Global Marine Group, along with over 450 other organiations have joined forces to help resolve the humanitarian crisis affecting seafarers globally.
Global industry and human rights leaders, including A.P. Møller – Mærsk, BP, BW, Cargill, COSCO, DOW, Euronav, MISC Group, NYK, Rio Tinto, Shell, Trafigura, Unilever and Vale, have all signed the Neptune Declaration on Seafarer Wellbeing and Crew Change in a worldwide call to action to end the unprecedented crew change crisis caused by Covid-19.
The declaration aims to address four main actions that need to be taken to resolve the crew change crisis. Find out more here.
The Atlantic Cable Maintenance Agreement (ACMA) members and their suppliers Global Marine and Orange Marine are pleased to announce the extension of the ACMA 2017 Agreement to the end of December 2025.
The ACMA Chairman Alasdair Wilkie (Digicel) said: “I am very pleased that it has been possible to agree terms and conditions with the Agreement cable ship suppliers and to ensure that the ACMA region will continue to receive a high level of maintenance cover with the Agreement’s dedicated repair vessels. This is particularly key given the ongoing pandemic and the higher than ever dependence on the digital economy and the enabling connectivity provided by submarine cables. I also thank the suppliers, in particular their marine staff, for their continuing high level of performance despite the many recent pandemic restrictions and challenges faced by the shipping industry globally.”
Bruce Neilson-Watts MD at Global Marine added: “It is a real pleasure to agree on this extension to provide ongoing services to the ACMA members until 2025. Global Marine is proud of its association and decade-long, successful relationship with the ACMA parties. I particularly welcome the flexibility shown in allowing windfarm owners to partner with both Global Marine and the agreement members to undertake inter-array replacement and string repairs. As governments move to an increasingly green agenda in the face of climate change, we’re experiencing huge developments in offshore wind and renewables, so this is proving to be an ever-more valuable service.”
Didier Dillard CEO of Orange Marine said: “I am very pleased and proud that Orange Marine is continuing its more than 35 year association with ACMA. We remain passionate about providing a continued high-level maintenance service offering in the Atlantic area with ACMA’s newest vessel the CS Pierre De Fermat. Looking to the future, Orange Marine remains committed to working flexibly and collaboratively with all regions cable owners and their representatives to ensure a stable and secure subsea network.”
About the ACMA
The ACMA is a non-profit cooperative subsea maintenance agreement consisting of greater than 60 members. ACMA members are companies responsible for the operations and maintenance of undersea communications and power cables, as well as Oil & Gas Platform operators, in the Atlantic, North Sea and Southeastern Pacific Ocean.
A key member benefit is that the entire ACMA maintenance operation: ships, ROVs, technical specialists, is under independent contract to dedicated third-party service providers, backed up with formal key performance indicators, such as cableship mobilization, spares loading and operational timings. ACMA members also benefit from a quality and efficient service provided by an independent fleet with its facilities dedicated to the sole use of the ACMA members.
With no pressure to show a profit on such activities, ACMA is a genuinely cooperative organisation, concentrating solely on the interests of its members.
About Global Marine
Global Marine is a market leader in subsea fibre optic cable installation and maintenance solutions to the telecoms and oil & gas sectors, and is part of the Global Marine Group, alongside Global Offshore, CWind and OceanIQ.
Global Marine has played a pioneering role in the development of undersea cable repair and maintenance solutions for well over a century, having performed approximately 33 percent of all maintenance operations on fibre optic cables globally. The Company is a founding and current member of the Universal Joint Consortium, an international cross-industry body supporting the manufacturers and consumers of Universal Joint and Universal Coupling technology. Global Marine remains at the forefront of this vital part of the industry through its well-renowned training school utilised by many of the key telecoms installation and maintenance companies and cable manufacturers around the world.
About Orange Marine
The Submarine Cable Division of the French Postal and Telecommunications Ministry, active since the end of the 19th century, became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Orange Group in 1999 and took the name of Orange Marine in 2013. Orange Marine together with its sister company Elettra is specialized in marine activities related to submarine cables, from the design and engineering phase up to the installation of regional or intercontinental links and the maintenance of existing cables.
