GREEK & ITALIAN PHILOSOPHIES SHAPE MARITIME MANAGEMENT

Bulk carrier management specialist, Iblea Ship Management was established in Greece in 2021, but it is not a newcomer to the industry. As part of the esteemed Augustea Group, which boasts over 60 years of maritime industry experience and deep Italian maritime roots, Iblea Ship Management inherits the group’s unwavering commitment to continuous improvement and high standards of crew safety and environmental impact; shaping its identity, values and strategy. General Manager Francesca Trotta spoke with Richard Hagan.

Operating on the global market, Iblea Ship Management serves a diverse clientele by offering high-quality ship management services tailored to their specific needs.

Iblea Ship Management’s services range from full technical management of vessels to operations and post-fixing; a meticulous process that ensures contracts are fully resolved in terms of payment and dispute resolution once a vessel has transported goods from one point to another. The company’s comprehensive service offering leaves no need unaddressed, making it a preferred partner for many ship owners around the world.

The company specialises in the management of bulk carriers, providing seaborne transport of major commodities such as iron ore, coal and grains. By mid2023, Iblea Ship Management had 22 vessels in its management portfolio.

Ship-shape staff

This growth in Iblea Ship Management’s portfolio has been steady and sustained, thanks, in large part, to its highly effective people. The company’s bustling headquarters in Athens, Greece, are a hive of activity, housing over 37 onshore employees. Roving superintendents and travelling staff ensure smooth operations between ships.

“We have managed to create what we have now, in Athens, in just two years,” said General Manager Francesca Trotta, as she reflected on the company’s remarkable growth trajectory. “It was a lot of hiring, while still trying to run the business and service our vessels. This was our biggest challenge and our biggest achievement!”

Augustea Shipmanning is based in Manila and is part of Augustea Group.

Augustea Shipmanning has over 3,000 seafarers to serve over 100 vessels from different clients. The group’s state-of-the- art Italian Maritime Academy (IMA) is also located in Manila and is part of Augustea Shipmanning. In addition, Iblea has a pool of around 300 seafarers.

“Augustea Shipmanning has been around for over twenty years and having it available to us is a huge advantage for our business,” said Ms Trotta. “We frequently send people from the office to train the new personnel there, as well as to meet the crew.”

Digitalisation and traditions

Despite being in an industry steeped in tradition, Iblea Ship Management is not immune to the digital transformation wave reshaping various industries.

According to Ms Trotta, the adoption of technological advancements that support the company’s daily ship-to-shore operations is still in the testing phase due to inherent challenges with the remote nature of shipping. “Our biggest challenge is communications and connectivity,” she said. “In order to truly harness AI and the

Internet of Things, we require real-time data to be transmitted, which demands very fast communications between the ship and shore.

“We’ve embraced various systems and are trialling various others on our vessels, as well as testing the market to see what else is out there that can benefit our operations.”

Despite these challenges, the company remains optimistic about harnessing the potential of various new tools to improve vessel safety and efficiency. Ms Trotta emphasised the company’s vast maritime heritage as evidence of its ability to adapt to these new technologies and challenges: “Greece has always played a leading role in the maritime industry and that will continue to be the case. Greek shipping companies possess expansive experience in shipping as well as industry knowledge and, altogether, a vast fleet of vessels.

“I believe that Greece’s strongest point is its capacity and capability to successfully adapt to changing market conditions, challenges and global trends. Our goal is to leverage the best of both: our Italian heritage and new Greek roots and personnel.”

Setup for success

With the human and technological infrastructure firmly in place, Iblea Ship Management is now focusing on expanding its client base. The company is keen to demonstrate its track record to potential clients and show them the value it can bring.

As part of its competitive strategy, Iblea Ship Management is dedicated to providing a more personalised service, unlike larger industry players. “What we offer is a more tailored service,” said Ms Trotta. “For example, we have weekly calls with our clients where we update them on their fleet –just generally; even if there aren’t any issues to discuss. We update them constantly on the fleet’s condition. We share info and pictures with them. We don’t hide anything from the owners.”

In addition to those regular calls, Iblea Ship Management also provides owners with a comprehensive quarterly report, reflecting the current status of all of the company’s pre-agreed KPIs with the customer.

Meanwhile, Iblea Ship Management is a member of RightShip and has embraced its inspection regime, adding further credibility to its technical management service. The company is also a member of INTERCARGO, a key international forum representing the interests of dry cargo shipowners, and it is certified for ISO 9001, 14001 and 45000.

With its unwavering commitment to safety, operational excellence and transparency, Ms Trotta emphasised that Iblea Ship Management is well-positioned to sail its clients towards a future filled with success and growth in the maritime industry. “We have the capability to immediately run your vessel,” she said. “We have done a lot of work to earn strong vessel compliance scores and we have the human capacity to look for more clients, so our mission right now is to tell the industry that we’re here; we have the track record and we’re ready to serve you.

“In the meantime, our goal is to work every day to deliver even better quality and optimised costs for our clients.”

Concluding, Ms Trotta reflected on what it means to work in shipping: “I love the challenge of the job, and I love the fact that shipping is such a highly dynamic environment: there’s very little boredom in this business. Shipping is not simply operating vessels – it’s an intricate, complex business with many moving parts: it’s about people, economics, and engineering.” n