North Star appoints chief technology officer

In the newly created role, Mr Bradford will accelerate the company’s ESG and decarbonisation strategies. North Star said he will focus on delivering a technological roadmap to drive performance and innovation investments as the firm progresses towards its fleet decarbonisation target of 2040.

Mr Bradford joins from ship management specialist V Group, where he was global head of technical and played a key role in the company’s innovation agenda which also redefined the industry’s fleet cell model for technical management.

He boasts over 30 years’ strategic and operational experience in the maritime sector with tenures at Gulf Marine Services where he was general manager for northwest Europe before being promoted to chief operating officer in the United Arab Emirates. 

Prior to this, Mr Bradford had two eight-year spells: as general manager for operations at marine transport company GulfMark; and at James Fisher, where he rose to the position of technical director responsible for the company’s tanker, offshore and nuclear fuel fleet. 

Mr Bradford began his career as a seagoing officer, rising to chief engineer. He achieved Class I Unlimited certification and project managed the ship construction team on a 16-vessel build over a two-year period. 

North Star said he will report directly to chief executive Matthew Gordon.

Speaking of his appointment, Mr Bradford said, “It’s a very exciting time to be joining the business as chief technical officer. Since securing four long-term charters for its new hybrid propulsion service operations vessel (SOV) design, its prominence has rippled across the offshore wind market, opening up multiple new opportunities for the business and its next fleet.”

“Ensuring the business continues to invest in the best innovations to hasten its sustainability goals across its existing ships and implemented into new forthcoming SOV designs, is a very exciting time. I’m looking forward to helping to shape the future of its fleet and leading its technical digitalisation strategy.” 

This month, North Star announced it has invested in a digital twin and decision support software package, which will be installed on all four of its windfarm service operations vessels as part of a wider effort to reduce downtime and improve fuel efficiency. 

North Star chief executive Matthew Gordon said, “James has an exceptional track record for delivering results across all aspects of new fleet constructions for on time delivery. He is also very tuned in to the latest technical developments which will help guide our executive team to identify and leverage new opportunities to maximise future investment and deliver value to our shareholders.”

“His strong leadership and managerial skills will also add another layer of expertise as we expand our team and makes him the perfect fit for our organisation. We look forward to working together.”