Leadership Profile: Tor Svanes and NAVTOR's Quest to Transform Shipping
Compliance, performance, profitability, sustainability; take the biggest âpain pointsâ for almost any shipping company and watch NAVTORâs digital ecosystem work wonders. Here Tor Svanes, Founder and CEO, explains how NAVTOR has grown to lead the smart shipping world, why the recent merger with Voyager Worldwide was so critical, and how he hopes to help steer the industry towards brighter, simpler, and more intelligent horizons.âThe morning of the announcement I got a text from the boss of one of our biggest competitorsâŚ
Maritime Technology Firms NAVTOR and Voyager Worldwide Set to Merge
NAVTOR, an e-Navigation and performance technology provider to the maritime industry, and Voyager Worldwide, a provider of maritime technology solutions, have agreed to merge.The combined company will deliver products and solutions to approximately 18,000 vessels globally. The transaction is expected to close by December 2023.Both companies provide maritime technology solutions that enable shipping companies to improve safety, efficiency, compliance, and operational performanceâŚ
NAVTOR Hellas Launched
NAVTOR opened its 11th office with the arrival of NAVTOR Hellas. The Athens-based operation, situated at the Port of Piraeus, is an evolution of an existing, long-standing partnership with distributor Space Electronics. CEO Tor Svanes says the move demonstrates the importance of this key shipping market to his ambitious maritime technology firm.Space Electronics has represented NAVTOR in the local market for over a decade. Key offerings now include: fleet management and performance platform NavFleetâŚ
âKâ LINE Chooses Navtor Fleet Monitoring System
Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (âKâ LINE) has chosen Navtorâs NavFleet solution to support its 24/7 global fleet monitoring and support system.Once operational, the facility will help the Japanese maritime logistics company enhance the safety, efficiency and sustainable performance of its inhouse managed fleet. NavFleet will seamlessly connect vessels, crews and onshore teams and provide real-time monitoring and operational insights.âNavFleet builds a bridge between ships and shore,â explains Tor A. Svanes, CEO Navtor.
Digitalization: NAVTOR, Veracity by DNV Partner
NAVTOR signed an Integrated Partner agreement with Veracity by DNV, a deal intended to help shipowners and operators simplify reporting, enable sustainable shipping and unlock green finance.âOur ecosystem collects, aggregates and utilizes enormous amounts of business-critical data,â said Bjørn Åge Hjøllo, Chief Sustainability Officer, NAVTOR. âThat is used to make shipping safer, simpler and more efficient â automating tasks, reducing fuel consumption, saving costs, and, in short, delivering complete asset awareness and control for our customers.
Navtor to Acquire Ingenium Marine
Navtor has inked a deal to acquire Ingenium Marine, a transaction subject to execution of definitive agreements. Once completed, Ingenium will become a fully integrated Navtor company and continue to operate from Mumbai, India, and Navtor will integrate digital logbooks into its e-Navigation and performance product portfolio. According to Navtor CEO Tor Svanes, this latest move will âtransform the way the industry views traditional log-keeping,â unlocking a spectrum of benefitsâŚ
Tor Svanes, "Mr. ECDIS", Chronicled in New Book
NAVTOR CEO Tor Svanes is "Mr. ECDIS", at least that't the title he's been given in a new book charting his life story as well as his role in the development of maritime e-Navigation. Author Tønnes H. Gundersen details the voyage that took Svanes from electricianâs apprentice in the small town of Egersund, Southern Norway, to a globally renowned figure in this key smart shipping niche. And, Svanes is keen to add, the journey isnât over yet.Gundersen spent more than two years researching, interviewing and writing the 300-page opus, which was launched today in both English and Norwegian versions.
