Category

News & Events
30
Jun

ESG venture arm Seeds Capital and partners to invest $50m in maritime start-ups

Singapore firms are adopting Industry 4.0 technologies to bring the centuries-old shipping sector into the 21st century.
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30
Jun

ShipsFocus-Quest Ventures appointed as SEEDS Capital co-investment partner

Singapore firms are adopting Industry 4.0 technologies to bring the centuries-old shipping sector into the 21st century.
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29
May

York cruises at top speed with first-of-its-kind mobile application

Singapore firms are adopting Industry 4.0 technologies to bring the centuries-old shipping sector into the 21st century.
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16
Feb

New Chapter with China!

Singapore firms are adopting Industry 4.0 technologies to bring the centuries-old shipping sector into the 21st century.
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15
Nov

Embracing disruption in shipping

Singapore firms are adopting Industry 4.0 technologies to bring the centuries-old shipping sector into the 21st century.
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02
Nov

1 of TOP-5 startups Shell IdeaRefinery 2018!

Last night, Shell IdeaRefinery invited its TOP-5 start-ups this year to Singapore International Energy Week to pitch their ideas to an audience of industry experts and investors. ShipsFocus is proud that our PortView in collaboration with IHPC being recognized as an innovative solution to help energy corporations reduce wastage and GHG emissions through energy shipping.
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25
Sep

ShipsFocus in Shell IdeaRefinery 2018

On 21st Sep, ShipsFocus Intelligence was selected among top 10 startups by Shell IdeaRefinery 2018 to enter into a mentorship program, and further develop our product and find usefulness both for Shell and the energy industry.
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INTERVIEW WITH COO, JAMES KIM

What is really unique about Chemical Shipping (vis-à-vis other segments of shipping)?

James: 1) other bulk cargoes like oil, ore, or even container liners move in one direction, chemical cargo has more myriad ways of flows to/fro multiple ports and berths. 2) chemical cargo is not generic: there are hundreds of different types of cargoes and grades by multiple producers, users and traders involved. that leads us to: 3) the hardware: chemical ships have multiple segregations. voyage options and decisions for which cargoes to combine to where and how are much more varied, furthermore 4) while there may be some standardisations, many ships are built for specific needs. with this multiplicity of factors, optimal loadable quantity and performance of a ship can be a BIG VARIANCE. ironically, this also makes for an attraction and a low entry barrier into chemical ship operating as each operator believes in his one-upmanship within that big variance.

How is that uniqueness important in what you and ShipsFocus are doing?

James: maritime shipping faces various issues, like in 1) HR: people with great skills and experience are aging and leaving the industry, while new ones are not catching up fast enough; 2) PR: constraints to improving its image as an industry that has a wide spectrum of jobs ranging from off-shore to land-based; 3) TALENTS: shipping lull in the last decade did not help in attracting talents; 4) 24/7 nature it’s hard to sell ‘work-life balance’; 5) SYSTEMS: experience, know-how and network within a knowledgeable person are not captured systematically over time.

Our role is to fill gaps, bridging 3 major gaps: (1) between the ‘Old’ and ‘New’, (2) more and better use of data (3) optimising the ‘variance’ and efficiency. there are not many people in this unique space, and on such pursuits. to make it work, we have to cater to this uniqueness, using our unique knowhow, experience and network.

Which part of your background is most helpful to what you are doing now?

James: I believe it’s my background as a ship-owner and operator. I was with Hanjin first in VLCC and then Aframax, then to Chemical Tankers. that gave me tremendous opportunities adjusting from one to another. there were so many varieties and details in high frequency I had to know and adjust to. i became sensitive to the uniqueness in Chemical shipping. coincidentally, Hanjin was undertaking a PROCESS INNOVATIONS initiative, and I was required to provide inputs for a chartering and operations system, including on how it should work. unfortunately, users had to work for the system when it was developed, not exactly a system i dreamed of.

What is the biggest challenge in marrying tech and shipping, and what is your specific strength in this respect?

James: mainly it’s people’s fixed mind-set that’s the biggest obstacle. people say they are busy, while tech can help, they are reluctant to adopt such change. it’s a chicken and egg issue. our strength is the ability to cater to the specific and minute details that make chemical shipping unique, and the network we’ve gained trust from previous roles we played as shipbrokers. we get better chances than the tech people to hear the pain points and thus introduce the right solutions.