Communicating with a multitude of people to manage a voyage is one of the biggest frustrations operational managers face today. Not only does it take time to liaise with people via email, which is the traditional approach to voyage management, but it also lends itself to miscommunication and error.
“You’re trying to communicate daily with people to get them to understand what you are trying to do and what needs to be done to perform a safe and efficient voyage. Then you’re trying to deal with various vendors, port agents, bunker suppliers,” a Senior Operations Manager of a leading vessel operator told us when talking about the major challenges he faced in the past. ”We have got to make sure the vessel is commercially performing as expected. It doesn’t end up excessively delayed for bunkers or acquiring additional charges in port. You need to balance all of that, and then you have the fragmentation where different people are handling different aspects of the voyage. You have a port disbursement desk that is probably handling agency appointments and a bunker desk team focussing on fuel procurement, and there’s no alignment between them. You have to go back and forth via email, and if a person on the other end doesn’t understand, you just have to keep on exchanging emails. It can take so much time to resolve a simple issue.”
One of the significant bottlenecks in commercial voyage management is the acute shortage of experienced personnel. This is especially the case in key shipping hubs like Copenhagen, Singapore, London, and Houston. This challenge is compounded by the decreasing interest among the younger generation in pursuing seafaring as a career. The dwindling talent pool can cause companies massive headaches in trying to secure the same quality of talent they have had in the past. Additionally, new graduates from nonshipping backgrounds face a steep learning curve, struggling to grasp the complex jargon and operational nuances of the industry. This lack of experienced individuals can slow down operations and increase the reliance on attracting talent from abroad, exacerbating the problem. According to Mike Bateman, Freight Trader at ExxonMobil, the quality of human capital is critical. You might have the software, but if you don’t have the people, the value you will create is limited. “High-quality people will cost you, but if you don’t have them, you will lose customers,” he warned.
It is essential to consider not just the scarcity of experienced personnel but also the challenges that come with the near 24/7 on-call nature of roles in this sector. For instance, a Senior Commercial Director of a major shipping company said, “In today’s commercial voyage management, the ability to attract and retain quality talent goes beyond traditional incentives. We’re in a nearly 24-hour on-call profile, which demands not just expertise but also a significant commitment to work-life balance. Our new graduates, especially those from non-shipping backgrounds, face a steep learning curve, grappling with our sector’s complex terminologies and operational subtleties. Moreover, the necessity for timely and sensitive decision-making cannot be understated; it’s akin to navigating through a storm with precision and confidence.” This insight underscores the critical need for skilled operators who can navigate the complex commercial landscape efficiently.
For a more detailed understanding and exploration of the topics covered in this article, refer to our latest report, Charting a Profitable Course: Achieving Excellence in Commercial Voyage Management, commissioned by GeoServe.
You can download the full report below:
