Culture and crew members must be aware
that the more knowledge they have, the safer they are and the
vessel will be safer by sharing that knowledge. Ship managers
have to explain the purpose of training, and that this training
will increase and reveal their skills and abilities. The more we
train and teach our team and try to increase their knowledge,
then the fewer safety issues we will have.
In an ideal ship working environment, we should have skills
in leading and motivating others, monitoring what others do,
backing up our colleges, helping the whole team to adapt to
changing demands and being receptive to each other.
Furthermore, we need to develop mutual trust and effective
communication between team members.
The ideal working environment is when everybody is
working as a team, a team united by a common goal, with each
member having a defined role to play in achieving it.
What the shipboard management can do to achieve
this ideal working environment is to conduct teambuilding
activities, recreational activities, and meetings where
everybody can listen and learn from others suggestions.
To improve the quality of working environment we can
suggest the following:
Sharing our experiences will
make us work better
By Captain Dan Palanga, MT Ardmore Defender
CREW MATTERS
24 | ISSUE 45 | JUNE 2016
CREW MATTERS
JUNE 2016 | ISSUE 45 | 25
Listening to music helps to prepare tasty meals for the crew
The right balance between work & leisure
By Captain Jovan Cavor, MT Marianne Kirk
By Ante Cule, Hafnia Ane
Sometimes too much workload on board can cause stress and fatigue, not only physically but also mentally and it can affect social interaction. To minimize this, the crew of MT Marianne Kirk take part in activities which create an environment that makes the crew feel great while at the same time enjoying their work.
For instance in the Galley, the Chief Cook with his fellow messman play music from a portable stereo while they prepare the
food. Listening to the music puts them in a good mood and helps them prepare tasty meals for the crew to feel at home.
Working onboard a vessel can be defined in so many ways. Difficult, stressful, hectic, hazardous, you name it. But what’s important for the crew is to strike a balance between work and leisure. This ensures that every crew member has time to unwind and relax to give their body and mind a
rest to be ready for a new day ahead. Playing table tennis, singing karaoke, swimming or watching movies are few recreational activities that can be done onboard. Aside from giving crew a rest, these activities also build a bond among the crew and promote teamwork.
• Ensure a good rest. Planning of work/rest hours to ensure
plenty of good quality rest will help all crew members.
• Special Dinner. Ask the Chief Cook to prepare something special
but make sure that it is what crew will appreciate and arrange a
table outside the accommodation in an open space where crew
can talk freely improving their communication and confidence.
• Karaoke Party. Invite senior and junior officers to sing together
with the ratings.
• Sharing the Gym. On a weekly basis get officers and ratings
to meet in the gym to help each other exercise. This will help
different ranks to socialise together.
• Cooking together. Say once a month, let crew from different
nationalities and cultures share their national dishes to
promote different ethnic culinary tastes.
Building a friendly environment on-board with a good
knowledge of everyone’s different responsibilities and duties is a
must nowadays. Mixing with people from different backgrounds,
cultures and ethnicities should be viewed in a positive light.
SOCIABLE EVENTS AT SEA ARE GOOD FOR THE SOUL
By Bratushenko Sergiy, Hafnia Soya
Life at sea, working at sea is a very exciting experience; your life style will be entirely different, you will become an international professional who work overseas together with different nationalities. You are required to work overseas for 6 to 9 months and be home for 2 months leave.
There are a lot of different types of
entertainment to make our stay on-board more
enjoyable. Our crews way to relax include
exercising in the gymnasium, reading or playing
table tennis, but the most common leisure
activities on-board are watching TV and
singing karaoke.
They like watching the same movies over and
over. Remembering the old times by watching
evergreen films with their favourite actors. They
might not get any closer to a masterpiece, but
it makes them relax and prepare the body for a
good nights sleep. It is a pleasure to hear some of
the crew making small comments or even reciting
whole lines by heart, improving the ‘quality’ of the
movie, by adding a little more fun to it, even if it
doesn’t belong to the ‘comedy’ genre.
Another leisure activity very popular
especially among Filipinos on board cargo
vessels is karaoke. Regarded as a very relaxing
way of having fun and passing the time, karaoke
is mostly a weekend activity but the crew also
tend to rely on it whenever they need to mark a
special occasion like a birthday, any other kind of
celebration or just a usual Saturday night. With
very good voices or even not at all, Filipinos love
singing their favourite songs and they put their
heart and soul into it. They often sing songs in
their native language and are very fond of rock
ballads, evergreen songs from the ‘60s to ‘70s.
Life at sea is not easy. Making the working
environment as pleasant as possible makes being
away from home easier.
CREW MATTERS
26 | ISSUE 45 | JUNE 2016
CREW MATTERS
HSSEQ SAFETY CAMPAIGNBy Capt Mayuresh Jayade, Superintendent, Group HSSEQ
The aim of the HSSEQ campaigns is to ensure effective procedures and measures are in place to ensure we never drift away from Thome’s core belief which is “We do it safely or not at all”!
