On 7 November, the top managers of Columbia Shipmanagement (CSM) held their annual meeting for senior officers in Odessa, Ukraine. As usual, the event’s main goal was to update seafarers on recent developments, share the latest corporate news and discuss possibilities to increase operational efficiency. The conference took place in the Bristol hotel located in the historic centre of Odessa. Fifty-seven seafarers visited the event.

Despite the crisis, CSM confidently navigates the market. In 2016, the company heavily invested in IT projects to further enhance efficiency by reducing paper work and administrative burden.

Recently, CSM has established a joint venture with Marlow Navigation, and together the two companies are developing enhanced IT solutions for smart ship management and crew training. The cooperation has proven to be efficient and now both companies are exploring merger prospects. CSM also continues its cooperation with Peter Dohle. The companies joined forces to improve their crewing activities in a number of regions, including Ukraine. The partners are very satisfied with their collaboration, and thus constantly review sectors in which they can cooperate even more closely.

An oversupplied market has raised the benchmark of quality in the industry: when dozens of vessels are ready to take the contract, shipowners can afford to be even more demanding. Therefore the company has polished its standards and in-house trainings. Safety, environmental protection and operational efficiency are among its main priorities.