Their six cable ships have laid more than 220,000 km of optical fiber cables all around the world and have carried out nearly 550 repairs.
Global Marine Group, has installed a 2,000-tonne capacity power cable carousel at Port of Blyth’s Battleship Wharf terminal.
The strategically located cable carousel, provided by Swan Hunter, offers the Group increased operational flexibility with short-term, local cable storage, reduced mobilisation times and improved cost efficiencies for their customers.
The port, where cable-lay vessels are frequently mobilised, has become an operational hub for the Group in recent years. The port’s location on the northeast coast is ideally situated for the company’s wealth of campaigns in the North Sea.
The new carousel, which is equipped with a 10-tonne tensioner to ensure effective cable handling from vessel to shore, and back, also offers short-term options for clients requiring reliable cable storage on the northeast coast of England.
Mike Daniel, said, “Expanding our presence at the Port of Blyth, the introduction of our new cable storage carousel enables us to reduce cable transportation costs as well as offering quicker mobilisation to aid our regular offshore operations in the North Sea.”
Daniel continued, “The facility also affords us the ability to monitor and maintain these precious assets closer to our operational base on site, to ensure they are ready and available for use on installation and maintenance projects at short notice.”
The first loading of the carousel took place earlier this month, which had returned to the port after a seven-day umbilical installation campaign in the North Sea.
Martin Lawlor, Chief Executive at Port of Blyth, said, “We’re delighted to be supporting one of our major customers with the installation of what will no doubt be a well-used cable storage facility, especially given the Port’s strategic North Sea location. The installation adds to our supply chain capabilities and strengthens our position as an offshore energy hub.”
The new cable carousel at the Port of Blyth is in addition to Global Marine Group’s purpose-built secured storage facility in Portland, Dorset which offers the ideal environment for the long-term protection of both power and telecoms cables on the south coast.
With a host of cable campaigns in the North Sea lined-up for 2021 and beyond, the new cable carousel is one of many recent additions to the company’s asset portfolio that will be utilised for oil & gas and renewables projects in the future.
The United Nation’s World Maritime Day held at the end of September shone a light on the professionalism displayed by many, and the extent of the sacrifice that millions of seafarers have endured since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis. The work done by so many seafarers is critical – whether by those within our industry, keeping billions of people connected with internet access as well as supplied with power, or those working in shipping which continues to transport the majority of world trade, including vital medical supplies and other goods critical for the COVID-19 response and recovery. However, the pandemic hasn’t been easy for this community, as hundreds of thousands of seafarers face a humanitarian crisis after being stranded at sea, unable to get off the ships they work on, with contracts extended by many months in some cases.
At Global Marine Group, our fleet operations team have been working tirelessly with agencies, governments and unions across the world since the beginning of the year to effect crew changes in a safe and timely manner for the wellbeing of our crews, safe operations of the vessels and the continuation of projects. This has been no mean feat, and a sharp learning curve which hasn’t concluded yet. Whilst the pandemic seemed to be easing over the summer, the challenges for crew changes as well as vessel services and repairs have not let up.
As a Group we have over 500 seafarers across the world, and since the pandemic struck we have utilised many different ports, working with our customers to re-route vessels on live projects to successfully ensure that those working extended contracts have been relieved to return home for leave.
We spoke to Nicholas Hillcoat, our Marine Manager, about how we’ve been reacting to the evolving situation and lessons that we’re continuing to learn as an industry, months after the initial outbreak.
When did you first hear about COVID-19, and what were the first steps that the business took?
We were first made aware in January this year when COVID-19 started gaining more traction in China. As we have a vessel that operates in the region, we began monitoring the situation there quite closely, to ensure we could protect our people and vessel. Our initial actions were to put a block on all travel for our seafarers through the publicly declared infected areas.
Like most people, you probably never imagined it panning out like it did?