Our campaigns are relayed to vessels
through the HSSEQ gazettes which
are published on a monthly basis. The
campaign categories always focus on
safety and the environment, however
specific topics to be covered in each phase
of campaign are determined by various
factors such fleet incidents, stakeholder’s
feedback, industrial regulations and
trends, plus cascaded tasks from senior
management’s safety strategies.
The HSSEQ department develops
a systematic plan for each assigned
campaign and specific tasks are given to
vessels for compliance and feedback.
Short term campaigns run for 3 to 6
months, whereas long term campaigns
run for up to 2 years.
Every campaign carries a unique title
with a catchy phrase at the heart of the
campaign such as the ongoing ‘Injury
Awareness Campaign’ – which has the
tag line: “Know Safety, No injury! No
Safety, Know Injury.”
It is part of our human psychology
to instantly connect with a subject if
animation, posters, or rhyming words
are used which truly sets the tone of the
campaign and ensures it is carried out
effectively.
The HSSEQ department encourages
innovative ideas and concepts by
involving staff across global offices when
working on the campaigns.
We deliberately chose this topic; Behaviour Based Safety &
How Does It work, to reassure safety procedures on board
One of the root causes, in the fatal incident in December
2015, highlighted in the conclusion of the investigation, was
complacency in complying with safety procedures while at work.
This is not a new issue but is extremely serious in nature. It is
linked to the tendency in human nature to take shortcuts at work.
The Behaviour Based Safety (BBS) approach promotes
interventions that are people focused and often include a one
to one discussion with employees performing routine work
tasks & providing positive feedback.
We ensure this by promoting the use of STOPER CARDS
and reporting as many relevant near misses as possible to learn
from experience feedback and sharing it with others.
STOPER Cards, Near Miss reports, the sharing of Good
Practices, are all analyzed in the office and noteworthy
items are shared with the fleet for implementation and
crew training.
A case study, either from the Thome fleet or from Industry
is shared with our teams and we have found it to be a very
effective method in educating our seafarers on the serious
consequences for MARPOL violations. The primary aim is
to raise awareness on what authorities look out for, improve
competency levels, and to provide confidence to our seafarers
that the company stands by them to do what is right at all times.
Various articles contributed by staff on Safety, Environment
and Health are also published in the gazette to supplement
these campaigns.
The HSSEQ campaign initiative has always received
accolades from our stakeholders such as the Oil Majors (TMSA),
Flag states, Classification societies and owners who visit our
office for audits.
The effectiveness and outcome largely depends on the
teamwork of all personnel, particularly our masters onboard
who take the largest portion of responsibility to drive home
these campaigns.
Ongoing campaign on Behaviour Based Safety & How Does It work
Environment Campaigns are essential to drive MARPOL compliance and the industry’s best practices
JUNE 2016 | ISSUE 45 | 27
E-APPRAISAL SYSTEM IN COMPAS By Rajesh Divakaran, Deputy Group Strategic Crewing
E-appraisal was introduced in 2014 to enhance the performance appraisal of seafarers on-board managed by the Thome Group.
The E-appraisal system based on the
SMART goals concept, which stands
for Specific, Measurable, Achievable,
Relevant and Time Bound, had some
initial teething issues with regards
to the alerts but this was fixed in
November 2015 and now we have a
fully operational e-appraisal system on
Crew Operational Advanced System
(COMPAS).
There are pre-set goals for each
rank, however additional SMART goals
can be added at the time an officer/
rating joins the vessel by their head of
the department after discussing and
agreeing them with the officer/rating
concerned.
Apart from the SMART goals, a set of
competencies such as Communication,
Teamwork, Safety, Thome Human
Element etc. are incorporated into the
e-appraisal system.
Once the goals set in the system are
accepted by the officer/rating, the Head
of Department (HOD) does the mid-
term appraisal, evaluating the officer’s
progress made towards achieving each
of his goals, for the final evaluation.
All training recommendations received
through the e-appraisal system are
automatically forwarded to the training
module of COMPAS which is monitored
by the Group Training Department. Any
training requirements additional to the
mandatory value-added training can also
be included during this process. All the
accepted training requests are handled
by the Regional Training Departments
to ensure that the training is carried out
within a specific time frame.
E-appraisals for Masters and Chief
Engineers are carried out by the vessel
managers and then acknowledged by
FGM and senior management.
CREW MATTERS
28 | ISSUE 45 | JUNE 2016
A Cadet’s view By Kirk Primacio Romanillos, Cadet
At Thome we recognize and acknowledge excellent performance from grass roots level to ensure that our cadet program develops future leaders within the Company.
