P&O Maritime Logistics seeks growth after merger

Digitalisation innovations

“Our port towage will increase along with expectations, but we are also looking at ways to make our existing assets work harder,” says Mr Helweg.

“Our increased use of digital technology assists with this. For example, we are developing a port information service that will provide data on a vessel’s efficiency – helping us to adapt as we learn more.”

This digitalisation drive surges through the whole of the company, including in the offshore logistics sector, where POML has introduced lubricant and fuel oil monitoring and trialled a new class survey regime.

“We are constantly looking at innovations in the industry,” says Mr Helweg, “whether that is the tug of the future, fully electric vessels or fully redundant propulsion – and how digital technology can transform the current system.”

This includes seeking ways to reduce the carbon footprint of all operations. “This may be achieved through adapting our present fleet to reduce emissions or investing in new vessels that use the most up-to-date technology,” he explains.

POML plans to innovate by using proven technologies and building strategic partnerships across the industry.

“Often, we use existing applications and put them in the marine environment for the first time,” says Mr Helweg. “Ultimately, everything we do is led by common sense. We are owner operators who live and breathe this every day.”

He says there should be more co-operation with other players in the sectors POML operates within. “It is vital that we collaborate with fellow industry leaders to evolve our business.

“We strongly believe we must all put our heads together to keep coming up with the best solutions,” he says.

Some of these technologies are adopted first in the offshore support vessel (OSV) fleet and some working practices from tugs can be transferred to OSV operations.

“Firstly, our innovations are cost-effective, reducing blocks in fuel and energy consumption,” Mr Helweg describes. “And secondly, far from focusing all our efforts on autonomous vessels, we genuinely believe our highly skilled craftsmen and women are here to stay. So much of our innovation is around mitigating risk.”

Training and investment

One of the main overlaps between offshore and tug services is the best practices in health safety, security, environment and quality (HSSEQ). “There is a lot of commonality here, either in reducing the higher risk jobs or by decreasing the time spent doing them. Our investment in our people and their training is vital,” says Mr Helweg.

POML strives to source its people from nations and communities it operates in. This includes employing crew from the local area or using local businesses to support training.

“Often one of the initial challenges in a new operation is to upskill the local workforce to ensure they are aligned with our business and HSSEQ standards,” he says. This increasingly includes training crew and shore staff to use digital technologies the company is implementing.

“We need to ensure training gives people valuable digital skills they can use on our vessels,” says Mr Helweg. “The same can be said for our HSSEQ standards. It is imperative our crew are able to work safely, as a matter of operational excellence.”

A lot of effort is put into training new employees in these respects and a long-term commitment is needed to ensure there is time to develop people’s skills.

Future POML investments will see the company operate further within the logistics chain, which comes with additional challenges.

“As we continue to diversify our portfolio and expand further into the supply chain, it is inevitable that we will be exposed to a greater market risk,” says Mr Helweg.

“This is mitigated through operational excellence. But we also benefit from the visibility of the wider group. Thanks to this visibility, we can see where we can add real value for our clients.” And this will lead to further investment in the tug fleet.