Today was a day for site visits, at two ship management companies, Bernhardt Schulte Shipmanagement and Columbia Group. Both were companies that deal with affairs on the sea, but had many different functions. Starting our day with Bernhardt Schulte Shipmanagement, or BSM, was quite the experience. BSM does specific maritime training for the Schulte group, hence their name. A function of ship management that was heavily discussed by this group was the continuous training and course offerings at BSM for interested seafarers. BSM offers countless courses ranging from weeks to months with specialization in 20+ different fields. Plus, BSM had actual on-site training simulations to help their students learn how to deal with emergencies, ship practices, or even learn how to do their specific job. When you think about it, as a seafarer, you must be informed of all actions regarding your vessel and know exactly what your duty is to ensure your ship is operating correctly. This concept contributes to the overall management of the ship. (Specifically, I enjoyed the one room with the steering wheel that stimulated a captain steering a boat) Next, we went to Columbia Group, also located in Limassol as a ship management company. However, they mostly focused on the logistics behind the ships trekking through water, as their main objectives are to optimize and monitor route efficiency, integrated energy, and maritime. In particular, the one room we toured had huge flat screen TVs displaying graphs and maps of boat speed, fuel consumption, and time of each route they were in charge of. I didn’t realize how integral the logistics were to the overall management of each ship. They explained that each part they monitored was important to the overall flow of the vessel. Additionally, Columbia Group made it explicitly clear how much they valued everyone employed there, people on the ships they monitor, and the seafarers aware of every activity on the vessels and how train them to the best of their ability to handle any action at sea. Either way, I learned so much information about the shipping industry and being a seafarer, and I could see myself potentially doing the marketing for businesses like these two!
