Waves of Change: Key Insights Driving Innovation

James Vavasour, Business Stream Director - MWS

Lessons Learned Shaping How We Work

Across regions and project types, one message keeps coming through clearly. MWS delivers the greatest value when it is involved early and stays closely engaged as the project develops. Early engagement, supported by clear stakeholder kick off meetings, allows risks to be identified sooner and encourages a more solution-oriented way of working as projects move into execution.

Our focus remains firmly on real risk reduction rather than box ticking. This helps project teams make informed decisions without slowing progress or creating unnecessary friction. Combined with consistent global delivery, this way of working is raising expectations for how MWS services should be applied across the industry. Close collaboration across regions and disciplines ensures lessons learned, precedent, and local insight are shared quickly and applied consistently, reinforcing Global Maritime’s role in shaping best practice in Marine Warranty Surveying.

Standout Insights

• Understanding where insured risks sit only comes from wide-ranging experience and a global network of highly qualified people

• Pragmatic, risk-focused MWS services enable robust delivery to first in series and other high-risk projects with confidence, while protecting all stakeholders from unproductive MWS input

•  Direct engagement with underwriters, brokers, and clients aligns expectations and streamlines execution for all parties
  

How We’re Evolving as a Global Team

In the world of Marine Warranty Surveying, experience is everything. Global Maritime brings unrivalled depth across oil and gas, decommissioning, offshore renewables, and project cargo, built through decades of involvement in complex and high-risk operations worldwide. Our teams combine global consistency with local understanding, allowing us to respond effectively to real world constraints while maintaining clear and reliable standards. This ensures our MWS services remain practical, relevant, and focused on meaningful risk reduction.

A key differentiator is our investment in our people. Global Maritime has made a commitment to employing SOMWS qualified MWS professionals and is the only MWS provider with a comprehensive, one-of-a-kind, mandated online learning program for all MWS staff. This ensures consistent standards, shared understanding, and continuous development across our global team, positioning Global Maritime as a trusted partner and a clear leader in Marine Warranty Surveying.

John Butler, Business Stream Director - Marine Services 

Lesson Learned Shaping How we work

There is no doubt that the focus on global shipping has increased over the past number of years. This has been driven by events such as the “Ever Given” container ship blocking the Suez Canal and the collision of the container ship “Dali” which caused the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. These black swan events put the world of shipping in forefront of people’s mind. Concurrently we are seeing an increasing volume of shipping vessels entering the market across multiple sectors. So, what are the numbers and what impact are they going to have on the environment, energy and infrastructure?

To put things in perspective Maritime Shipping carries over 80% of global trade by volume. In 2024 the total seaborne trade reached 21.7 billion tonnes. This has an impact on the volume of shipping, the number of mariners required, port infrastructure and associated supply chains.

In the short sea shipping sector, there has been a discernible growth in SOV over the past 5 years driven by a combination of O&G projects and offshore wind construction, operations and maintenance. Although there is a general uptick in construction this is not an offshore super-cycle but more a reaction to offshore wind. This sector is now facing some headwinds so it will be interesting to see how this plays out in the vessel construction market toward the end of the decade. 

Standout Insights

The way we approach shipping is changing. More than ever before our clients are seeking greater value and demanding more responsiveness. This will be delivered through deployment and adoption of digital tools and solutions that drive pace, efficiency and transparency. At Global Maritime our DP App is providing consistency, continuity and clarity to our offshore operations – saving our clients time and money.    

How We’re Evolving as a Global Team

At Global Maritime the only constant is change. How we support out clients is essential to ensure continuity of service and excellence in delivery. The maritime sector does not stand still and neither do we. 
Through our software solutions we provide seamless interface for onboard surveys, audits and investigations, these include:

GM INSPECT an in-house software that streamlines vessel surveys by replacing handwritten notes with a tablet-based application. The system reduces administrative work by allowing surveyors to input findings and capture photos directly during inspections, with images automatically organised for the final report. 

