Shipping Podcast - Listen To The Maritime Professionals In The World Of Shipping

In episode 124 you meet the Project Manager for the Functional Review at the International Maritime Organization, Mads Svendsen, and can hear him describe how he has worked with 20 different UN organisations before arriving at the IMO almost a year ago.  The first 6 months Mads spent to try and understand the culture and find out where the organisation want to go before launching a series of workshops and then move on to the strategy. It's an exciting project and the end goal is a goal-based organisation.  I found it very interesting to chat with Mads, I hope you feel the same. If you have any questions or comments, please use @lenagothberg in all digital media. I am curious about your view. Last, but not the least, here is the link to episode 98 with Peter Thomsen, United Nations Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Ocean who I met in Copenhagen last year. Thank you for listening, here is a link to the article I mention in the episode. 

In this the 3/4 episodes with people employed by the International Maritime Organisation, IMO, you meet Karine Langlois,  Communications Officer for @IMOHQ the UN agency for Maritime Affairs, who speaks about target groups, message to the public about the maritime industry and raising the profile of our industry. Karine is from Canada but is working for IMO in London, she is the producer and the video photographer for the videos coming out from the IMO. Please have a look at Turning the tide - there are 3 videos out now.  Thank you for listening, please give me your feedback - I am @lenagothberg in all media. 

When visiting the IMO during the Day of the Seafarer in June, I had the opportunity to sit down with a few people at the IMO to discuss the organisation and where it is headed. In episode 122 you will hear  Frederick J. Kenney, Director, Legal and External Affairs talking about the International Maritime Organization.  If you are interested in the Adopt a Ship programme or the IMO Goodwill Maritime Ambassador scheme or the Greenwich Maritime Museum here are the links.  I sum up my impressions from the London International Shipping Week 2019 at the end of this episode. Where you there? What do you think? Please let me know, I am @lenagothberg in most channels or drop me a line at hello@shippingpodcast.com  Thank you for listening. Lena 

In episode 121 you meet Linda Ryan, Director Administrative Division, International Maritime Organisation, IMO, who is the first of four episodes recorded with people "inside the IMO", explaining the important work that is being done in this UN Body. Linda speaks about the "Functional review" that is going on within IMO, that is a "change" project aiming to make the organisation more effective and relevant to the maritime industry. "Young IMO" is something that I never knew existed but makes me very happy to hear about. We discuss who is deciding the theme for the year within IMO, and I get the opportunity to express my gratitude for the theme this year "Empowering Women in the Maritime Community" but also my concern for what will happen once the year is over? What do you think? Is the IMO doing what you thought they were doing or are there some more questions that you wonder about? I love feedback, please give me some, I am @lenagothberg in most channels. Thank you for listening!    

In episode 120 we meet with Patrik Dahlgren, Senior Vice President, Global Marine Operations, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd. a former Master Mariner who left Sweden for more than 20 years and who now has a dream job for many, he is responsible for operations in the global cruise company Royal Caribbean Cruises and six of its subsidiaries.  We talk a lot about the SDG 5 in this episode and the gender diversity programme that Patrik helped introduce into RCC and why he thinks it's so important. He also explains what change he can see after the introduction and how they went from 5 % women at the Bridge of Celebrity Cruises to 20 %, in only a year. Patrik Dahlgren goes on to speak about the Global Industry Alliance at IMO, the International Maritime Organisation, where he is representing Royal Caribbean Cruises.  I truly enjoyed recording this episode, what do you think of what Patrik says? I am @lenagothberg in most channels and I love feedback. Thank you for listening, now you have to go and tell someone else a

Meet Birgitte Ringstad Vartdal, CEO of Golden Ocean Management AS in Oslo. Birgitte is one of the #WomeninShipping that is more often interviewed by the trade press than others, that comes with the task of being the CEO of a listed company. In spite of that, Birgitte doesn't see herself as a role model even though she understands that others do that. We talk about her background and what she thinks about the future and she gives good advice to young people who just started in the maritime industry. I think it was a treat to be able to sit down with Birgitte and chat about the topics at the top of my mind, what do you think?  We are referring to the episode with Pia Meling in our chat, that is number 107 and you find it here.  Birgitte is the 57th female guest in the Shipping Podcast, how did you like the 119th episode? Give me a shout-out, I am @lenagothberg in most channels, or comment on the website www.shippingpodcast.com  Thank you for listening! Lena 

What is a scrubber? How does it work? Heidi Johannessen Paulsrud from Wärtsilä explains the basics around environmental footprint from the ship, for me. The technology has been there for quite some time but since there has not been any incentive to use it it's only now that the item has surfaced to the top of the agenda in the maritime industry. Heidi is a chemist, so she explains what happens if we are not reducing the SoX and NoX in the exhaust gas from ships. She also speaks about fuel, current and future, and what the shipowners of the world need to think about to reach zero-emission.  Heidi is happy to see more females in the maritime industry and she herself is a good representative for the modern maritime industry. Heidi Johannessen Paulsrud is the 56th female guest, which makes gender diversity in the Shipping Podcast 47.4%. The goal is 50%/50% so not quite reached yet, but I am working on it. What is the diversity goal in the maritime trade press where you place your adds? Does it measure up to your