We certainly never expected the virus to gain so much traction and develop into a global pandemic. As we have a global footprint with both our vessel locations and people, we have had to adapt quickly to COVID-19.
What have been the main overall implications of COVID-19 on the manning and operation of our fleet?
We have encountered many challenges as direct result of COVID-19, ranging from; crew changes, dry docking and spares transport.
The biggest manning challenge has been completing crew changes. At the onset of the pandemic in March, as a company we made the decision to put in place a suspension on crew changes for all the vessels in the fleet. The suspension of crew changes allowed us time to evaluate personnel movements to ensure we were protecting our seafarers and vessels as best we could.
As we have vessels located all over the world, finding ways to change out personnel has become a major challenge for us. Every country has reacted differently to their response to COVID-19, many of whom made the decision to close their borders with little or no warning. With the suspension in place, we were able to evaluate all of our options and as soon as we were confident that we had enough mitigation measures in place, we were able to facilitate small numbers of crew changes on the vessels. However there remained lots of issues, regulation changes and entry restrictions, many of which often changed on a daily basis. With border closures in many of the countries we operate in, we often had to send vessels to countries outside their normal operating area in order to facilitate these crew changes.
Whilst we hope to keep vessels COVID-19 free, what contingency measures have you put in place?
In April, at the start of the pandemic, GMG were involved with an emergency response exercise with Vattenfall using one of our vessels currently on charter to them. Whilst we have been doing everything we can to ensure our vessels remain sterile environments – from quarantining before joining, testing and restricted shore leave – the exercise was designed to test both companies’ responses to a COVID-19 incident onboard a vessel should it arise.
The exercise tested responses both onboard the vessel as well as ashore with the designated emergency response teams. With updated procedures, clear plans in place and well briefed teams, the exercise was a success.
COVID-19 has been a learning experience for everyone – dealing with a global pandemic on this scale has never been done before.
How have our teams coped with the added pressure and different ways of working?
The last few months have put major pressure on the Fleet Department, Seafarers and vessels. During the early stages of the pandemic, we as a department were on the frontline in dealing with the challenges imposed by keeping seafarers safe, swathing lockdowns, border closures to name a few.
At the start of the year our seafarers could never have imagined when they joined a vessel, they would soon be faced with a global pandemic that effectively kept them confined onboard for extended periods – often weeks and months over their contract length. Over the past few months, we have witnessed an overwhelming determination from our offshore teams right across the board; they have pulled together as a team like never before, something that we have huge admiration and appreciation for.
What efforts has the business gone to, to support those offshore?
As an organisation with the bulk of our workforce working at sea, many of whom work hands on with our cable operations and don’t spend time sitting behind computers, we’ve always been conscious of different ways that we can communicate to ensure our colleagues feel part of the wider Group. But this has never been more important than now. At the early onset of the pandemic, we made sure that communications between the vessels and shore were as transparent as possible to ensure that all parties were being kept up to date. It’s been an unfamiliar situation for all of us so doing everything we can to keep morale high has been a priority for us.
As part of our efforts to support those offshore we introduced schemes such as the family liaison contact for those with concerns for their loved ones back home, or to offer support to partners and children in the longer than expected absence of those at sea. We also worked closely with an NHS doctor to help answer many of the unknowns about COVID-19, and learn about the best practices for ensuring that our teams remained fit and well. Combine this with our regular ‘Ask Me Anything’ sessions where no question is off the cards, regularly updated intranet portal for all things COVID-19, training for Mental Health First Aiders across the business as well as our internal networking facility Yammer encouraging open conversations, we’ve endeavoured to navigate these complex few months and alleviate the stresses and worries that it has brought to many of us.
Looking back over the last few months, what have been the key learnings that we’ve taken away – how could we have done things better?
COVID-19 has been a learning experience for everyone – dealing with a global pandemic on this scale has never been done before.