Similarly, the GM DP TRIALS App is a next-generation digital platform designed to simplify Dynamic Positioning (DP) trials and enhance fleet DP assurance management. Benefits include DP trials execution, automatic reporting, smart data management, and integration with vessel management systems. The app provides centralized, secure access to fleet DP documentation, real-time fleet overview, and up-to-date compliance for marine operations.

Global Maritime have also developed an inhouse Pollution Prevention Management System, (PPMS). Establishing a base line for environmental compliance of marine assets, reducing operating costs and minimising environmental impacts. Global Maritime’s Environmental Audit service helps you navigate the demands of MARPOL with confidence — ensuring your vessels meets current and future sustainability regulations while identifying tangible opportunities to cut operating costs and boost efficiency.

Kevin Doyle, Business Stream Director - Engineering & Software

Lessons Learned Shaping How We Work

The marine industry has never suffered from a lack of data. Every vessel, operation, weather system, and inspection generates endless datasets. Yet our industry has relied on human judgment as the primary engine for decision‑making. The value of experience, intuition, and hands on expertise can’t be underestimated and is what makes the industry we work in so rewarding. That human insight remains invaluable, but it can no longer be considered the end game.

Today’s operational environment is more complex, regulated, and interconnected than ever. Decisions are expected to be made fast but also ensure the safety of our teams while standing up to multiple levels of scrutiny. The challenge isn’t the absence of data; it’s the difficulty of how we translate that into usable data. 
This is where our industry must evolve.

At Global Maritime, we’re committed to bridge that gap. We’re integrating our advanced software solutions, such as GM OPSIM, directly into the decision‑making process. GM OPSIM allows us to model operations, simulate scenarios, and evaluate risks beyond manual processes. It doesn’t replace human expertise; it amplifies it. By combining deep industry knowledge with powerful digital tools, we enable teams to make better decisions, backed by evidence and insight.

The future of marine industry lies in effectively using the data we already possess. Those who embrace digital decision support will operate more safely, more efficiently, and with greater confidence. At Global Maritime, we’re not waiting for that future to arrive. We’re actively building it.

Key Wins or Standout Insights

Stepping into this new role at Global Maritime has given me a fresh perspective on how we operate, and a few key themes have really stood out for me:

• Engaged employees deliver stronger outcomes. When people feel connected, informed, and valued, their effectiveness increases naturally.

• Adopting new technology or reshaping how we approach problems is rarely direct. It takes time, patience, and a willingness to navigate a winding path.

• A deep understanding of our clients’ needs, coupled with regular alignment on the end goal, is essential to achieving successful outcomes.
  

How We’re Evolving as a Global Team

In a global organisation, collaboration rarely happens within the confines of a single time zone, jurisdiction, or working environment. Our teams operate across continents, environmental conditions, and regulatory frameworks, each bringing its own challenge. These differences can slow decision making, create communication gaps, and make it harder to maintain a consistent standard of delivery. It’s a reality every international organization faces, and one that becomes even more complex when the work involves high risk operations and ever-changing project demands.

To be successful in managing these challenges it requires structure. By implementing standardised ways of working, we’re creating a shared understanding that transcends geography. Clear processes and expectations combined with consistent tools ensure that no matter where our people are based, they approach projects with the same methodology and the same commitment to quality.

Equally important is how we integrate our teams. Bringing the right expertise into projects early and keeping those teams connected throughout helps eliminate silos and ensures decisions are informed by diverse perspectives. 
These efforts are helping us close the gaps created by distance and complexity, enabling us to operate as one Global Maritime team.

Michele  Martins, Business Stream Director - Geoscience 

Lessons Learned Shaping How We Work

Over recent years, Geosciences has supported some of the largest offshore wind farms in the world, and with that scale comes increasingly complex geophysical and geotechnical datasets. Our Integrated Ground Modelling approach brings together geophysics, geotechnical engineering and engineering geology, but one lesson became clear: our teams needed a single, consistent tool to integrate their interpretations. Previously, each discipline worked independently, combining outputs later through spreadsheets—an approach that was flexible but lacked the quality control required when dealing with a high number of geotechnical investigation units (often 1000+), involving hours to achieve an acceptable outcome.