NAVTOR Opens Poland Office
NAVTOR has opened a new office in Gdansk, Poland, dedicated to accelerating development of cloud-based and AI solutions and adding to its existing software development network in Houston, St Petersburg, and Egersund, Norway.NAVTOR CEO Tor Svanes sees the move as a continuation of the firmâs evolution, as it creates a far-reaching product portfolio built on the foundations of its e-Navigation and smart shipping expertise.âItâs always been our vision to take the enhanced efficiencyâŚ
NAVTOR Acquires Tres Solutions
NAVTOR continues to evolve its eNavigation solutions with the acquisition announced today of Tres Solutions, a 5-year-old Houston-based tech start up that specializes maritime software and analytics, a natural fit for NAVTOR as it pushes to expand its role in the global fleetâs vessel analytics and performance optimization. Financial specifics of the acquisition were not made available.âWe (explored) the market and we ended up with Tres Solutions, the very best in the market,â said Tor SvanesâŚ
NAVTOR Launches NavFleet, the Latest Name in Fleet Optimization
NAVTOR launched NavFleet, touted by the company as a "breakthrough application" developed over the past two years in collaboration with shipowners designed to open up a new horizon of possibilities: enabling real-time operational insight, performance optimization and enhanced business decision making for fleet management.NAVTOR has made its name through the development of a suite of e-Navigation products, delivered, updated and connected through a cyber secure ecosystem that unites shoreside and vessel teams.
Integration is Everything
If you truly want to unlock the value of data you have to adopt a joined-up approach, says Tor Svanes, CEO NAVTOR. Fail in that, he argues, and youâll fail to get the competitive advantage your business needs.If you go for a full check-up at the doctorâs they wonât just measure your weight.Theyâll look at your blood pressure, listen to your heart, consider blood tests, assess cholesterol and, above all, ask questions that monitor your day-to-day performance. How are you feeling? Are you exercising? Sleeping okay? The list goes on.
E-Navigation is the Future of Shipping
Trading worldwide without electronic tools is no longer an option, young navigators and crew are switched on to digital technology and they want to have this new technology at their fingertips rather than the messy, slow and labour and paper-intensive methods of the past.Tor Svanes, the founder and CEO of NAVTOR, believes that electronic chart and display information systems (ECDIS) is now a must have navigational tool in the modern era.ECDIS has become the modus operandi on all shipsâŚ
TMS and NAVTOR Sign MoU
The environmental products and services firm Total Marine Solutions (TMS) and NAVTOR are pleased to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), allowing for the integration of Ocean Guardianâs environmental rules into NAVTORâs voyage planning software.It will also allow NAVTOR to offer Ocean Guardianâs environmental planning tool as a stand-alone system, said a press release.Developed by TMS, Ocean Guardian is a digital tool that provides shipboard operators with immediate access to environmental regulations around the world.Ocean Guardian removes the guesswork from environmental compliance, providing operators with immediate and accurate information on environmental regulations pertaining to a specific location.
NAVTOR NavBox Certified Cyber Secure
Set against the background of increasing cyber threats to the maritime industry, e-Navigation specialist NAVTOR has moved to demonstrate the integrity of its innovative NavBox solution with âcyber secureâ certification (IEC 61162-460 Gateway) from DNV GL. NavBox, which automates the distribution and updates of digital charts, publications and other navigational data, now guarantees both complete regulatory compliance and security for an increasingly digitized generation of shipownersâŚ
NAVTOR Hires Holme as Chief Technology Officer
E-navigation specialist NAVTOR said it has appointed Anders Holme for the role of Chief Technology Officer. Holme will manage teams that work across offices in Egersund, Norway, Singapore, Japan, Sweden, Russia, the U.S. and U.K. NAVTORâs main software development takes place at the companyâs head office in Egersund and its dedicated base in St Petersburg. âThere is a growing appreciation within shipping that new technology can unlock real operational advantages and business opportunities,â Holme said.
