Today was our first day visiting companies in Cyprus! We started with visiting BSM ship management. Our presenter had much experience working as an engineer on ships, giving him much experience. He spoke to the training portion of ship management. New training program are highly experiential— relying on simulation and practice protocols. This is compliant with the international maritime organization. We also learnt that BSM is very vertically integrated– they own a number of the vessels they provide crews for.

The next visit, with Columbia ship management, was my favorite so far. The company started as providing crew management for shipping, but later vertically integrated just like BSM. When asked, they said that they are vertically integrated because of their clients’ needs– the clients trust the company and so they wanted them to do more. Columbia also invests in smaller venture capital companies in the maritime area. Beyond maritime, the company is starting to get involved in the private airline industry. I found this talk particularly interesting since the speaker is a product maneger– a role I may pursue at some point in my career. He explained how he makes pitches for new business ventures, and acts as a liaison for different departments in the company. Columbia also made a big point of saying how the shipping industry isn’t “solved”– in the future it will likely look very different from today. This was inspiring to hear as improving industries will be my main focus as an IE. It goes to show that one could make an impact in a field that seems intimidating initially.

The last company we visited was Medochemie. Medochemie gave a presentation on their specific supply chain. I found it interesting that they don’t manufacture pharmaceuticals from raw materials, but rather from “active ingredients”. These can include substances that are advanced– taking years to produce. They may even be derived from fruits or plants. I also found it interesting how COVID was especially very hard for the company. Cyprus’ only airport, Larnaca, was shut down during COVID, so Medochemie was forced to transport their products by boat. It makes sense that Medochemie normally transport pharmacuticals by plane since they are high value products.

I am excited to see how ports operate tomorrow!