Recognising the risk, inefficiency -and growing frustration - we developed Unifier, an internal software platform that consolidates stratigraphy, geotechnical unitisation, geophysical interpretation, velocity models and mis-tie checks into one shared database. It provides real‑time visibility, tracks and notifies changes and ensures that all interpretations remain aligned within a consistent geological framework.

Unifier is one example of how we are building tools that improve efficiency, strengthen clarity, and reinforce our QC workflows, resulting in better and more reliable deliverables. It supports our geoscientists in their day‑to‑day work and reflects a key lesson for our team: when we invest in our people, we work smarter, collaborate more effectively, and deliver higher‑quality outcomes. Unifier is not alone – we developed many tools in the past years – and with this success, we continue to expand our team and improve our software capabilities to support future projects. 

Key Wins or Standout Insights

• Technology: On‑time, on‑budget 3D UHRS survey scoping and management for Green Volt

• Innovation: Leading an industry research project exploring the development of novel anchoring technologies

• Client: New cable installation contractor client; export‑route integrated ground models in the UK & France

• Region: Multi‑scope project in South Korea incl. ground model, SSBL, routing, CBRA, BAS and landfall design

How We’re Evolving as a Global Team

As a global organisation, we are increasingly focused on creating the right environment for our people to grow, develop and contribute across disciplines and regions. In Geosciences, we are strengthening career development by giving our teams clearer pathways and greater visibility of opportunities. The first step has been the rollout of discipline skills mapping, which is already helping us understand our collective capability more clearly and enabling individuals to explore interests beyond their core discipline. 

Building on this, we are launching a new graduate programme, which will give early-career professionals structured exposure to all geo disciplines, helping develop well-rounded capability, team resilience and ultimately strengthening our support to all global regions.

At the same time, the Business Stream Directors are increasingly working together as one GM - sharing knowledge, aligning ways of working, and delivering integrated, multi-disciplinary solutions that reflect the full strength of our global organisation.

Rolf Åge Vågen, Business Stream Director - Marine Operations  

Lessons Learned Shaping How We Work

Working with a flexible contract model has shown us how important adaptability is in meeting real customer needs. Many of the challenges our clients face do not fit neatly into a standard contract structure. In those situations, we see that our willingness to adjust, stay open, and work closely with the customer makes a real difference.

By focusing on collaboration rather than rigid frameworks, we are better able to find practical solutions together. This approach has been consistently valued by our customers and has proven effective across a wide range of maritime sectors. The experience has reinforced our belief that flexibility is not just a commercial choice, but a key part of how we deliver value.

Key Standout Insights

• Hywind Scotland – main component exchange

• Gina Krog – TMRS recovery

• Njord Future project

How We’re Evolving as a Global Team

By combining our global presence with strong local expertise, we are able to draw on the right knowledge at the right time. Our specialist teams collaborate across regions and disciplines, allowing us to address complex challenges efficiently and consistently.

This way of working enables us to carry out operations in many parts of the world while still staying closely connected as one company. The result is stronger execution, shared learning, and a more unified approach to how we support our customers globally.

Across all business streams, one principle remains consistent: practical expertise, applied early and delivered consistently, creates real value. As the marine and offshore sectors continue to evolve, we remain focused on disciplined risk management, strong technical standards, and close collaboration with our clients and partners worldwide.

By combining global reach with local knowledge, structured ways of working, and continued investment in our people and systems, we ensure we are ready to support complex operations wherever they take place. As demands increase and projects grow in scale, Global Maritime will continue to provide dependable, experience-led solutions across the marine and offshore industries.

ENDS

About Global Maritime
Global Maritime is a marine, offshore and engineering consultancy that provides specialist & owners engineering, integrated geoscience solutions, marine warranty, dynamic positioning, and marine consultancy. Known for innovation, practical experience, operational excellence, & safety.

Founded in 1979, Global Maritime’s services span the entire offshore project lifecycle from early concept, Pre-FEED, FEED, and detailed design through to construction and decommissioning.