Wallem Fleet Officers Hosted at Kochi Meet

The 2-day event themed: ‘Future is Human’ had many interesting sessions discussing technological aids onboard for seafarers to maintain their one-up level
Padmesh Prabhune

Commemorating its 120 years of success, Wallem Ship Management, one of the world’s leading ship managers, recently hosted its fleet officers meet at Kochi, on 10th and 11th October 2023.
Following the theme ‘Future is Human’, the two-day event attended by over 100 seafarers, witnessed brainstorming and interactive sessions on various aspects dealing on Safety, Human and Operational / technical excellence, both on board and ashore.
Capt Xerxes Daji, Regional Director, Wallem India, set the stage with the introduction, welcoming everyone at the venue. He stressed on the Human element saying, “No matter how much do technological advances happen, we still need humans for manning the systems; and it is as simple as that.
“The session will focus on being human and following the safety culture.”
He advised the seafarers to look for the larger picture in making their careers and not to compromise it for some insignificant jump in salary alone.
Mr. Praveen Shukla, Deputy MD & Technical Director, Wallem Ship Management, delivering the Keynote address, appreciated everyone amongst seafarers for their continued support. He stressed on the cultural history of Wallem for having generations of Seafarers continuing their association as good as family ties and ensured them of a bright career at Wallem.
The Speakers from Wallem included stalwarts of the likes of Mr. Praveen Shukla, Deputy MD & Technical Director; Capt Subramanian Rajagopal, Director Compliance; Capt Chittur Subramanian, Director Operations; Capt Xerxes Daji, Regional Director; followed by Capt Yogesh Pasrija, Global Head crewing, and Capt Samiran Chakraborty, Global Head of Training.
The balanced series of sessions with an interesting array of topics across segments made it a ‘must attend’ program, compelling the audience to stay glued to their seats, till the end. The content supported with AV’s and Short Films equally had its impact to the fullest on the minds of the audience.
The seafarers had the opportunity to discuss the real cases studies, incidents across segments with speakers of the likes of Capt Chittur Subramanian, Capt Samiran Chakraborty, and Mr. Suryansh Srivastava, who could explain in detail the probable causes of errors, be it human or technical.
The session had its share of fun and frolic as well. Apart from the rapid round test, the event also saw games and a quiz contest, followed by the Gala Dinner, to conclude on a high spirited note.
Marex Media

Safety Violations will not be tolerated
Wallem as an organization in a sense is very considerate and we have been adhering to a system. At Wallem we follow the culture of Safety First; it is in our behavior, our communications and makes one of our highest values. We care for our seafarers; nothing is above Human life.
We have various training modules, including a hybrid model, to ensure our seafarers are always updated.
The one thing we make very clear during our session is that Safety Violations will not be tolerated. The three violations; marine pollution, use of drug and alcohol, gender related abuse and/ or nationality are dealt with very strictly.
– Capt Subramanian Rajagopal, Director Compliance, Wallem
Automation will make Seafarers’ job easier
Seafarers need to understand automation will make our job easier and with the technology driven modules human errors will be minimized. But this does not mean it will take over the jobs. Seafarers need not worry about the growing technological advances it will only help them. We always follow the pilot co-pilot module.
We are working towards IMO’s Vision 2030 and have bought ships running on LNG and alternate fuels that are sailing thus reducing the emissions. As a matter of fact, we are using these ships to train our seafarers. The rate at which things are changing one needs to understand up skilling is the way forward.
– Capt Chittur Subramanian, Director Operations, Wallem Ship Management
We are the Voice of Seafarers; we work ‘with’ Shipowners, not ‘for’ Shipowners

The event is all about seafarers and the idea is to listen to them. About 45% of our seafarers are Indians followed by Filipinos & Chinese. Wallem does not compromise on security and obviously there is a cost attached. Our core values are quality, transparency, and partnerships. We work with shipowners and not ‘for’ shipowners. We maintain the balance for we are the voice of our seafarers.

At Wallem we follow the Just Culture, Peoples first & Safety first. Despite all the technological advances the fact remains humans will always handle the technology, and this is the point we are driving. We encourage seafarers to ask questions and be assertive if need be.

We have been following standard operational initiatives, working categorically on Vessel Optimization, assisting efficiency, data optimization/ analytics, regulatory compliances in accordance with respective regulations. There is capacity building, and we are focusing at dual fuel, LNG, alternate fuels, and emerging trends in shipping. We are looking at the markets of Angola, Ghana, South Africa, Nigeria, Turkey, and gradually we might look at the European market.

India has a huge untapped potential and I think maritime industry should take initiatives to create greater awareness.

Mr. Praveen Shukla, Deputy MD & Technical Director, Wallem Ship Management
Wellness@Sea

Wallem looks for aspiring seafarers who are dedicated to safety, possessing a can-do attitude, are collaborators who are motivated to succeed and excel.

However, the post-pandemic era along with the digitalization and energy transitions pose new challenges for seafarers’ well-being, calling for enhanced focus on mental health at sea.

To ensure seafarers are mentally capable of handling the stresses of modern shipping with mandatory implementation of measures promoting emotional well-being onboard, Wallem in collaboration with a Clinical Psychologist, has developed the Wellness@Sea Program. The program empowers our seafarers to prioritize their well-being and health while receiving our full support.

– Yogesh Pasrija, Acting Global Head of Crewing, Wallem Ship Management

Seafarers are here to stay…
The WFOM function was all towards our endeavors to create a communications platform for understanding the concerns of our seafarers. As discussed in the sessions, many of our seafarers want to understand the impact of artificial intelligence and automation.
The answer is simple- automation will make our jobs easier and further minimize human errors. Seafarers need not worry about the growing technological advances as it will only help them. We need Hands on desk and boots on deck to handle the ship and take care of the assets for though its techno-driven it will need humans to control the machine.
Seafarers need to upgrade their skills for being competent. We have on-going training sessions and modules on ballistics and SIRE that are lined up and seafarers would be spending almost two or three weeks. They would have their share of e-learning as well.
Following the IMO’s Vision 2030, we have ships running on LNG alternate fuels that are sailing. We are using these ships to train our seafarers.
Indian seafarers have a one-up level, and given the conducive conditions India as a country needs to increase its share in the global talent pool supply.
– Capt Xerxes Daji, Regional Director, Wallem India
Women Officers onboard ….

Leena Dogra, Third Officer

I will be now onboard a Wallem vessel as 3rd Officer. Completing pre-sea training from T.S Rahman I joined my first vessel as cadet onboard Hafnia Pegasus, oil chemical tanker in Sept 2020, signed off in month of April followed by onboard Nordic Thunder a tanker, joining Nov 2021, and signed off July 2022. Thanks to Wallem for having trust in me and offering me an opportunity to sail.

During my brief stint I learnt how to deal with people onboard of different nationalities & cultures. I always enjoyed the sea. Unless we do things ourselves we don’t gain confidence and learn how to be strong and live on our own onboard.

I enjoy the sunrise and sunsets, playing table tennis, reading books, dancing in my free time, celebrating every festival onboard, and by making my favorite dishes.

In my opinion more & more women should join sea, so that the gender barrier is broken, bringing a positive change in the mindset of this otherwise male dominated profession.

Juliet Mathews, Trainee Engineer

I am currently pursuing my course in Marine Engineering, as I graduated in BTech (Naval Architect) and had worked for one year in a shipping company. My brother, a seafarer Dilip Jacob 2nd Engineer, has been my inspiration. I will be on board in 2024.