Charman News

Faststream Recruitment founder and CEO Mark Charman launched the group’s new global headquarters in Southampton alongside Guy Patten, CEO of the U.K. Chamber of Shipping, at an official unveiling event on June 21. Faststream was established in Southampton in 1999, having gone on to launch further international offices in North America and Asia, with its Southampton office remaining as its global headquarters and housing more than 70 of its 100 worldwide staff. Charman commented, “We are hugely proud of our achievements over the past 18 years and very excited about our new global headquarters.

Maritime, offshore and oil and gas recruitment group Faststream has been awarded a two-year supplier agreement by Chevron Products UK Limited. The agreement will see Faststream supply permanent recruitment services to Chevron in the U.K. and Europe within four of its operating companies covering gas and midstream, downstream and chemicals, technology, products and services and corporate/business services. Faststream noted it has been a preferred supplier to Chevron Products UK…

With the energy market swoon in full blossom, Maritime Reporter checked in with Mark Charman, chief executive of global recruiting leader Faststream, for his insights on the breadth and depth of the impact to the offshore employment market. Uncertainty. If there is one word that summarizes current global energy market conditions, it is uncertainty. The sudden downturn in oil pricing – which started nine months ago and collectively caught much of the global market by surprise…

The International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) Secretariat says that Chris Baldwin has joined its team as a Technical Adviser following a short secondment from the Royal Navy. The association has a strong team of eight Technical Advisers working with Jane Bugler, IMCA’s Technical Director. Chris has spent 29 years in the Royal Navy and most recently held a position in the UK MoD’s Defence Safety and Environment Authority, as the Diving Regulator and Superintendent of Diving. His career path has given him a wide maritime experience including: DP, AUV and ROV operations; ship and Offshore Installation security; competency training, safety auditing and most recently commercial diving.

London maritime business are hiring again, according to global shipping industry recruiter Faststream. The Southampton headquartered company reports that it has seen a 20% rise since the start of the year in vacancies for commercial positions across a range of business types including shipowners, insurers and consultancies. “We sense that our clients are feeling much more positive about the future and are especially hiring people in business development and commercial roles. This is also having a spill-over affect in other areas with a rise in the need for people to fill business support functions,” said Faststream Group CEO Mark Charman. “Freight rates may still be low and business tough for many, but the volume of maritime related hires in the U.K.

Recruitment company Faststream has announced the appointment of a new director. Jason Tay has been promoted to director level in the Group’s Singapore base in recognition of his progression and contribution to the business, the company said. Established in 1999, Faststream is a recruitment company specializing in services to the oil and gas, shipping and maritime, offshore, mining and built environment sectors. The Group employs 130 in total across its U.K., Perth Australia, Fort Lauderdale, Houston and Singapore offices. Mr.

‘Addressing the Challenges of New Frontiers’ is the topical theme for the International Marine Contractors Association’s (IMCA) Annual Seminar being held in Singapore November 6-7, 2013. The program for the 18th seminar in the annual series is now online at imca-int.com/events/imca-annual-seminar.aspx, and registration is open. Open to members and non-members alike, the seminar features keynote addresses, presentations, workshops and discussions on diving including key developments and advances in diving equipment and operations; marine and subsea operations including DP operations; marine operations, technology and equipment; offshore surveying in remote and harsh environments; ROV and AUV resources and developments in technology.

Chris Charman took over as Chief Executive of the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) in December of last year. IMCA’s Chief Executive leads the IMCA secretariat and is responsible for delivering the association’s extensive global work program. Charman, perhaps not widely known to our North American readership, nevertheless brings impressive qualifications to this important advocacy group for the international offshore, marine and underwater engineering sectors.

Offshore energy is a unique animal. I say that because, increasingly, the vessels that provide offshore service are becoming the mainstream of our bluewater merchant marine. Smaller than their containership or tanker cousins – although getting bigger every day – these vessels pack surprising amounts of innovation and technology into every precious inch of their uniquely shaped hulls. As shipyards and operators alike discover that they can build to this scale in a way that competes with foreign yards, the U.S. flag fleet slowly becomes more modern and visible. Along with that comes the realization that this sector has special needs, responsibilities and rules; all of which impacts our ability to produce energy.

The latest Maritime Employment Report from international specialist recruiter, Faststream, places a sharp focus on the gap that exists between perception and reality across the industry. Not surprisingly, seafarers seeking a shore career tend to focus on the traditional and more accessible  roles such as superintendent, fleet manager and harbour master. They perceive the more remote professions of law or insurance to be out of reach despite a large proportion of their shore based colleagues stating the importance of having a seafarer in the office.

Massimo Fontolan, of Saipem Ltd., takes on the role of President of the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA). Mr. Fontolan is currently Vice President Commercial, North Atlantic and Arctic at Saipem Ltd. In addition to becoming President of IMCA, he also becomes Chairman of the association's Overall Management Committee (OMC), having served as Vice President of IMCA for the past two years. He is a Civil Engineer with a degree in hydromechanics and quick to point…

Chris Charman is appointed Chief Executive of IMCA (International Marine Contractors Association) taking over from Hugh Williams who is retiring. Chris Charman is greatly looking forward to his new role: "IMCA will bring together so many of my professional skills and capabilities – my working life began in the Royal Navy as an officer where I gained invaluable marine experience," he explains. "I have worked with a number of trade associations and 'not-for-profit' organisations; and the vast majority of my working life has been devoted to risk management.