Based upon a survey and onboard performance appraisal
reports, in 2015, Cadet Primacio Romanillos was awarded
the best performing cadet for demonstrating competence,
diligence, enthusiasm, initiative, creativity, safety awareness
and leadership qualities.
Below Primacio’ view on his first year as a cadet:
I’m engine cadet Kirk Primacio Romanillos, currently
onboard the vessel of M/T Front Ariake managed by Thome
Ship Management. At the age of 19 I’m practicing my skills to
become an engineer.
As a student of the University of Cebu, I was hired by
Thome Ship Management to join their engine cadet program.
I was very happy and lucky to have this opportunity and am
diligently applying myself to become a loyal employee.
When I first came onboard, I was very unfamiliar with
the machinery and engines but with the help of the best
engineers, namely, Chief Engineer Marko Pavlicevic, Second
Engineer Dave Respicio Acosta and Third Engineer Jigar
Bata-anon Gasendo and the rest of the crew, I soon learnt
about each one and am well on the way to achieving my goal of
becoming an engineer.
I acknowledge the highly skilled and competent senior
engineers who always pushed me to learn and excel in what I
do. They are always on hand to respond to any of my questions
and always check to make sure I have thoroughly understood
their answers.
They involve me in different kinds of jobs, especially in
overhauling and troubleshooting any issues with the machinery.
I am determined and interested enough to learn more about
this branch of the profession and eager to emulate the success
achieved by my engineering colleagues.
Moreover, I am blessed and thankful to Thome Ship
Management for choosing me as one of the lucky cadets
to achieve excellence in service and management and to
continuously seek improvement in the company’s service to our
principals’ satisfaction.
CREW MATTERS
JUNE 2016 | ISSUE 45 | 29
OWNERS PROFILE
NAMING OF MARI JONE By Darshan Gaur, Fleet Group Manager Mari Jone, Hull No.2504, built at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, is a 50,380 MT DWT, Product /
Chemical Tanker. She is the second of four new build vessels being built by Westfal Larsen and Marinvest at HMD.
Thome is proud to be entrusted with the management of these two Marinvest Tankers.
The tankers are built with the first-of-its kind MAN B&W ME-LGI 2-stroke dual fuel engine
that can run on methanol, fuel oil, marine diesel oil, or gas oil.
Methanol is viewed as a clean-burning fuel and is considered to be a viable alternative to the
industry’s increasingly stringent emissions regulations. It is a biodegradable marine fuel that reduces
smog-causing emissions such as particulates, sulphur oxides and nitrogen oxides.
The naming ceremony was conducted on the 18th of April 2016 and was attended by owners’
representatives, site teammembers, senior officers and other distinguished guests representing
the Norwegian Flag, Classification society and shipyard.
Mr Olav Nortun, Mr Claes Eek Thorstensen and Mr Darshan Gaur attended the naming
ceremony on behalf of Thome.
The delivery is scheduled for 28th April and we congratulate all stakeholders and wish the
Master and crew of Mari Jone all the very best.
30 | ISSUE 45 | JUNE 2016
Thome ROHQ at 5th ScholaRUNBy Carybelle C. Celso, HR Specialist, Thome Ship Management Pte Ltd, ROHQ
On 28th February, employees from Thome’s Regional Office Headquarters (ROHQ) once again joined the “5th ScholaRUN”, of the American Chamber Foundation, at Bonifacio Global City in the Philippines.
This charity event aims to raise
money for underprivileged kids of the
aforementioned foundation to fund a
scholarship program.
More than 80 employees of ROHQ
supported this event. The participants
had a good time with their 10, 5, and 3
kilometer distance categories.
Thome ROHQ encourages its
employees and their respective families
to take part in these kind of events to
promote not just a healthy lifestyle,
family bonding and camaraderie, but
most especially to help change the lives
of many underprivileged children.
“I was happy that I joined this event
as it served both my intent of living
a healthy lifestyle and being a good
corporate citizen. The event was one
of the company’s and employees’ many
ways of sharing their blessings. A simple
gesture that leaves a long-lasting effect. I
am glad I became part of it.
It is FUN TO RUN, especially if
running serves a greater purpose –
helping the underprivileged kids to have
a brighter future ahead of them.”– Jessica
Barao / 10K finisher
“Employees like us should take part in
activities such as the Thome ROHQ Fun
Run, to achieve a good work-life-balance
and keep healthy.
Most importantly, we should enjoy it
and try to get better at it just like striving
for greatness in our lives.
Don’t just chase your dreams…run
them down!” – Matt George Namuco/
10K finisher.
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
JUNE 2016 | ISSUE 45 | 31
THOME GROUP (HO)16 Raffles Quay, #43-01 Hong Leong Building, Singapore 048581Tel: (65) 6220 7291Fax: (65) 6225 1527 Email: [email protected]: www.thome.com.sg
