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Cruise shipmanagement on digitalisation drive
Cruise shipmanagers push past Covid challenges with new solutions including digitalisation
Cruise shipmanagement companies have been battling Covid-19 challenges, growing their fleets and developing IT solutions.
US-headquartered cruise hospitality shipmanagement company CMI Leisure Management has 12 ships under management. It has had to deal with pandemic challenges from ship lay-ups to supply chain disruptions.
CMI Leisure Management president and chief executive Dietmar Wertanzl tells Passenger Ship Technology, “Operating worldwide, every region in the world has their own rules on vaccinations, on Covid-19 advice and so forth, so that is challenging for us. There is not a common standard worldwide yet for vaccinations. Also, a by-product of the pandemic is that logistics shipments availability and shortages are a challenge. Some ships have been laid up for almost two years.”
But he says 2022 is more optimistic – six ships of its fleet under management have started to operate again. CMI Leisure has an additional challenge in that its fleet currently in service are all expedition ships, so getting access to supplies can be challenging. Four of its ships are in Antarctica.
Mr Wertanzl says, “It is challenging to get supplies on board the ship, with containers not available, supply chain interruptions due to shortages and there is a higher price point – we have the highest inflation in 30 years.”
Speaking about handling the logistics challenges, he says, “We buy locally as much as we can, but the places we go to are off the beaten path. We try and compensate by buying as much as possible at the ports we go to. We have partnerships with key suppliers, but they are struggling internally as imports are not coming in, so we have to be flexible with the menus on board.”
The key to handling the other challenges caused by Covid-19 is the ’rigid protocol’ ’CMI Leisure has put in place.
Mr Wertanzl says, “In terms of issues, we know how to respond, with our knowledge and equipment; the pandemic is still here, but we have learned how to manage it.
“The key is to stick to our protocol – everyone has to be vaccinated – our crew is vaccinated. Our clients require all passengers to be vaccinated and tested before boarding the ship and we test on board as well.”
Aside from the pandemic, CMI Leisure Management is creating apps for crew, to boost the crewing experience.
Mr Wertanzl says, “It’s a way to stay in touch with the crew, to improve the crewing experience. Looking at the future, we are trying to create a whole new digital platform for how we hire crew and manage their experience before and after the ship. We are still in the planning stages, but we have identified a supplier.”
“The biggest benefit is relaying the job description ahead of time, to let crew know necessary protocols. By sharing information before they even come on board the ship, it will be easier when they start, and onboard processes will be streamlined.”
Mr Wertanzl underlines the importance of this plan as it is a major strategic plan for the company.
CMI Leisure also has a strong growth plan, including receiving two new ships this year and one next year, from SunStone Ships’ Infinity series.
V.Ships Leisure has juggled the challenges of the pandemic, from lay-ups and starting vessels up again to winning new contracts and business. V.Ships Leisure chief executive Per Bjornsen tells PST, “The pandemic has been challenging, with working from home, travel restrictions and laying up vessels on behalf of clients, before starting the ships up again.
On top of these challenges, V.Ships Leisure has welcomed a lot of new business, with three newbuildings entering service last year and several significant new contracts including Azamara Cruises under new ownership by Sycamore partners.
It was an intense year for V.Ships Leisure and explaining how the multiple challenges were handled, Mr Bjornsen says, “We planned very well. We have the advantage of scale and can replicate things across our fleet. We had a systematic approach to it, with new protocols for operation under Covid and for new ships and contracts.
“Everything has been done it in a controlled manner. During the pandemic we expanded our team, we had internal promotions and hired externally so we are growing, and it has been a very good combination.”
Digital platform
Mr Bjornsen underlines the importance of V.Ships Leisure’s digital platform. “V.Group has invested a massive amount in our digital platform.” The company has had its digital platform ShipSure for 15 years but launched the 2.0 version prior to the pandemic, giving the company the digital tools to manage the challenges well.
Speaking about the latest version of ShipSure, Mr Bjornsen says, “It has been a game-changer for ship operations, allowing proactive maintenance and this gives us a real edge as we have seen during the pandemic. Crewing, planned maintenance, everything we do is managed through the platform – all the data and the reports… it is a tool to make us more efficient, and this is where the future is, a combination of being on board and making sure there is the right culture, with support from remote ship management.”
V.Ships Leisure’s customers can also access the platform. Mr Bjornsen says, “This gives us transparency, they can go in and they can dig down and see all the different layers. Suppliers are contacted seamlessly and invoiced digitally. It is a huge jump compared to what we did.”
He says while it is not yet completely paperless, it was moving in that direction.
In terms of growth, an important part of V.Ships Leisure’s strategy is to help its existing clients grow. Mr Bjornsen says, “We have a lot of contacts in the industry and are trying to support our clients in this way, it is more than just managing their ships, but sharing and developing opportunities with them.
“Our industry is moving from something very consolidated, as now we see a phase of new entrants with fresh capital interest from private equity and new brands coming in. These are opportunities for companies like to us. We have a transformational platform, and they can plug and play and derisk their entry. For example, building new ships in the shipyard is a complex project and with us there is less risk.”
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