Women in Maritime Today: Anemoi Marine’s Clare Urmston is on a mission to clean up shipping

From childhood, Clare Urmston was encouraged by her mum to express her views, excel at school and be motivated to work hard.

“This influenced me in higher education and resulted in me having three jobs in my university breaks, which instilled my work ethic and drive,” Ms Urmston, chief executive for wind-assist propulsion system (WAPS) developer Anemoi Marine Technologies tells us. “It also means that all I have, I have worked for – which I really appreciate and gives me a great sense of achievement and satisfaction.”

Ms Urmston joined Anemoi Marine Technologies in 2020, bringing her extensive commercial knowledge from a range of industries. After attending the University of Sheffield, she formally trained with one of the big four accounting firms and has gone on to hold numerous executive and non-executive positions in the retail, manufacturing and healthcare sectors.

She was named company chief executive in December. Always a hands-on leader, Ms Urmston’s background in finance and manufacturing has translated into a desire to improve operational efficiencies, quality and cost.

“I was fortunate in my finance career to have some great bosses who encouraged me to network, push myself out my boundaries and to showcase what I could do. This helped me to win the Finance Director of the Future Award by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales which then enabled me to go on the Deloitte chief financial officer programme,” she says.

Networking led to her being approached about a non-executive role at an FTSE 350 company, which is where she met the Anemoi chairman. “The rest, they say, is history,” exclaims Ms Urmston.

The challenge of working in the marine sector enticed her. “I liked the excitement of learning something new while helping to reduce the damage we are causing to our planet. I love animals and nature and wanted to give something back while working for a very important new venture.”

And reducing CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) is exactly what Anemoi Marine Technologies is all about. It is a leading developer of patented rotor sail technology that harnesses wind power to significantly reduce vessel fuel consumption and CO2, SOx, and NOx emissions. With over 15 years of R&D and proven commercial installations across various ship types, Anemoi’s systems are designed for both newbuild and retrofit applications. Approved by class societies, its WAPS solutions support compliance with key emissions regulations such as EEDI, EEXI, CII, EU ETS, and FuelEU Maritime – advancing the transition to cleaner, more efficient maritime transport.

“As chief executive, I am responsible for the whole business, ensuring all we do is safe for our colleagues and our customers. Our goal is to save 1,000 tonnes of CO2 per day by installing 500 rotor sails by 2030,” she notes.

The business case for WAPS has clearly gained traction in shipping, with large bulk carriers and small- and medium-sized tankers presenting the best opportunities to reduce fuel consumption and lower greenhouse gas emissions. This, too, has been reflected in the growth of Anemoi Marine Technologies.

“It has been a privilege to grow Anemoi from six when I started (33% female) to 75 (31% female) and encouraging women into maritime is a must,” she states.

Adds Ms Urmston, “My role is to drive the strategic direction of the business with the board, and we are very much focused on the bulker and tanker market, with our key regions being the Far East and Middle East, Greece and the UK.”

But Ms Urmston’s personal career experience before joining Anemoi Marine Technologies has not always been easy.

“Unfortunately, I have been on the receiving end of some poor and unacceptable behaviours at work, which sadly still exist in some organisations,” she observes. “Both scenarios, which were different in nature, led to significant stress and anxiety at the time; however, what I learned from that experience is to understand those experiences are not normal and to really understand the culture and leadership style of any new organisation before joining.

“With this experience, I am very passionate about supporting women and making sure the workspace is a safe space, especially that we do things right at Anemoi.”

Growth challenges

While she is pleased that shipyards, owners and charterers are embracing the rotor sail technology, growing the scale of the business in the short term is challenging while early adopters assess the performance of the systems.

But Ms Urmston has a positive outlook on the uptake of the company’s rotor sail technology. “Anemoi has already planned for this, and we have invested significantly in our production site ahead of the boom,” she reports.

“The maritime industry is facing increasingly complex regulatory frameworks, particularly around environmental compliance, and emissions reduction. At the same time, there is a push to digitalise. These advancements are being made while also addressing geopolitical tensions, which are disrupting key trade routes and the shortage of global seafarers, so industry stakeholders are pulled in multiple directions,” Ms Urmston observes.

Given the positive outlook for WAPS uptake in shipping, Ms Urmston sees a bright future and opportunities for young people to forge an interesting and vibrant career.

“Anemoi is still a relatively new company and is growing rapidly, which fortunately has created lots of new positions and given people the opportunity to scope out their roles to the best they can to succeed. No job specification is set in stone,” she says.

She points out female professionals are integral to the company’s growth. “We’re proud that in 2024, in our UK offices, 50% of managerial positions are held by women – compared to an average of 40.2% across the UK in 2022, according to the Office of National Statistics.”

She also encourages Anemoi employees to embrace opportunities for personal and professional development.

“In my career, it’s been important to try new things and push barriers, and at Anemoi, we luckily don’t have glass ceilings or a ‘this is how we’ve always done it’ approach,” she concludes.