entrepreneurs 25


Pictures by Angus Thomas


survive. As for ’trust no-one’, I wouldn’t go as far as that, but I would urge caution. How has your company grown?


Dryad Maritime has grown organically. Shipping is a relationship business so word of mouth is a key generator and repeat business is key. We put a lot of effort into customer services, the 24-hour operation being just one feature.


And is the media friend or foe?


We receive a great deal of press coverage due to the nature of the work that we do. Generally the media are friendly – towards us at least. Intelligence is considered ’sexy’ and interesting and content like that is appealing to readers and therefore editors. However,


today most piracy and maritime crime incidents go unreported because the subject was well covered by the media between 2007-2010 so now, only incidents ’out of the ordinary’ draw attention. The lack of general media attention is a contributing factor in current thinking that piracy has dissipated and therefore no longer a concern. This inaccurate assumption can lead to complacency in the industry and it is something we are continuously guarding our clients against. Piracy has not been ’solved’ and a change in circumstances could easily cause it to resurrect. It will only take one successful hijack to reverse the current situation.


Is the recruitment of former Royal Navy specialists key to your success?


Our team is primarily drawn from former Navy specialists, but not exclusively. We firmly believe in recruiting the right people for the job and when it comes to our operations team, then those with naval experience are particularly well suited. Our clients like the fact they can talk to people any time of the day or night that understand the environment they are operating in. Our ops team, however, is supported across the organisation by those who have not served in the Navy and we consider them equally important to our success.


Does it feel like you are still working in a military organisation?


Unquestionably the work ethos from the Navy is extant as is the banter. We are very process- orientated too which is another Naval trait and something we have used to our advantage by recently achieving ISO: 9001 accreditation. Generally though, our staff have left the Navy because they wanted to so they don’t necessarily want to work in the same sort of environment. We are mindful of this and try to keep a good balance between Navy and corporate – we think it works.


THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – SOLENT & SOUTH CENTRAL – NOVEMBER 2014


How do you see technology helping you in your business?


We use technology in-house to assist us in streamlining our processes and enable scalability, but essentially, we are a managed service provider.


Internally, we have developed a bespoke intelligence handling system, called MoneyPenny, which is a geo-spatial monitoring system. It shows where our clients’ vessels are, piracy incidents, suspicious approaches, meteorological and oceanographic data. This software is in continual development and will soon form the basis for much of our operational production process.


What will you do next?


We have a software development site in Hastings where our geospatial handling system was built. As well as developing this system further for our in-house use, we are looking at ways in which this technology can be adopted by third parties.


Outside of the UK, we have seen expansion in to Asia with a new office in Singapore and representation in the Americas. We are hoping to expand on this with more operational staff in these regions and further expansion in Europe.


What did you think of the film Captain Phillips?


I sat and thought about the film for a long time after seeing it and decided it is as true to a real-life situation as you will get without being on board a ship. That is what modern-day piracy looks like.


You’ve seen a lot of the world, albeit not on vacation, so what do you enjoy in leisure time?


Time with family and friends is very important to me – something the Navy gives you is a great friendship network which I am keen to nurture. Living on the south coast and with salt in my veins, getting out on the water is also crucial. We have a boat we use for research and development, so quite often you’ll find me tinkering on that at the weekends.


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