Wallem Group News

The Board of Directors of Wallem Group have announced that John-Kaare Aune will be stepping aside as Wallem Group’s CEO and after a period of transition will leave in January 2024.The Wallem Board has appointed John Rowley to succeed him, with effect from January 1, 2024. Rowley is currently Senior Vice President Global Food and Transportation Divisions at NSF, prior to which he was CEO SAI Global Assurance following eight years on the executive team at the Lloyd's Register Group…

Market drivers have created a significant opportunity for Wallem to grow a specialised area of business, according to Capt. Anurag Mathur, Managing Director, Commercial Services, Wallem Group.Wallem’s portfolio of commercial services is ideally placed for expansion across a full range of vessel types, according to the executive appointed to drive for growth in January 2023. And Capt. Anurag Mathur, whose previous roles include senior managing directorships at leading ship owning and ship management companies…

Wallem Group appointed Ioannis Stefanou as Managing Director of Wallem Ship Management, with responsibility for the oversight and strategic planning of the company’s ship management activities worldwide.Stefanou joined Wallem Ship Management in April 2014 to lead its Technical Management. Over his career he has worked for a number of well-known ship management companies and highly respected privately-owned ship operators. He holds Master’s degrees in both Marine Technology and Technical Management of Ship Operations and is a Chartered Engineer registered with Engineering Council UK.

John-Kaare Aune has been appointed Chief Executive Officer at Wallem Group, effective October 1, 2021, after a successful term as Interim CEO.He joined Wallem in 2019 as Managing Director, Shipmanagement, andtook over as Group CEO on an interim basis in January 2021 following the resignation of Frank Coles.Before joining Wallem, he worked as Regional Director – Asia Pacific at the Cayman Registry, playing a key role in the growth of its global commercial activities. He had previously worked at the Norwegian Maritime Directorate.

Maritime solutions provider Wallem Group has appointed Leonard Tui as Managing Director, Ship Agency for Indochina, as part of efforts to expand its global reach and enhance its regional service offering, Tui joins Wallem from Höegh Autoliners, bringing with him 17 years’ experience in maritime operations and logistics management. In his previous role as Head of Operations at Höegh’s Tokyo office, Tui oversaw the East Asian, Southeast Asian, and Oceanian markets, serving 15 countries…

Wallem has signed an agreement with the Ocean Technologies Group to implement its recently launched OCEAN Learning Platform.The OCEAN Learning Platform is designed to deliver blended learning, assessment and competency management solutions to improve knowledge, skills and behavioural development. The new platform will boost learner interaction and engagement and drive the very best learning outcomes. Wallem’s 7,000 seafarers will access training content on board and ashore, track…

The board of Wallem Group announced that chief executive Frank Coles has resigned and will be leaving the company shortly.As many will be aware, Coles has been very active in highlighting the plight of seafarers during the COVID-19 pandemic, and he now wishes to become more involved in promoting their welfare, as well as pursuing other opportunities.During his two and half years at Wallem, Coles has initiated many changes aimed at enhancing customer service, obtaining operational efficiencies and improving safety.John Kaare Aune, managing director of Wallem Shipmangement Limited, will take ove

Wallem Shipmanagement appointed Navigate Response to enhance its global media response capability, tasked to deliver crisis communications support and training to its global operations on shore and at sea.“Wallem Shipmanagement is committed to investing in technology that primarily enhances the safety of our seafarers and improves security, productivity and efficiency. In Navigate Response we recognize a similar commitment to leveraging digital solutions to deliver world-class crisis communications and on-line training…

Experienced maritime technology and ship management executive Johan Gustafsson has joined learning and operational technology company Ocean Technologies Group as Chief Revenue Officer.Based in the group’s Norwegian office, Gustafsson will lead account management, customer support and sales teams based globally across Ocean Technologies Group companies. He will report to group CEO Manish Singh.Gustafsson’s experience in maritime technology businesses spans two decades with blue-chip organizations including Transas, Wartsila and most recently with Wallem Group, as its Chief Operating Officer.

Frank Coles, CEO, Wallem Group, is known to “call ‘em like he sees ‘em”. We caught up with Coles via video conference from Hong Kong last month to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on maritime, the future of digitalization and autonomy, and the shameful treatment of seafarers. “The only shock to my system that was at the same level was 9/11, because of its impact on the world,” is how Frank Coles puts the current COVID-19 pandemic in perspective. “That was a one-time thing on one-day…

In the best of times, keeping ship crews mentally and physically healthy is a challenge premised on the inherent nature of and dangers in the job, plus the proximity of ship from ready, shoreside help. Add a global pandemic and the situation becomes untenable. We checked in with a select group of maritime medical care organizations for mitigating COVID-19 maritime medical risk.Seafarers are an essential workforce to the global economy with as many as 1.5 million working day and night…

ISL Star, a bulk carrier managed by Wallem Group, together with the U.S. Coast Guard successfully retrieved a crew of eight Indonesian fishermen adrift for over a week after their boat lost power in the middle of the western Pacific.The Hallelujar, a 60ft Indonesian-flagged fishing vessel of wooden construction, had been adrift for 10 days when on August 13th the AMVER vessel ISL Star received a message from the U.S. Coast Guard that the crew on board was seeking immediate assistance.