NAVTOR Opens US Office
E-navigation specialist NAVTOR said it has set its sights on the U.S. shipping market with a new office opening in Seattle. The Norwegian business, which has built a global network of facilities since forming in 2011, has, until now, serviced the territory from its Egersund headquarters. However, growing demand Stateside for the firmâs product portfolio has prompted the team to establish NAVTOR USA Inc. NAVTOR launched its ENC service to market in 2012 and, since then, has built a global client base on the back of its mission of making life simpler for navigatorsâŚ
GC Rieber Chooses NAVTOR for Fleet-wide Navigation
Specialist ship owner, operator and manager GC Rieber has signed a fleet-wide agreement with NAVTOR for a total vessel navigation solution, spanning both paper and digital deliveries. NAVTOR, a global leader in e-navigation technology and services, will now install products throughout GC Rieberâs portfolio of advanced seismic and offshore ships, enhancing overall fleet efficiency, safety and cost control. The agreement is far reaching in scope. It covers the delivery of all digital and paper charts and publicationsâŚ
NAVTOR Eyes Expansion in Singapore
E-navigation specialist NAVTOR said it is continuing to build its business footprint beyond Europe, with the news that the Norwegian firm is expanding its new Singapore office. The base, which opened in December 2014, has given the firm an important foothold in the Southeast Asian market, driving new business with shipowners and managers such as NEOM, SeaTeam, Waruna Shipping, Samudera Shipping, and Sattech International. NAVTOR launched its ENC service in 2012, followed by its move into Singapore, and then by another office opening in Japan in September 2015.
Frode Klepsvik Joins NAVTOR Board
E-navigation company NAVTOR has further illustrated its ambitions within the maritime sector by appointing Frode Klepsvik, the former Director of the Norwegian Hydrographic Service, to the companyâs board of directors. The appointment follows on just two months after the arrival of Tor Svanes, the founder of C-MAP Norway, in the position of Managing Director. Klepsvik has a unique pedigree within the maritime sector, boasting lengthy tenures with the Royal Norwegian Navy, where he climbed to the rank of Commander, and Det Norske Veritas, where he was responsible for Classification of Ships and Certification of Automation, Navigation and Integrated Bridge Systems.
NAVTOR, AWT Pact Heralds in e-Nav Integration
E-navigation pioneer NAVTOR has signed an agreement with maritime weather routing specialist Applied Weather Technology (AWT) that will see the two companies integrating their services to offer the ultimate in route planning and decision making tools. As a result of the deal, AWT's market leading routing and optimisation systems will now be offered on NAVTOR's recently launched NavStation software. NavStation operates as the world's first "digital chart table," gathering and overlaying all the data maritime navigators require â including ENCsâŚ
NAVTOR, AWT Agreement Marks Next Step in E-navigation
NAVTOR has signed an agreement with maritime weather routing specialist Applied Weather Technology (AWT) that will see the two companies integrating their services to offer route planning and decision making tools. As a result of the deal, AWTâs routing and optimization systems will be offered on NAVTORâs recently launched NavStation software. NavStation operates as the worldâs first âdigital chart table,â gathering and overlaying all the data maritime navigators require â including ENCs, digital publications, and other services like piracy updates â on a single screen.
NAVTOR Opens Japan Office
Less than a year after opening its first office in Asia, Norwegian e-navigation specialist NAVTOR is expanding in the region again - this time with a dedicated presence in Japan. NAVTOR Japan K.K. will help the firm, known for its simple, efficient and cost effective ENC distribution solutions, continue to roll out its European success worldwide, securing an important foothold in this key shipping arena. âThe importance of Japan to shipping, and to suppliers that serve the industry, canât be overstated,â comments Tor Svanes, NAVTOR CEO. âThe market is established, stable and mature, but at the same time defined by owners and operators that invest in state-of-the-art technology, while focusing on absolutely optimal efficiency and operational security.
NAVTOR Expands into Asia
E-navigation specialist NAVTOR has set course for Asia, with the news that the Egersund, Norway-based business has opened an office in Singapore. The move comes in response to growing regional demand for simple, efficient and cost effective ENC distribution solutions, as the IMOâs ECDIS Mandate continues its gradual roll out. In Europe, NAVTOR is already a recognised leader in ENC distribution and an e-navigation pioneer, holding a preferred supplier position with companies such as Hurtigruten, Teekay, DOF and RCL Cruises. Its ENC service, which is used by owners controlling more than 70% of the entire Norwegian offshore fleet, launched in 2012âŚ