The reiteration of the need to communicate, more than you ever think, has been key for us during this time. As already mentioned, we put clear channels of two-way communication in place from the beginning of the pandemic, but looking back although it felt like enough at the time, we could have increased these further to ensure that the rationale behind decisions that were made centrally were more clearly understood by everyone across the business. This was particularly the case with those seafarers who were on shore leave at the time but beginning to return to vessels so needed to be briefed on the new ways of working.
The management team were quick to take decisions with regards to implementing new health and safety mitigations; however we were possibly too slow to remove or lessen these new procedures as and when it was safe to do so.
Another big learning point was not to rely on restrictions and regulations being set in stone; we’ve learnt from the first-hand experience now that these can change without notice. COVID-19 has, and will continue to be, an ever-changing situation that requires constant review and adaptions in the way we operate. We’re not out of the woods yet and I’m sure there will be many lessons still to learn but together we will get through it.
We’re not out of the woods yet – what do you foresee as the next big hurdles before we reach a greater level of ‘normality’?
The biggest and most challenging hurdle continues to be the free movement of seafarers around the world. Every country has their own policies in place for dealing with COVID-19 which will continue to be imposed on personnel moving in and out of those countries, including seafarers. We continue to work with governments and other agencies to lobby for seafarers to be deemed essential key workers, to ensure that safe crew changes can take place.
As parts of the world begin to see a second wave of the virus and restrictions which only recently eased begin to tighten again for our own safety, the challenge continues. However with the increased strain on the UK’s power and fibre optic infrastructures, it’s more important than ever that the systems we rely on are well maintained and a large part of this process is ensuring that the web of subsea cables that keep our power on and our internet connected, remain fully operational – activities at the core of what Global Marine Group and our business units do.
Global Marine Group (GMG) a leading provider of subsea cable installation and maintenance services to the telecommunications, offshore renewables, utility and oil & gas markets worldwide, is pleased to announce the launch of OceanIQ, the fourth business unit in Global Marine Group’s subsea engineering portfolio.
OceanIQ delivers industry-leading subsea cable data, survey, route engineering and consultancy services for telecom and power cable route planning projects. The highly experienced team also work to maximise the lifespan and efficiency of live systems across the globe. The business is built upon an existing wealth of data and knowledge acquired through years of cable installation and maintenance projects undertaken in support of sister companies Global Marine and Global Offshore. The range of bespoke services on offer include comprehensive data management utilising the businesses world-leading GeoCable® software which comprises information on over 2.6 million kms of as-laid cable around the globe. In addition to this vital resource, OceanIQ offer cable records management and charting services retaining robust data on historic repairs as well as supporting ongoing maintenance of cable systems. Route engineering services include detailed desk top studies, cable fault analysis and cable protection assessments. The team can also assist with acquiring the necessary permitting to complete cable installation projects around the world, as well as route surveys to establish the best and safest cable route, to maximise installation efficiency and minimise risk to assets.
The creation of the new brand, which sits alongside Global Marine, Global Offshore and CWind within the wider Group, is in response to customer and industry demand for access to, and meaningful interpretation of, detailed subsea data. As seabed usage across multiple industries increases, having an accurate understanding of the seafloor to plan for future installations, and protect those in existence, has become essential.
The team has a strong reputation for the successful delivery of projects in support of GMG’s other brands. The formation of OceanIQ endeavours to capitalise on this success and open up the team’s skills to new customers and markets that require exemplary subsea consultancy services and a comprehensive data set that continues to grow with each completed project. With an unparalleled record of 97% of all fibre optic cables laid
worldwide, and a substantial amount of power cables, OceanIQ’s understanding of the ocean floor is unique and extensive.
Gail Clark, Managing Director of OceanIQ, says, “With decades of first-hand experience in cable planning, installation and maintenance across the Group, the team has an intrinsic understanding of the seabed. The OceanIQ team’s experience allows us to interpret the wealth of data that we have built over many decades, from simple facts and figures and into meaningful intelligence that enables our customers to make informed decisions that ensures the longevity of their cable systems.”