The British government’s drive to lower net migration by reducing the availability of Tier 2 visa certificates is already having an impact on a wide range of UK based shipping companies and maritime services providers, according to specialist shipping industry recruiter Faststream. On 19 July 2010, the UK Border and Immigration Agency introduced a temporary cap on the total number of Sponsored Skilled General (Tier 2) visas that will be issued whilst it consults on a permanent limit. “This move has effectively rendered many shipping companies’ sponsor licences useless and a number of our clients are expressing serious concerns that they won’t be able to fill crucial UK based vacancies in the coming months.

The latest report by shipping industry recruiters Faststream reveals that there is a rising global demand for ex-seafarers in shore based positions. In its Maritime Employment Review - Technical Shipping published today (20 May 2011), Faststream reveals an upsurge in candidate placements in 2010/11. Globally speaking, the average age of a technical shipping candidate in the past 12 months was 42 and the average salary of £55K (USD $89K / SGD $111K). Typically, the company was able to find and place a candidate within nine weeks.

Shipping recruiter Faststream warns that shipowners taking part in the LNG vessel order spree could face serious difficulties in finding experienced superintendents to run these vessels in the coming months and years, particularly in Europe. The UK-headquartered company says that it has already seen triple the number of vacancies for shore-based technical staff with LNG vessel experience in 2011 compared with the whole of last year. Group CEO Mark Charman said, “With the capacity of the LNG market said to rise from 300 bn cu m to 380 bn cu m by 2015, I believe that shipowners are going to be hard pressed to find the right people to manage these complex vessels.

Maritime recruitment specialist Faststream appointed a new Vice President to manage its team of recruitment specialists in the USA. Tamara Ellis, a former senior employee with Ranstad, the world’s second largest staffing organisation, will be responsible for developing Faststream’s growing presence in the Maritime, Oil & Gas and Logistics markets throughout the Americas. Based in Fort Lauderdale, Ellis has both management and hands-on recruiting experience within US and global staffing organisations. “Tamara is an outstanding catch for Faststream’s US business," said Faststream’s Group CEO Mark Charman. “This is an exciting opportunity to develop a well-established and respected business," said Ellis.

Recruitment is the LNG sector’s principal challenge according to a survey of Society of International Gas Tanker and Terminal Operators (SIGGTO) members undertaken by international shipping recruiter Faststream. Fifty-eight percent of the respondents to the survey agreed that recruitment was a big challenge. “Vacancy levels in the shore-based LNG sector are at a record high and we forecast them to continue growing.

Christian Lange has become the managing partner of Faststream AS, the Oslo based arm of international maritime recruitment specialist Faststream Recruitment Ltd. Commenting on the appointment, Faststream Group CEO Mark Charman said: “Christian is a shipping man through and through with years of shipbroking experience under his belt who really understands the sector. After two years with Faststream, I’m delighted that he has become a partner in our fast growing firm. Oslo born Christian Lange (53) began his career in shipping in 1975 as a shipbroker in Hamburg. He has worked in a variety of positions for United Arab Chartering (1978-79)…

Faststream Employment Review reveals pay rises across maritime sector. The latest Faststream Maritime Employment Review shows that despite shipping industry woes, salaries across the sector continue to rise. Based on the responses of 4000 shipping professionals working in all the main shipping centres as well as seafaring officers worldwide, the survey by specialist maritime recruiter Faststream shows that half of the respondents reported a 5% + salary rise over the past 12 months. However, 30% of seafarers reported a decrease in their salary.

Chris Charman has been appointed as Chief Executive of IMCA (International Marine Contractors Association) taking over from Hugh Williams who is retiring. He will take up the position on 3 December 2012. IMCA is the international trade association for offshore, marine and underwater engineering companies with about 850 members in over 60 countries all around the world. It focuses on offshore construction and marine operations mainly in support of offshore oil & gas, but also marine renewable energy, dredging and telecommunications cable laying.

Global recruitment group Faststream has expanded its presence in the oil and gas industry and is recruiting for the sector from its offices in the UK, U.S., Norway and Singapore. “We have a strong database of candidates, a detailed knowledge of the industry and a team of proven specialist consultants so there is a strong structure behind this expansion”. Faststream will service the market for upstream, midstream and downstream candidates on behalf of clients throughout the world. The group’s headhunting division The Meeting House will undertake specialist oil and gas search assignments.

International shipping recruitment specialist Faststream has launched a new service for the owners and operators of super-yachts looking for crew. With a 65 strong team of specialist recruiters, the company is already the market leader for shore and seagoing technical and operational roles in the merchant shipping, marine and offshore industries. Faststream, founded in 1999, is an international recruiter which specializes in the shipping, marine and offshore industries. Headquartered in Southampton (UK), the company has offices in Oslo, Singapore and Fort Lauderdale.