Maritime Digitalisation — Full Steam Ahead

With over 40 years of history, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement Hong Kong enters the modern era of ship management by incorporating innovative technologies.

Much resource, knowledge and experience are required to manage a ship. Established in 1981, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM) Hong Kong is one of 11 ship management centres operated by BSM worldwide. BSM is an integrated maritime solutions provider and one of the world’s top-ranking ship managers in the gas, tanker, offshore, container, bulk and cruise sectors with over 600 ships under management. As a member of the Schulte Group, BSM Hong Kong benefits from its over 135 years of experience in the shipping industry. BSM Hong Kong was one of the first centres in the network to offer customers both technical and crew management services. BSM Hong Kong has grown steadily over the years and currently manages a fleet of over 60 vessels. BSM Hong Kong is firmly committed to digital transformation to deliver safe, reliable and efficient ship management services, and this will contribute to Hong Kong in maintaining its position as a world-leading maritime hub.

Building a Vibrant Maritime Services Cluster

The city is home to many well established professional ship management service providers. The COVID-19 outbreak has impacted shipping operations. Nonetheless, Firoze Mirza, Managing Director of Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement Hong Kong, is optimistic about the industry’s growth potential in the region. “Hong Kong has been providing elements that are essential to nurture a vibrant ecosystem of maritime services. The government has made tax concessions for ship leasing and maritime insurance, maritime law and arbitration is strongly represented, funding and schemes have been set up to nurture talent, and the city offers a free trade policy, low-profit tax and highly competitive port and terminal rates. This would help attract more shipping commercial principals and business investors to Hong Kong.”

Enhancing Efficiency through Technology Application

Hong Kong has long been a provider of high value-added maritime services. To enhance its competitive advantages, BSM Hong Kong is speeding up the transition towards digitalisation in ship management operations. Mirza said, “It is encouraging to see the unwavering support of the Hong Kong government in the development of a smart maritime regime. We are adopting digital technologies and solutions to increase operational efficiency as well as create economic and social values.”

One example of that is “LiveFleet” — the company’s proprietary performance management platform for ship owners. It provides customers with transparent, timely and accessible information that enables them to manage their vessels in a digitalised and cost-effective manner. In addition, BSM’s new mobile application named QDMS WIKI allows employees to access all the latest company procedures, manuals, and documents anytime and anywhere. “Digitalisation has many advantages. By providing guidelines and information needed to perform tasks compliant with the procedures, we can streamline our processes and increase safety and security on the ships. Waste is also reduced by going paperless. We will continue to explore user-friendly and data-smart fleet management solutions,” added Mirza.

Looking forward, BSM Hong Kong plans to leverage its global scale and Hong Kong’s role as an international premier maritime centre to capture the extensive business opportunities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

On the personal front, the Indian native has lived in Hong Kong for about 20 years and appreciates the city’s vibrant living culture. For him, the personal freedom, global connectivity and Hong Kong’s strikingly beautiful natural scenery are also cited as good reasons to make Hong Kong home.