Message from our CEO and President
What a ride it has been! 2020 sparked solidarity in a new way – no matter who or where we are, we have been through this together.
The pandemic has been harsh to everyone, especially to our crew. When WHO declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic, the world was put on a standstill. Shipping continued its course to provide for world trade. However, crew change activity became an extremely complex task. The strain of being onboard for a prolonged time, away from family and home is detrimental to our crew’s well-being.
Shore-based employees transitioned from working full-time in office to working from home in just a matter of days. It is truly amazing to see the "can-do" attitude shown by all employees when coping with this abrupt transition in order to keep the operations running.
I am extremely thankful and proud to have such resilient employees and seafarers in these difficult times. We have made it a focus to ensure that their well-being is taken care of, no matter if they are working on board, at home, or in the office.
Reducing our carbon footprint continues to be a priority – one that cannot afford to be put on hold, despite going through a pandemic. We have ongoing goals to optimize vessel and voyage operations to provide value to customers, to reduce environmental impact and collaborate with industry experts to develop alternative fuels with zero emission.
Our companywide guiding principle, "Performance with Care", aims to empower all employees towards UN sustainable development goals. Our objective is to be a responsible ship manager that incorporates three pillars of focus into our operation – People, Environment, Trade and Customer. We have a dedicated team to steer the programme within "Performance with Care" throughout the organisation.
Our progress is addressed in more detail in this second sustainability report. There is still much work to be done and we are committed to protect our people, community and environment.
Carl Schou
President & CEO
Wilhelmsen Ship Management