In episode 117 we meet Michael Kjellberg, Owner of Swedish Orient Line, SOL and he shares glimpses from a long and successful career and all about Gothenburg Chartering, Imperial Shipping, Swedish Orient Line and now Wallenius SOL, the "new kid on the block", the newly formed Swedish ship owning company, servicing the forest industry.   Michael started his shipping career by going to sea on CARMEN, a car carrier, some 50 years ago, but found out that he was more interested in shipbroking and chartering, so he went ashore again. Now, the circle is closing as he is the sole owner of the Swedish Orient Line, which is now forming this joint venture with Wallenius Lines.  When asked about his success, he shares that secret is to only hire who are smarter than yourself and build a loyal team to share both challenges and successes.  Thank you for listening, please share your views on the episode, I am @lenagothberg in all social channels, or drop me a line at hello@shippingpodcast.com       

In episode 116, we meet Deborah Layde, Grants Director at Seafarers UK, is a leading provider of grants to maritime charities and charitable maritime projects, working to help serving and ex-serving seafarers and their families who are experiencing hardship. Deborah is quite new at her job, previously in her career, she worked for Sir Terence Conran and also with developing the Butler's Wharf into what it is today. I get a chance to ask Deborah what she thinks about entering the maritime industry as we can be rather closed to newcomers, but she has not experienced that, quite the opposite in fact. Deborah is talking about so many interesting projects that the Seafarers UK is involved with, especially those trying to interest young people in entering the maritime community. What is your experience, have you seen any exceptionally good ideas that you can share with us, on how to do that?  I love feedback, you know that by now. Give me a shoutout at @lenagothberg or comment at www.shippingpodcast.com  Thank you

In episode 115 you meet Helen Buni, who works at the Technical Cooperation Division at IMO and is the focal point for the programme Women in Maritime, the IMO programme on diversity.  Why did the International Maritime Organisation decide on "Empowering Women in the Maritime Industry" for 2019? And what will happen next year when the theme is something else? Will IMO still be working with the gender issue?  Listen to Helen Buni speaking about how she sees the future and what initiatives that IMO is supporting and which stakeholders that need to collaborate to move things forward.  Here is the link to the new film released by IMO on Women in Maritime, Turning the Tide.   What do you think? I love feedback, give me a shout-out, in social media @lenagothberg or drop me a line at hello@shippingpodcast.com Thank you for listening. 

Meet Captain Kate McCue, currently Captain of the CELEBRITY EQUINOX and a role model for many young people in the world.  Captain Kate was the first American woman in command of a "mega" cruise ship, which happened in 2015 but listen to her story about how she applied to work in the bar onboard when she first tried out to be a seafarer as she didn't get hired otherwise. 19 years later she is the Captain of the ship and today she is in command of 1,200+ people onboard her cruise ship.  Of course, we speak about Bug, the pet Captain Kate brings to work and also on her trips around the world. bugnaked has almost 24,000 followers on Instagram and it's a must to follow her as well. It was such a pleasure to meet Captain Kate and hear her view of a career at sea, I hope you enjoyed it, thank you for listening. Both Captain Kate and I love feedback, so please give us a shout-out in social media unless you have a question or two.  Patreon account for the Shipping Podcast  @lenagothberg     

Meet the brightest shining star in the maritime industry right now, Ally Cedeno, Founder of Women Offshore. She is the passionate young woman who went to sea and unfortunately ended up on a ship where she didn't feel comfortable but had to endure for another 6 months.  Ally felt alone in the world and especially on the water, which she loves so much, and had experiences to be the best workplace ever, so she decided to start Women Offshore - a safe place online where you can share your experiences and get support. Ally is a young entrepreneur and Women Offshore has grown and is continuing to grow into a network for young women. You need to visit the website www.womenoffshore.org and check it out! There is a Conference coming up in July, Ally talks about it in this episode, and there is a podcast (!) - I finally got a good competitor, whom I would like to collaborate with!  Listen to the episode, let other people know about it and give us a shout-out! Thank you for listening. @lenagothberg 

Meet Cecilia Müller Torbrand, Program Director, LLM, MACN Secretariat in Copenhagen. She started the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network, MACN in 2011 and have now managed to attract more than 30 pct of the world tonnage.  According to the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network's anonymous reporting mechanism, which was set up in 2011, there have been over 28,000 incidents already reported, confirming that this is a widespread issue. Read more about that in the Maritime Executive  Cecilia claims the initiative has been very well greeted by the seafarers as they feel supported when declining bribes and corruption. It helps them feel encouraged and safe, says Cecilia, every company has a hero like that, find that person and support them and you will be better off in the future. Cecilia is referring to Transparency International which is based in Berlin, whose mission is to stop corruption and promote transparency, accountability and integrity at all levels and across all sectors of society. Thank you for listening. What

