Travel Management News

The maritime industry, often viewed as conservative and measured in its approach to technological integration, is on the cusp of a transformative era with artificial intelligence (AI) emerging as a prominent player. Insights from key exhibitors at the upcoming Posidonia Shipping Εxhibition reveal a new landscape, where industry leaders strategically align with the inexorable rise of AI and consider adopting it already.According to Theodore Vokos, Managing Director, Posidonia Exhibitions S.A.…

Global Marine Travel, a Florida-based travel management company to the maritime industry, has partnered with the Greek travel firm Argo Travel Group to enhance its travel offering, particularly in terms of service delivery and driving growth in the Greek and international markets."In Argo, Global Marine Travel, gains a marine partner with an experienced team and a strong reputation for service delivery, that will drive the growth of the business in Greece and other international locations," said a press note from GMT.GMT will benefit from access to a Greek IATA license and local marine fares, thereby increasing travel service options for its customers in this key region.

Despite notable breakthroughs in technology and an overdue increase in conversations regarding safety at sea, the very nature of the marine industry means that risk is inevitable.Piracy remains a prominent concern in certain regions, for example, around the Gulf of Aden. According to statistical data provided by ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB) , 107 ships were hijacked or were subject to attempted attacks by pirates between January-June 2018. This figure has risen by 20 per cent in comparison to data collected in 2017 and only further highlights the need for adequate safety measures. Even if your organizations’ activities aren’t near to one of the affected regions…

Like all businesses, maritime organisations must strike a balance between managing operations with the right number of employees at the best possible price. But where they differ is that these businesses require specialist and highly trained workers– and getting them to where they need to be usually depends on circumstances that can rarely be taken for granted.Travel costs for crew make up the second-highest outgoing for most vessels, and without clear oversight costs can easily spiral out of control.

Tackling the time-sensitive challenges of maritime operations is at the forefront of all crew managers’ minds. They face an ongoing balancing act of supporting their Captain and crew in the best possible way to ensure a smooth and efficient running of the ship, whilst making sure it is commercially viable. This is rarely a straightforward operation, especially when it comes to managing travel for the 1.5 million people employed in the shipping sector, but there are key areas that…

Managing crew travel is just one area that can cause sleepless nights for shipping industry professionals. As someone who works in this specialist and incredibly dynamic sector, I know first-hand how quickly things can change. Overcoming challenges is just part of the day-to-day.Maritime organizations have a very particular set of needs when it comes to having the right personnel available at the right time. Seafarers’ travel is mission-critical and their working patterns are governed by tight regulations.

Crowley Maritime Corporation’s Jeannie Eisenhart, director of talent acquisition and employee services, and Bleu Hilburn, director of logistics business development, have been honored with 2015 Thomas Crowley Awards, the company’s highest honor for its employees. Eisenhart and Hilburn each received a limited edition bronze sculpture that depicts company founder Thomas Crowley ferrying goods in a row boat across San Francisco Bay in the early 1890s. The award serves not only as a tribute to the founder of the company…

The cloud is for “device-agnostic young slashers,” said Trond Bjorseth, marketing manager, of Oslo-based cloud consultancy, Tieto. His company offers an information management tool for subsea projects and “repositories” for the shipping sector’s operations. With Tieto you can get “one big happy project room,” although he admits at least three suppliers offer something similar. For its own future “slashers,” Glasgow-based ship manager Norbulk Shipping opted instead for Google Cloud Technology Solutions…

As Team Britannia prepares for its bid to break the round-the-world powerboat record later this year, GAC has been named their official shipping and logistics partner. GAC will draw on the local contacts and expertise of its network of global offices and partners to provide the 80ft powerboat and its 12 strong crew with all the food, fuel and stores needed to complete the 23,000 mile voyage. The first-hand experience of the Group’s yachting and marine leisure experts at GAC Pindar Superyacht Services will also come into play for meeting the specific needs of the boat during its voyage. The agreement was signed yesterday (21 July) at…

ATPI Griffinstone, part of the ATPI Group, has secured a travel management agreement with Teekay Offshore. Teekay Offshore has decided to consolidate all of its travel management through ATPI Griffinstone a global travel management company with specialist dedicated services for energy, offshore and shipping industries. The agreement aims to further drive down costs and improve the effectiveness of travel management programs for Teekay as an extension of an existing global contract between two companies that currently operates in Manila, the United Kingdom, Singapore and India. Geir Arne Hansen, Manager, Competency & Training at Teekay Offshore said…

Holland America Line has promoted Amy Barnett to the position of division sales director for the East. In her new role, she will be responsible for planning, organizing and directing sales programs, as well as analyzing and implementing strategic and tactical initiatives to increase sales in North America. Barnett will manage a team of 16 business development managers and four sales coordinators. She will report to Eva Jenner, vice president, North America sales. Barnett joined Holland America Line in 2004 as a business development manager covering northern Florida where she was responsible for cultivating relationships with top-producing travel agency owners and travel professionals. Previously, she worked for Norwegian Cruise Line, Orient Lines and NCL America.

