We visited the companies Bernhardt Suite and Columbia Group today, which were both quite interesting and unique. Bernhardt Suite, which can be abbreviated as BSM, focused on the training portion of ship-management. Columbia Group, on the other hand, was a huge worldwide organization that integrated maritime, logistics, energy, and leisure, with a focus on a small part called Columbia Ship-Management. Through these two companies I learned about all of the different factors that go into managing vessels. For one, there are many people on the land that have a focus on optimizing routes within the context of the weather, other ships, sanctioned areas, and more. There is also an entire structure inside every ship-management organization that allows different groups to function at their best, like the separation between cruise vessels and cargo ships. Separate from land, we also got a little bit of insight into the life of a seafarer thorough the thorough and important training process that is behind everyone who goes into the industry. For those on the ships, there are a variety of factors for them to keep track of, as represented in one of the training rooms we went in today. They have an image of outside that allows them to identify if anything has gone awry, and additional people in the room to strategize and problem solve. In other training room we saw how seafarers who oversee the boat manage, identifying their current track and aspects that will keep them going forward to their destination. Overall it seems to be a much wider and complicated field than I expected, but it is really intriguing.
Modern Day Ship-Management – Day 10