In episode 111 we meet Per Westling, Managing Director, Stena Roro, who is passionate about naval architecture but he has gained a lot of knowledge during his time at Stena.  Stena Roro is building GLOBAL MERCY for Mercy Ships and that will be the world's largest hospital ship, which will be serving in African waters. Per explains how they decided to build the ship in China and how many more passenger ships that they are building at the same shipyard now.  When asked what he sees as the largest developments during his time in the maritime industry, Per mentions SAFETY improvements and the developments for the ENVIRONMENT that has happened, which he thinks is necessary.  I am talking about statistics in this episode. The Shipping Podcast is downloaded app. 6,000 times/month in 165+ countries.  The most downloaded episodes have been downloaded ~1,200, which means that this podcast is among the 80 % most listened to. Mindblowing. Thank you for listening! Did you like this episode and wants to help out with sprea

In the 110th episode of the Shipping Podcast, we meet Tomas Fransson, the National Director of Mercy Ships Sweden, who was appointed recently after a long career in the automotive industry.  It's interesting to hear Tomas' experience of the maritime world as he is a newcomer and has recently "got the bug", we also get to hear a lot about the world's largest non-governmental hospital ship currently being built in China.  Would you be willing to volunteer onboard the ship, to work as a crew on the ship? Do not hesitate to get in contact with Mercy Ships if you are interested.  In the next episode, we meet Per Westling, CEO Stena Roro, and he explains a little bit more about the GLOBAL MERCY, don't miss out on that!  If you like what you hear, you can always leave a review on Apple Podcasts or just give a shoutout in social media @ShippingPodcast  Thank you for listening.

Welcome to the 109th episode of the Shipping Podcast and the 50th female interviewee! Cecilia Österman is the Chief Engineer that went ashore and decided to become a researcher. Cecilia doesn't fall in the usual perception of a researcher, she makes her findings easy to digest and is willing to stand up and speak about what she finds. Cecilia has now received funds from AFA försäkring (insurance company) to research the #metoo movement in the shipping community. She will look into how other industries have come up with ways to resolve the things that came into the light last fall.  Here I share the video that was put together by the female sailors in Sweden, but you need to know that it's not a bedtime story, be prepared to hear the worse. Should you wish to speak to anyone after having watching it, I recommend the ISWAN Helpline  Thank you for listening. I love feedback so please give me a shoutout in social media or drop me a line at hello@shippingpodcast.com 

Meet Shachar Tal, the Co-Founder of Loginno , which is short for Logistic Innovation and their product Contopia, a term used to describe a world where every shipping container is real-time IoT connected, tracking of goods at sea. This interview was made online, Shachar in Israel and Lena in Sweden. Does it make any difference that the person interviewed is not in the same room? What do you think? Please send me some feedback at hello@shippingpodcast.com  We discuss "who owns the data" in this episode, and who is driving the market? The way that Loginno is tracking the container is via a vent, which is a part of mechanic that is already on the container, you just switch to the one which is connected and there you go, you have the "spying box" as Shachar describes it. Thank you for listening, if you consider becoming a Patreon, please visit https://www.patreon.com/ShippingPodcast that's where we gather, the ones that want to make recognition for the shipping industry.

This is a subject creating interest and a lot of emotions, it's all about autonomous shipping! Meet Pia Meling, a very knowledgeable maritime professional speaking about what challenges there are with autonomous ships but also the strategy behind developing a new segment of shipping.   The idea is to move goods from roads to the sea and the various scales of autonomous, from assistance to fully autonomous. Of course, we cover a lot more in this, the 107th episode of the Shipping Podcast, how everything is changing in the maritime industry and what we can learn from others. I will be waiting for your feedback to our conversation, either in social media, on the website www.shippingpodcast.com or to hello@shippingpodcast.com  Thank you for listening!  Lena

It's energising to meet young people and listen to what they have to say! What does the Millenials value in the workplace? Who do they want to work for and with?  Meet Emilie Christiansen, former President of YoungShip, she actually stepped down as late as March 2, 2019, and handed over the rein to Ingvild Nordhaug. You see the new Board of YoungShip International here: http://www.youngship.com/contact/ We cover so many interesting topics in this episode and here are some links that I promise in our chat. Bloch chain for rookies:  Deanna MacDonald episode 62 of the Shipping Podcast  Norbert Kouwenhoven episode 75 of the Shipping Podcast  Norbert Kouwenhoven episode 6 Intelsat Executive Briefing Podcast    Silvija Seres, mentioned by Emilie who also have a podcast 10 women to watch for the future in the maritime industry 2017 The Bechdel test Thank you for listening! What do you think?  I love feedback and you find me @lenagothberg all over social media. I am waiting to hear from you!   

Listen to Amer Mohammed, former Head of Digital Transformation at Stena Line and now the CDO of Cap Gemini in Scandinavia and how he sees the shipping industry.  With a background from the gaming industry and a fearless attitude on how to get things done, Amer is not the usual employee in a shipping company and that might be the secret sauce for his success at Stena.   We hear about World of Warcraft, start-ups, IT-departments, mission statements, transformation, digitalisation, open source, hacking, automation, bots and AI. This is an episode you don't want to miss!  What is your immediate reaction to what Amer says? Please let me know, I am curious to hear from you! @lenagothberg  @AmerBizTech Thank you for listening