Hello all, welcome to my blog #9! Today, we visited Bernhardt Shulte and the Columbia Group, two ship management companies. I learned about the amount of effort and behind-the-scenes work that goes into management and seafaring. From the company visits, I got to see how the Columbia Performance Optimization team manages each ship to avoid dangerous routes and keep track of fuel consumption and vehicle speed. They also have to pay attention to sanctions and give warnings to insurance companies for crossing territories. Another thing I learned was about the necessary training for seafarers. They need to take classes for certificates to ensure they are comfortable not only with the vessels and equipment, but also with responding to emergency situations and ship maintenance. Since they are on the ship, away from family, for an extended period, they also need to make sure they are in good mental health, so they can work well throughout their journey.