Global Marine, a leading provider of subsea fibre optic cable installation and maintenance solutions to the telecoms sector, and part of the Global Marine Group, has been awarded the Desk Top Study (DTS) for the Singapore India Gateway (SING) cable system by the system Purchasers.
The 9,000km system, with landing points in Singapore and India, will also have branches to Thailand, Indonesia and Oman. The desk-based portion of the cable route study has been completed and site visits will begin, working in line with local regulations on safe travel and work, when Covid-19 restrictions begin to ease further.
Global Marine’s DTS utilises bathymetry, geology, currents, weather, seismology, tides, permits and reviews of other seabed users to detail all the influences on cable route safety and provide sound engineering solutions for the environment encountered. The study also identifies possible sources of risk to the cable, and the extent of that risk, including an analysis of faults on existing systems nearby from Global Marine’s extensive worldwide database.
Bruce Neilson-Watts, Managing Director of Global Marine said, “With wide-ranging experience in and around Asia and the Middle East, including the key landing points in India, Indonesia and Oman for both DTS and cable installation and repair works, Global Marine are well placed to complete this project for the Purchasers.”
Mr Neilson-Watts continued, “We understand the importance of increased and reliable connectivity around the world, something that has been particularly highlighted in recent months. Our in-house knowledge and track record of Desk Top Studies for systems such as this means we have the flexibility and agility to structure the work around the current economic climate as effectively as possible.”
A representative of the Purchasers said, “We have every confidence in Global Marine to deliver a comprehensive DTS that will inform the successful planning, installation and ongoing operation and integrity of the system.”
We’re pleased to share this exciting press release from SEA-KIT celebrating the return of an uncrewed USV following a 22 day mission in the Atlantic. The collaborative project which Global Marine Group were a part of has successfully demonstrated the potential for over-the-horizon, long endurance, remote ocean mapping.
Tollesbury/Essex, 18 August 2020: SEA-KIT’s 12m Uncrewed Surface Vessel (USV) ‘Maxlimer’ returned to Plymouth on Friday 14 August after 22 days of remote survey operations on Europe’s continental margin.
Since late July the USV has mapped over 1000sq km of ocean floor, controlled around-the-clock by SEA-KIT via satellite communications from its Remote Operation Centre in Essex. Notably, the uncrewed vessel returned to Plymouth with its fuel tank still around a third full.
The successful completion of this project is a major achievement for the British SME, clearly demonstrating the capabilities of their remotely-controlled USV design in terms of over-the-horizon operation, endurance and ocean-going ability.
“This proof of concept is exciting and confirms Fugro made the right choice to partner with SEA-KIT to develop a range of USVs that will transform the marine industry,” said Ivar de Josselin de Jong, Director Remote Inspection at Fugro. “We are on track with our strategy of leading the development of remote and autonomous solutions.”
Peter Walker, Director of Technology at SEA-KIT, expressed delight at welcoming Maxlimer back to Plymouth: “It has been a tense but exciting few weeks. The project’s overall aim was to demonstrate the capabilities of current technologies to survey unexplored or inadequately surveyed ocean frontiers and we have absolutely done that. It is a ground-breaking achievement to prove true over-the-horizon capability and the team are elated to have successfully pushed the boundaries of our USV design once again.”
Named UTAS (Uncrewed Trans-Atlantic Survey) and co-funded by the UK Space Agency through the European Space Agency’s Business Application programme, the project was originally planned to be trans-ocean. However, due to travel restrictions and other planning complications resulting from COVID-19, this was ultimately not possible.
SEA-KIT worked collaboratively with a number of industry partners on the UTAS project. Fugro, Global Marine Group, Map the Gaps, Teledyne CARIS, Woods Hole Group and The Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 project all played a part in its successful completion.
“The data gathered on this Atlantic voyage will be a valuable addition to the global seabed,” said Jamie McMichael-Phillips, Director of Seabed 2030. “More importantly, this is another milestone on the journey towards the development of the kind of scalable, environmentally-friendly technology that we are going to need in order to reach our goal of mapping the whole of the world’s ocean floors by the end of the decade.”