GAC Training and Service Solutions (GTSS), the specialist provider of world-class training for maritime personnel, has announced an agreement with ATPI Griffinstone, part of the ATPI Group, one of the leaders in travel solutions for the shipping and energy industries. The agreement will provide the first fully integrated training and travel offering for seafarers and crew seeking mandatory training under the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification & Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) and Offshore Petroleum Industry Training (OPITO) requirements. Developed in response to forthcoming changes to STCW requirements…

Wondering What to Trim? Look to the skies: billions in offshore savings may be orchestrated from the back office. For many managers (and analysts), sales, general and administrative costs, or SG&A, are ordinary accounting lines on an offshore services company’s ledger. Less ordinary — less known — is that a sizable chunk of the “A” in SG&A are travel costs that can be better managed. A recent restructuring-focused Deloitte report suggested that SG&A costs might be the wisest costs to shed without thwarting operations. For offshore suppliers, the wisest SG&A costs to shed might just be travel costs. Examining SG&A for offshore outfits produces some interesting travel numbers…

CTI Corporate Travel International, the £100 million company formed by the acquisition of Hotelscene by the TD Travel Group, continues its expansion with the opening of new marine travel office in Hull. CTI Marine is the specialist maritime travel division of CTI. The company are one of only a handful who can offer exclusive travel fares to companies in the maritime, energy and security sectors. The office will service existing clients as well as targeting new companies in Hull and across the region. Matt Lambert, Office Manager, will head up the team of corporate travel experts.

Griffin Americas, a division of Griffin Global Group, a  marine and offshore travel specialist, has announced  the appointment of Judy “J.P.” Peplinski as Chief Executive Officer. J.P. will assume this position for all of North and South America operations for Griffin Global Group. This new appointment will take effect on February 4th, 2013. The role has been created following Bob Westendarp's decision to step back from his full time role as President and Chief Executive Officer after 22 years with the Company.

Frosch is ranked as the #6 Travel Management Company in the US, with dual headquarters in Houston and New York. To continue its growth, Frosch recently created and hired a Marine and Offshore Specialty Team with a combined 100 years of experience in crew rotation management. The team is led by Managing Director and industry veteran, Gina Crawford. Through the combination of the Frosch Corporate and Offshore Teams, the company is offering a centralized solution to travel management for the energy market. With $800 million in revenue, Frosch operates with more than 1000 staff nationwide and service corporate and offshore clients in 43 countries through our ownership in GSM Travel Management (3,500 employees & $4 billion USD in revenue).

FROSCH, a Travel Management Company in the US, with dual headquarters in Houston and New York, has recently created and hired a Marine and Offshore Specialty Team with a combined 100 years of experience in crew rotation management (Led by Managing Director and Industry Veteran – Gina Crawford). Through the combination of the FROSCH Corporate and Offshore Teams, we are offering a centralized solution to travel management for the energy market.   Source: Frosch

SeaMobile, Inc. has acquired Maritime Telecommunications Network, Inc. (MTN), a provider of satellite-based broadband communications and networking services for the maritime industry. The acquisition has been approved by the Federal Communications Commission. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. “SeaMobile saw a strategic opportunity to combine the wireless and satellite expertise of the world’s leading maritime communications companies to completely change the way travelers communicate at sea,” said William D. Marks, Chief Executive Officer of SeaMobile. “Cruise travelers can take their own cell phones, Blackberry devices and laptops, read their hometown newspaper, watch live TV, access bank accounts through onboard ATMs and much more.

Griffin Marine Travel and Instone International Americas announced that their U.S. operations will merge, creating the largest competitive provider of crew travel management services in North America. The merger makes strategic sense for both parties. The companies serve the same markets, share the same aspirations and are totally customer service driven. Griffin Marine Travel brings a global cohesive network of 21 offices; Instone International Americas contributes an exceptionally strong management team and local market presence. The combination of these elements creates a powerful U.S. company with a genuinely global reach, mirroring its customers operations.