d’Amico-Ishima Seminar Focuses on ‘Sailing into the Future Together’

– Padmesh Prabhune

d’Amico Ship Ishima India Private Limited, a leading provider of ship management services, recently held a 2-day seminar for its ship’s officers and shore staff on 3rd and 4th May at The Leela hotel in Mumbai. Following the theme: ‘Sailing into the future together’, the two-day event attended by over 80 seafarers, witnessed interesting interactive sessions focused on a variety of topics, including safety, environmental protection, human factor, technical, crewing, and commercial aspects.

The seminar was led by a team of experienced professionals, who shared their knowledge and expertise with the ship’s staff. The officers learned about the importance of safety procedures, how to identify and mitigate risks, and how to focus on compliance. Among the distinguished speakers were Capt Domenico Savio Taiano (Global HSEQE director of d’Amico Group and ISHIMA ), Capt. Manpreet S. Gandhi, (Marine Director, Ishima), Capt Mohan Dhinakaran (Guest speaker from AMPOL group), Mr Paolo Vaccaro, followed by Cesare D’Apì, Massimo Rittore, Pasquale Bisogno, Alessandro Mura, Counselor Ms. Anitha Kotakonda, and others.

The balanced series of sessions with an interesting array of topics across segments made it a riveting program, compelling the audience to stay glued to their seats. The content, supported equally with AV’s and Short Films, had its impact to the fullest on the minds of the audience. The seminar was well-received by the seafarers, who appreciated the opportunity to learn and interact. They said that the seminar had given them the tools they need to keep their ships and crews safe.

The seminar was inaugurated in the Indian traditional way of lighting Diyas with dignitaries; namely Capt Budwal, Capt Taiano, Ms. Francesca and Mr. Alessandro Mura.

The Chief Guest for the day, Mr. Salvatore d’Amico, Group Fleet director of d’Amico group, addressed the audience in a televised message. He thanked everyone for being present at the seminar and assured them of the best of times ahead. He mentioned the growth of the Group in recent times and noted that it would be imperative for everyone in the company to maintain the status quo, for they had reached the top of the curve. The televised message was well received by the audience.

The first day progressed with focus on the various aspects of Health-Safety-Quality & Environmental (HSQE) reviews led by interactive sessions by Capt Taiano and other members of the HSQE team. The first presentation provided an overview of the company including number of ships under management, distribution of time-chartered fleet, performance of the company during vetting and PSC inspections, benchmarking with other companies, customer feedbacks and other related statistics. It was clear from the presentation that the company is maintaining one of the highest possible performance standards and continuous effort is needed by all personnel involved to maintain this leadership position.

The presentations from HSQE team covered various interesting topics such as navigational assessments, environmental compliance, proper handling of cargo and ballast, SIRE 2.0 and learning from incident. The sessions were highly interactive and feedback surveys were carried out after each topic electronically. The results of the feedback were shared soon thereafter, and all queries raised by the seafarers were adequately addressed.

During the lunch break, the seafarers and shore staff were seen discussing the seminar topics enthusiastically. In the afternoon session, the external guest counselor Ms. Anitha Kotakonda took the center stage while she discussed about d’Amico andISHIMA’s one of its own initiatives called ‘Care through Connection – The Apollo Project’, focusing on maintaining overall health of the crew onboard. The counselor pointed out various psychological and physiological pressure points affecting crews onboard. Her study on factors affecting seafarers’ satisfaction with life had a deep impact on all the participants. Her short, guided meditation was the highlight of this session where she demonstrated some easy-to-follow techniques for mental wellbeing.

The evening witnessed a fun & frolic gala-dinner & Awards. The winners for the year for Singapore fleet were Capt Balcha for Philoxenia and Capt Ignout for Medi Zuoz whereas the winners for Rome fleet were Capt Manish Gupta & CE Afzal for, Cielo Di Rotterdam and Cielo Di Europa.

The seminar continued on day 2 i.e., 4th May with the first session by Capt. Mohan Dhinakaran who explained the organizational structure of AMPOL and how their vessel & operator screening process works. Capt Mohan’s presentation was well-structured, engaging, and informative. Seafarers found his talk to be extremely insightful and useful. It was interesting to learn about the various measures that AMPOL takes to ensure the safety and security of chartered vessels and crew members. The insights and knowledge shared by Capt Mohan were truly valuable and have greatly contributed to seafarers’ understanding the vetting process. He also touched upon the new vetting regime of SIRE 2.0. The information shared by him was very well received by the ship and shore staff. A huge round of applause followed his presentation.

After a short coffee break Mr. Paolo presented the global energy outlook, which was an eye-opener for the participants of the seminar. There were interactive discussions on commercial activities, the best choice of alternative fuels going forward and how the use of conventional fossil fuels will shape out in future.

Mr. Vinod Kumar from ICT department explained how the ICT related activities are carried out within the organization, the cybersecurity measures in place and what steps the company is taking to ensure that going forward, the growing ICT needs are fulfilled without any compromise to the cybersecurity aspects of the individuals and the company.

Mr. D’Api explained the technical aspects of new EEXI and CII regulations and how the company ships are complying with these requirements. To conclude, there was a session on crew evaluation and competence led by Alessandro Mura.

Speaking about the seminar, Capt Taiano mentioned that d’Amico Ship Ishima India has its presence in India since the year 2000, with its head office in Mumbai supported by field office in Delhi, which over the years have grown from 4 to over 100 staff.

“India happens to be a pool of talents, and such seminars are part of the d’Amico culture for this acts as a morale booster and confidence building measure for all our teams of seafarers.”

Capt Budwal said, “We are responsible for manning operations in India for the d’Amico Group  and third-party Owners by providing qualified, experienced, and efficient officers and crew onboard vessels. We not only recruit and deploy highly competent and qualified seafarers but also provide value-based training to our seafarers and uphold their welfare.”

“Our strength lies in providing an ownership work environment, fact-based transparency, and excellent shore-based support with flexibility to improve our system and procedures so as to counter the challenges of a very dynamic maritime environment.”

Capt Budwal further acknowledged that while d’Amico Ship Ishima India have a diverse culture on board with crews from India, Ukraine and Italy, the share of Indian seafarers is over 80 percent, including the ratings. d’Amico Ship Ishima India has over 1500 Indian officers and crew on its roster, with a remarkable retention rate of more than 90%. This undoubtedly reflects the high standards that the company maintains and the professional manner in which its ships are run.

With highly motivated and professional crew, and an efficient management team ashore, the expansion plans of d’Amico India are envisaged to run parallel with the growth and development of Indian Seafarers.

Marex Media