Company insight
A flexible means of support for cruising
With the pandemic upending cruise travel, operators – especially smaller ones – are increasingly relying on external partners to provide help with all manner of services, from recruitment to catering. Olaf Groeger, managing director at Columbia Blue, a global leader in ship management solutions, tells us what the German outfit can do.
T
hough the clouds over the cruise industry seem to be receding, the storm is not over just yet. This is clear across a number of areas, from hygiene and recruitment to refitting old vessels. Given the scale of these difficulties, it is unsurprising that many operators, particularly smaller players in the luxury expedition sector, are increasingly leaning on external ship management solutions to stay afloat. Not all partners were created equal, however. With some players in the ship management space providing inflexible and rigid support, operators risk making their set-up less efficient than it was before. Yet – as one Hamburg-based company is proving with confidence – choose right and even the smallest cruise company can transform its operations, with happy consequences for staff and passengers alike.
This pivot to hospitality cruising makes sense – not least when it comes to luxury expedition lines. “There’s growing interest in doing something special, like seeing the Arctic or Antarctic,” says Groeger, now Columbia Blue’s managing director. “I believe the general crowd is willing to pay the extra dollar.” Certainly, it is a point backed by the numbers. In 2021, to give just one example, there were 14 new expedition ships being built to order, with four more being converted. Yet, if these sophisticated vessels are booming in popularity, problems are arising too. As Groeger explains, that begins with recruitment. With many operators sacking crew as the pandemic raged, it is now proving hard to find staff to fill vacant positions. That is doubly true, Groeger continues, given events in eastern Europe – before the Russian invasion, about a quarter of officers were Ukrainian.
“In part, Columbia Blue is able to offer such variety due to its cosmopolitan team. With staff hailing from over 30 different countries, the firm is able to call on broad expertise. One gets the sense that Groeger’s success fundamentally stems from his flexibility.”
Deep blue
One way or the other, Olaf Groeger has been at the heart of ship management solutions for decades. Starting his career managing container vessels back in the 1990s, he has worked at Columbia Shipmanagement for nearly three decades. Yet with Covid-19 shaking the industry up, Groeger and his colleagues last year decided to launch Columbia Blue, a group that combines Columbia’s super yacht and cruise sector brands into a single entity.
Combined with persistent concerns about hygiene, it is no wonder that many operators, particularly ones without the heft of Carnival or Royal Caribbean, are looking to outsiders for help. Fortunate, too, that Columbia Blue offers such a range of turnkey solutions. For customers eager for help on post-Covid cleanliness, Groeger and his team have Columbia Pure, which provides customised outbreak prevention and response plans, as well as regulatory assistance. If it is crew management they need assistance with, Columbia boasts a
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worldwide network of manning agencies to overcome personnel shortages, and can educate new staff with its computer-based training (CBT) platform. At the same time, the company also provides services across other areas, including catering and performance optimisation.
In part, Columbia Blue is able to offer such variety due to its cosmopolitan team. With staff hailing from over 30 different countries, the firm is able to call on broad expertise. One gets the sense that Groeger’s success fundamentally stems from his flexibility. “We offer tailor-made services,” he says. “Our customers can pick and choose where they want to aim. We are not like some of our competitors who say: ‘This is our manual. Take it or leave it.’”
Going green
This adaptability is just as well. With operators building and refitting so many ships, having a partner like Columbia Blue – a shoulder to lean on throughout the arduous vessel development process – is proving increasingly useful. As Groeger puts it: “We sit down with the client and cater to what they actually want, from new building supervision plan approval right down to the actual management of the vessel.” In a similar vein, Columbia Blue is clearly listening to its clients about what comes next. Perhaps understandably, environmentalism is high up the agenda, with luxury operators especially keen to prove their green credentials. “We are extremely involved,” Groeger emphasises, noting that electric engines and hydrogen fuels are just two of the options available to climate-conscious operators in the years ahead. Whatever they choose, at any rate, Columbia Blue is more than ready to be supportive partners in the journey. ●
www.columbia.blue 45
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