Wallem Group is introducing collaborative inboxes to its agency business line, in a move designed to enhance responsiveness in communications by overcoming the limitations of conventional end-to-end email. The rethink on how communication takes place between Wallem’s agents and its counterparties is part of a broader digital transformation championed by CEO Frank Coles aimed at streamlining interactions with customers and improving transparency through the intelligent use of technology.Wallem is modernizing the communication infrastructure by deploying a collaborative platform…

Navis, the terminal operating systems (TOS) provider and part of Cargotec, has announced the appointment of maritime industry veteran Simon Doughty as the General Manager and Vice President for the APAC region.Doughty had previously served as the CEO of Hong Kong based Wallem Group and brings over 30 years’ experience in international business management, leading transportation organizations in Asia, the Americas, Middle East and Europe.Doughty has a proven track record of driving top and bottom line growth through efficient operations, work processes and technology in the maritime industry and has had experience in supporting the complete…

The  technology driven maritime solutions provider Wallem Group is rolling out cloud-based software to reduce paperwork and streamline workflows across its ship agency business.Hong Kong-based ship manager said in a release that simplifying the management of documentation and actions required in port calls in a unified system will reduce administrative overheads and enable Wallem’s agents to enhance service quality and consistency to customers worldwide.Wallem has chosen to migrate to the a3 Agency System, marking an important milestone in a broader corporate transformation envisioned by CEO Frank Coles to cast off outdated and inefficient…

German solution provider to the marine and energy sectors, MAN Energy Solutions (MES) has signed a Global Key Account Management contract with Hong Kongbased Wallem Group.The contract covers the supply of spares and services to MAN main engines, generators and turbochargers aboard vessels managed by Wallem, the provider of technology-driven maritime solutions.According to a press release from Augsburg-based MES, the global agreement covers all offices of the Wallem Group and provides access to a dedicated global and local key account manager from MAN PrimeServ, MAN Energy Solutions’ after-sales division. MAN PrimeServ will manage the contract from Hong Kong in close cooperation with a network of over 100 global PrimeServ hubs.Wallem currently has over 200 vessels under asset management…

As a core backbone for their vision to be the leading provider of technology-driven maritime solutions and transform customers experience the Wallem Group has chosen BASSnet Fleet Management Systems. Wallem has selected the complete suite of integrated software to manage their entire fleet.The signing of Wallem marks a key milestone for BASS, signaling a wider move to complete enterprise solutions in the maritime industry as a means to effectively standardize ship processes. Wallem has chosen to use BASSnet as a total solution for maintenance…

The maritime solutions company with expertise in ship management Wallem said that it  has updated its corporate identity to mark the beginning of a shift in its service offering that will harness the latest technology to improve asset management transparency and efficiency in a program intended to transform the relationship between owners and their shipsHong Kong headquartered Wallem Group is changing itself and its brand to support the maritime industry as it undergoes a structural transition.The refreshed corporate identity and logo reflects its ambition to establish a fundamentally new approach in collaborating with vessel owners…

Following the purchase of Transas by Wärtsilä, Transas' ubiquitous CEO Frank Coles will depart the newly merged company, finding a spot on top as the CEO of Wallem Group. Coles offers a diverse background and long career in maritime, spanning law, shipping services and maritime communications.Coles replaces Simon Doughty, who announced his decision to step down earlier this year.“The opportunity to lead and help grow a prestigious and diversified company like Wallem was something I could not pass up," said Coles in a statement.

Inmarsat has reached an agreement with Wallem Group, one of the largest and ship management companies in the industry, establishing the phase-in of Fleet Xpress as its favored connectivity choice for ships at sea.   Already contracted for over 10,000 vessels since it was launched just over one year ago with a rapidly increasing share of the VSAT market, Fleet Xpress delivers high-speed broadband to the maritime market through a unique combination of Ka-band backed up by the mobility and reliability of FleetBroadband using Inmarsat’s L-band capabilities. The combination guarantees global bandwidth while enabling owners and operators to improve business intelligence, enhancing vessel performance and crew welfare.

Masterbulk Singapore has entered into a five-year global sole service supplier agreement with the Wallem Group’s lifeboat maintenance service company, SeaSafe Marine. The agreement is for lifeboat services on Masterbulk’s fleet of 20 open hatch gantry crane vessels. SeaSafe Marine’s current client list includes companies from across the maritime sector such as cruise, tankers and bulk carriers. “We have engineers based in Hong Kong and China, who regularly travel around the world to deliver our services.

More than 10 percent of Wallem’ Ship Managements fleet was presented with Amver (Automated Mutual-Assistance Vessel Rescue System) Awards by Captain Michael H. Sim, United States Coast Guard Liaison Officer to China, in Hong Kong today. Simon Doughty, Wallem Group CEO, received the Awards on behalf of the crew on board each of the vessels recognised for their involvement. “Assistance at sea is the oldest maritime obligations, and I am proud to be associated with the Wallem seafarers who uphold this worthy tradition,” Doughty said.

Nick Brown has been appointed Bureau Veritas’ new Communications Director, Marine & Offshore Division, the classification society announced. Brown will take up the post from November 2, 2016, replacing Philippe Boisson, who will retire after more than 25 years in the role. Brown joins Bureau Veritas from Lloyd’s Register where he has spent the last nine years, most recently as Head of Brand & External Affairs, Marine & Offshore. He has 25 years of shipping industry experience, starting as a commercial trainee with the Wallem Group in Hong Kong.