McMichael-Phillips continued: “We are immensely proud of the SEA-KIT team and of what they have achieved in being able to operate an uncrewed vessel over the horizon. What began as a scientific challenge taken on by the talented members of the GEBCO-Nippon Foundation Alumni team became an award-winning technology that has now matured into a viable commercial company. This is exactly the kind of innovative ecosystem that GEBCO and The Nippon Foundation were trying to create when they launched Seabed 2030.”
The Nippon Foundation/GEBCO Alumni through Map the Gaps, with their global distribution, allowed for 24 hour bathymetric surveying as they remotely operated the multibeam and ensured optimised data acquisition.
Travis Hamilton, Product Manager at Teledyne CARIS said: “At Teledyne CARIS, we are inspired by projects that align with our passion for innovation in hydrographic survey. We were pleased to support this project with our automated hydrographic processing solutions CARIS Onboard and CARIS Mira AI that apply workflows designed to remotely support the unique challenges of uncrewed surveys from shore-based stations.”
The proven ability to conduct remote survey operations with USVs has many beneficial applications across the offshore sector. For example, critical tasks such as trans-ocean cable route surveys, needed to meet the increase in demand for data communications, can be completed without risk to personnel and with significant savings on mobilisation and operational costs when compared to executing the same task with crewed vessels.
UK Space Agency Chief Executive, Graham Turnock, summed up how USVs are set to redefine offshore operations: “On its 22-day mission the Maxlimer vessel used satellites in the sky to show us what we can do under the sea. Robot boats could radically change the way we work at sea and this project, backed by the UK Space Agency, has given us a unique window into the future potential of satellite-enabled maritime operations.”
Image credit: Rich Edwards, ENP Media
We recently celebrated our annual awards to recognise some of the shining stars within our team right across the world.
From over 130 peer nominations, we announced the winners in each of the 11 categories.
Offshore Individual: John Gison
Chief Officer, John, was chosen at the winner in this category for his endless enthusiasm and energy onboard maintenance vessel the Cable Retriever, which has won the respect of his fellow officers and crew.
Onshore Individual: Nick Hillcoat
Marine Manager, Nick, was selected as the winner in this category for his critical –decision making and multi-tasking abilities, notably during the last few months which have tested everyone but particularly those supporting the fleet throughout Covid-19.
Offshore Team: Cable Retriever
Cable Retriever continues to be the busiest of our repair vessels and the team onboard have endless amounts of experience and knowledge which they use to complete successful repairs time and time again.
Onshore Team: IT
The IT team were named as onshore team winners for their work leading up to and during the recent pandemic, their work to get us ready for life in the cloud has been put to the ultimate test in the last few months and thanks to them we’ve stayed connected and productive.
Excellence & Capability: Liam McNeil
Project Engineer Liam was described as excelling from the moment he joined the business, with infectious enthusiasm and professionalism that have helped in the successful PLP240 trials, proving and building business for the tool in the future.
Innovation: Andy Newman
Engineering Manager Andy, was chosen as the winner of the Innovation award for his work developing and improving CWind’s CTV operations and driving solutions to reduce CO2 emissions across the industry.
Customer Focus: Janie Byrne
Proposals Engineer Janie, was selected as the winner in this category for her support in strengthening key customer relationships for Global Offshore, in particular nurturing new key accounts.
Commercial Focus: Craig Townsend
Buyer, Craig, was chosen as the winner in this category for his partnership working with internal customers to get the right commercial outcome with suppliers, often navigating challenging conversations.
Corporate Citizen: Dave Dunk
Jointing Instructor Dave is someone who effortlessly brings those around him on his enthusiastic journey for all things sport, wellbeing, fundraising and even unprompted motivational speeches, and more recently in his role as family liaison.
Safety Champion: Derek Smith
Captain Derek Smith has been recognised as our Annual Safety Champion for his work when the Global Symphont was brought into the Group fleet in 2019.
