Frank Coles News

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.

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…

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…

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…

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…

If global trade is the engine of economic growth, shipping is the cylinder oil that keeps the engine running. However, the people who make this – our – industry work are almost invisible, as they labour unseen beyond the horizon and out of mind.For this reason, the Day of the Seafarer should be applauded for encouraging us to pause and reflect on the importance of deck officers, engineers and everyone else on whom the industry relies to ensure cargoes are delivered safely and…

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.

Transas said it booked an order in Q1 2018 with the Norway-based fleet operator Wilson ASA to supply a Fleet Operations Solution (FOS) including onboard navigational and communication components to provide enhanced connectivity for business communications and crew services, and access to fleet data from shore-based locations for complete situational awareness.For Transas, which was acquired by Wärtsilä in May 2018, the contract marks one of the first applications of the Thesis concept within Wärtsilä’s Smart Marine Ecosystem vision, which uses high levels of connectivity and digitalization.

“To be a top performer, you must embrace technology,” said Søren Meyer, Chief Strategy Officer, Maersk Tankers, speaking at the Marine Money Week conference in New York on Tuesday.Meyer was referring to the industry-wide digitalization evolution currently underway in the tanker shipping sector, as part of a panel discussion with Frank Coles, President, Transas Group, Wartsila Voyage Solutions; and Scott G. Borgerson, Ph.D., CEO, CargoMetrics Technologies LLC.Digitalization has…

Wärtsilä announced today that it has acquired Transas, an innovative, digital solutions provider headquartered in the UK. This acquisition is a recognition of Transas’ strong position in the maritime technologies market and its technological leadership. The transaction will allow Transas to work within a global maritime company in delivering its solutions, bringing scale and value to the industry in need of innovation leadership. Transas is a global market leader in marine navigation solutions that include complete bridge systems, digital solutions and electronic charts. The company is also a leader in professional training and simulation services, ship traffic control, as well as monitoring, and decision-support tools.

Speaking last week at the 2018 Transas Global Conference in Vancouver, Transas CEO Frank Coles laid out his vision for the maritime industry’s future – from safer, greener and more efficient ships to a world without freight forwarders. As has come to be expected from the Transas CEO, Coles did not hesitate to offer a healthy dose of constructive criticism – particularly in the direction of those he sees as a hindrance to industry-wide progress, be it ship owners and operators, freight forwarders or regulators.

You know if Elon Musk was to attend a plenary session of the IMO, he could be forgiven if he thought he was watching a reenactment of the Charles Dickens book Hard Times, with Mr. Gradgrind the Headmaster. What a sad reflection of our industry. Imagine instead! Imagine a world where logistics companies and cargo owners drive ship design, innovation and demand the level of quality in ship management. Where maritime assets are operated in a global ecosystem of tracking, monitoring and safety. Imagine a world where ships are operated in a “ship as a service” or “system of systems” infrastructure. Where we have replaced the current fragmented IoT and applications model. This is a world where consolidation has removed many of the industry’s historical middlemen.

Transas has launched its first package of applications built on THESIS, a unified cloud-based platform for managing operations across the full breadth of the maritime ecosystem. The advanced ‘A-Suite’ package also sets a new precedent by utilizing the latest in machine learning techniques to reduce the potential for human errors on the bridge or poor decisions elsewhere in the vessel operational chain. In addition to the officers and crew working on board ships, the benefits of…

Moving from smart talk to practical solutions and learning from other industries will be the twin themes of an industry event scheduled for Vancouver in March. Technology will be an enabler, but the maritime industry will have to be prepared to change its model to be a candidate for a smarter digital future. Meeting the real enterprise challenges blocking shipping’s digital journey is the focus for the Transas Global Conference 2018, whose ‘Enterprise Change’ agenda brings together global business leaders…

In all the excitement surrounding the digitalization of shipping it is easy to overlook the human element. Failing to appreciate and understand properly how people – and by extension organizations – interface with new technology can lead to poor implementation and unnecessary exposure to risk. Technology has sometimes been described as an ecosystem. This analogy from the natural world is rather apt in a shipping environment struggling to adapt to digitalization, where at least three species are thriving.

Transas says its mission to explain the true benefits and impacts of digitalization to the maritime world will be given new impetus by staging its 2018 global conference to Vancouver, one of North America's top technology hubs. The three-day event, which will take place at the Marriott Parq Hotel Vancouver, March 6-8, has been christened 'THESIS18 – Enterprise Change' to focus minds on the steps Transas believes are necessary if its pioneering THESIS vision for a connected maritime operational environment is to become reality.

Transas has introduced a new Survival Craft Simulator (SCS) to prepare crew for the multitude of possible scenarios that can occur during lifeboat drills, aiming to address one of the most notorious sources of accidents in shipping without exposing personnel to physical danger. Effective survival craft training is essential to prepare crew for a disaster at sea but practical lifeboat drills have a troubling track record for causing fatalities. By shifting some elements of training to a simulated environment…

Transas Chief Executive Frank Coles won ‘gold’ in the Most Influential People of the Year category of the 2017 Golden Bridge Business and Innovations Awards, an award which acknowledges his ability to communicate his vision for the maritime industry in the digital age. The Golden Bridge Awards are an annual industry and peer recognition program based in San Francisco that honors the Best Companies, Products, Innovations, Management Teams, Executives and Influencers from around the globe.

A message from Frank Coles, CEO of Transas on the International Day of the Seafarer. On this day of recognition, I would like to celebrate the women and men who commit their careers and their lives to being at sea for extended periods of time. The future facing the maritime industry today is a very different one from when I first went to sea in 1977. Back then the sextant was King. Today the people working at sea are aided by countless new technologies and digital innovations which have had a huge impact, improving both operations and safety.