PRESS RELEASE: Columbia Shipmanagement formally opened its high-tech Performance Optimisation Control Room on Friday 14 December in Cyprus. The opening ceremony was attended by Ms Natasa Pilides, Deputy Minister of Shipping, Republic of Cyprus.
The focus of the Control Room is on Performance Optimisation. When full functionality roll-out is complete, the Control Room will be manned 24/7 by qualified personnel who will optimise vessel safety, crew rotation and training, performance (speed, consumption, delay, weather routing), disaster avoidance, maintenance (including preventative maintenance through sensor and camera technology), and contractual compliance. Web-based, it can be easily uploaded to other Columbia offices and clients’ offices allowing remote monitoring.
Captain Pankaj Sharma, Manager of the Control Room, is a project management professional with years of experience managing control rooms. Mr Sharma commented: “Centralising our operations will give us the ability to better deal with fast-changing scenarios and developments as they happen. With 24/7/365 support, our goal is to have even faster decision-making and greater visibility by using modern technology to achieve cost-efficient vessel operations.”
The Control Room will be a management hub, seamlessly connecting to technical, marine, crew and commercial management departments and functions.
Columbia’s President Mark O’Neil in his opening address stated: “This project has been made possible through the excellent collaboration and support of our project partners Tototheo Maritime,” adding, “It is a visible and tangible example of how digitalisation and technology can be harnessed for optimisation of vessel operation and management. Not only will it make us more attractive to our clients and potential clients, it will also make our clients more attractive to the market through optimised operation. The Performance Optimisation Control Room demonstrates Columbia’s commitment to its clients and to the provision of a thoroughly modern, digitalised and optimised service.”
Before cutting the ribbon, Deputy Minister Pilides stated: “Columbia Shipmanagement has always been one of the pioneer players of the shipping industry, present here from the very birth of Cyprus Shipping. The launch of the Control Room is a vivid example of the company’s dedication to safety and optimisation of performance. This new addition to the company’s advanced technological systems will enable efficient monitoring of the company’s fleet and prompt rectification in case performance issues arise. The growth of Columbia and the quality of its operations is a result of the excellent culture, the extremely high caliber and the hard work of its people. Congratulations for this great success which I am honored to witness and to inaugurate today”.
“The leaps in communications and connectivity technology have been tremendous and we expect to see more changes in the coming years,” said Socrates Theodosiou, co-CEO of Tototheo Maritime. “Data has become a valuable asset for any organisation hoping to succeed in a highly competitive industry and we have all come to realise how important information is to daily operations and to strategic decision making; but it has to be the right information, delivered to the right people at the right time. We are thankful to have had the opportunity to apply our expert knowledge and skills to such a pioneering project.”