Directors’ Choice: Craig Gibson
Chief Engineer Craig was nominated in multiple categories for this year’s awards, and after over 30 years with Global Marine has become a well-establised, well liked team member in our fleet.
Congratulations and thank you to all our winners, shortlisted colleagues and nominees this year.
My journey began in 2017 when I was studying Public Services at college. During this time we were given a talk by SSTG about the Merchant Navy and this is where I first heard about these “cadetships”. This sparked my initial interest in a potential career at sea. For me the idea of going to sea excited me, it sounded adventurous, different and had a lot of qualities to it that suited to me as a person. From there I started working for DFDS Seaways as a stewardess, gaining a bit of seafaring experience. I managed to get a cadetship with Global Marine in 2018 and began my Deck Officer training. It soon become apparent that I was outnumbered by my male peers. Turning up to Warsash Maritime Academy on my first day and realising I was the only women in my class; it was a daunting feeling. It is because of this gender imbalance that I have felt this unspoken reputation to be one of the women to make it in this male dominated industry.
Once I completed my first phase of training I joined the Cable Retriever. Again I was faced with being the only women, this time half way across the world and working alongside men of different ages and nationalities. Not only did I have the usual challenges of adapting to a new life at sea, training and studying, it was all being done in an industry where you are the minority. But one of main challenges I face is this feeling of being out of place. By being the only women on board, it is hard to relate to the rest of the crew. With the distance and limited contact with friends and family, this also makes it harder to overcome these adversities.
There have been a number of individuals within the company that have help me during my training. After a month into my first trip, I was no longer to be the only women as 2/O Kaya Teare joined. It is really positive for me to see another like minded person in a position, where I hope to see myself in the future. She has told me about her experiences of life at sea, as a women, and has been really helpful in all aspects of my training.
Despite my short time in this career I have had a number of amazing opportunities. I have learnt many valuable skills, I have traveled to places I never thought I would get to see, I also got to represent the Merchant Navy during the festival of Remembrance last year. All of these would not be possible if I did not make the decision to join this career.
Now half way through my training I can say so far this career has overall been a huge learning venture and positive experience. The crew have been supportive through my training so far and make life on board enjoyable. With every exam I pass, new skills I learn, challenge I overcome, I am proving to myself and others prospective women that it’s possible to have a career at sea.
International Women in Engineering Day (#INWED20) takes place on 23 June with the theme of ‘Shape The World’. We hope by sharing some of Global Marine Group’s success stories, we can help to raise the profile of women engineers across the globe, and encourage more people to consider engineering as a profession for all.
Sheryl is the Commercial Manager for Global Marine in Singapore. She started work for the business in April 2016 as a Proposal Engineer before being promoted to Commercial Manager.
There are certain societal expectations and beliefs about women’s leadership/working abilities that exist since decades ago. However, I have come to realise that we need to be confident and assertive when dealing with matters, in order to gain recognition. The more a woman tries to shy away from a problem or confrontation, the more unlikely a woman gets anywhere. Challenges should be embraced with open arms and personally, the way I deal with such situations, is to always think from others’ points of views. Whilst balancing family and work is a challenge, it is not a challenge AT work. It is important to keep family and work matters separate, in order to achieve a favourable outcome.
Thankfully, I had been given the opportunity to learn throughout my journey in my current company. Having a supportive line manager is extremely crucial and I am proud to say that my line manager is always there to mentor me when needed. At the same time, it is important to ensure our voices are heard. When asked for opinion, speak up. When not much guidance is given, do not just wait for things to happen. We need to be proactive and propose ideas. One thing I have learnt is to always try to come up with an answer for every problem.
To be honest, what can be the greatest achievement for a woman with children? The fact that we gave birth to little humans is no mean feat. From here on, it is a juggling act at its best. My greatest achievement is to forge a strong bond with the people who work together with me. Only with a great team, can we achieve great things.
There are certain stereotypes of women that exists in this society. I wish for anyone out there to try and think that not all women act and behave the same. It always takes two hands to clap. Once anyone receives a positive feedback, one will automatically generate a positive response.
