TERMS OF USE

Conditions for use of this website

Please read these terms of use carefully before using this website. By using this website, you signify you have read and accepted these terms of use. If you (the “user”) do not agree to these terms of use, do not access or use the website. The user is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws and regulations in any jurisdiction.

RESTRICTIONS ON USE OF MATERIALS

This website and its contents are owned and operated by ShipsFocus Group of Companies (hereinafter referred to as “SHIPSFOCUS”) which consist of Maritime Technologies (R&D) Pte Ltd, ShipsFocus Intelligence Pte Ltd and ShipsFocus Services Pte Ltd and as such is Copyright © SHIPSFOCUS. All company names, logos, all related products and service names, design marks and slogans are trademarks and service marks and are the properties of their respective owners and may not be reproduced or appropriated in any manner without the written permission from SHIPSFOCUS. References to any names, marks, products or services of third parties do not necessarily constitute or imply SHIPSFOCUS’ endorsement, sponsorship or recommendation of the third party, information, product or service.

No material, graphic or image from this website may be appropriated or modified in any manner, or reproduced, republished, uploaded, posted, transmitted or distributed in any way, without the prior written permission from SHIPSFOCUS.

No party is permitted to establish links to this website without prior written permission from SHIPSFOCUS. SHIPSFOCUS reserves all rights to deny permission for any such links, and remove such links. SHIPSFOCUS is not under any obligation to establish reciprocal links with any third party. Nothing contained herein confers any license or right under any copyright, patent, trademark or other proprietary rights of SHIPSFOCUS or any third party.

Neither SHIPSFOCUS, any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, employees, agents, partners, principals and representatives nor any other person is, in connection with this site, engaged in rendering auditing, accounting, tax, legal, advisory, consulting or other professional services or advice. Each user agrees not to use the content of this website as a substitute for independent investigations and competent financial and business judgment of the user of this website and such user shall obtain professional advice tailored to his particular factual situation. Each user is responsible for all matters arising from its use of this website.

Each user agrees to use this website in accordance with these terms of use and for lawful and proper purposes and shall not:-
a. upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any content that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortious, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libellous, invasive of another’s privacy, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable or which creates liability on SHIPSFOCUS’ part;

b. upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, “junk mail,” “spam,” “chain letters,” “pyramid schemes,” or any other form of solicitation, except in those areas (such as shopping rooms) that are designated for such purpose;

c. upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any material that contains software viruses or any other computer code, files or programmes designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment; or

d. interfere or attempt to interfere with the operation or functionality of this website; or obtain or attempt to obtain unauthorized access, via whatever means, to any of SHIPSFOCUS’ systems.

THIRD PARTY POSTINGS AND
HYPERLINKS TO THIRD PARTY WEBSITES

This website may contain hyperlinks to other websites (“External Sites”) which are neither maintained nor controlled by SHIPSFOCUS, or may contain content posted on or via the website by third parties. SHIPSFOCUS shall not be responsible for any errors or omissions in any content in the website, or the content, products or services of any hyperlinked External Site or any hyperlink contained in a hyperlinked External Site, nor for the privacy and security practices employed by these External Sites, and under no circumstances shall SHIPSFOCUS be liable for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any content posted or contained in e-mails or otherwise transmitted or displayed via the website, or arising from access to External Sites. Use of the website and any hyperlinks and access to External Sites are entirely at the user’s own risk.

The user acknowledges that SHIPSFOCUS has no control over and excludes all liability for any material on the Internet which can be accessed by using this website. Neither will SHIPSFOCUS be deemed to have endorsed any such content thereto.

COOKIES

SHIPSFOCUS takes certain industry-accepted precautions to secure the website or portions thereof. However, the user understands and agrees that such precautions cannot guarantee that use of the website is invulnerable to security breaches, nor does SHIPSFOCUS make any warranty, guarantee, or representation that use of the website is protected from all viruses, worms, Trojan horses, and other vulnerabilities.

During the user’s use of the website, SHIPSFOCUS may issue to and request from the user’s computer “cookies” to enable more convenient browsing when the user revisits the website. The user must not alter any cookies sent to his or her computer from the website and must ensure that the user’s computer send correct and accurate cookies in response to any relevant request from the website.

PERSONAL DATA

SHIPSFOCUS is committed to protecting and respecting your personal data.
Please read the Privacy Policy to understand our views and practices regarding your personal data and how we will treat it.

NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTIES

While every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided in this website herein is up to date and accurate, SHIPSFOCUS and its affiliates, subsidiaries, employees, agents, partners, principals and representatives make no representation or warranty of any kind either express or implied as to the completeness, correctness, accuracy, suitability, reliability or otherwise of the website or its content in this website or the results of its use for any purpose, all of which is provided “as is” and “as available”. They do not warrant that this website or this server that makes it available is free of any virus or other harmful elements.

SHIPSFOCUS and its affiliates, subsidiaries, employees, agents, partners, principals and representatives disclaim all warranties and obligations relating to this website, including but not limited to all implied warranties and obligations of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title and non-infringement.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

The information contained herein in this website shall be accessed and used at the user’s own risk and to the fullest extent permissible and subject and pursuant to all applicable laws and regulations. SHIPSFOCUS and its affiliates, subsidiaries, employees, agents, partners, principals and representatives shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, exemplary, consequential or other damages whatsoever, (including but not limited to liability for loss of use, data or profits), including but not limited to contract, negligence or other tortious actions, arising out of or in connection with this site, even if any of SHIPSFOCUS and its affiliates, subsidiaries, employees, agents, partners, principals and representatives has been advised of the possibility of such damages or losses that were, are being or will be incurred.

MODIFICATIONS

SHIPSFOCUS reserves all rights to make any and all changes in this website at its sole discretion without prior notice to the user. SHIPSFOCUS reserves the right to deny access to this website to anyone at any time without prior notice. Materials on our website may include technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. Changes may be periodically incorporated into this material. SHIPSFOCUS may make improvements and/or changes in the products, services and/or programmes described in these materials at any time without notice.

SUGGESTIONS, COMMENTS AND FEEDBACK

Should the user respond to any part of the materials contained herein in this website with any communications including feedback data, such as questions, comments, suggestions, or the like, such information shall be deemed to be non-confidential and SHIPSFOCUS and its affiliates, subsidiaries, employees, agents, partners, principals and representatives shall have no obligation whatsoever with respect to such communications and shall be free to reproduce, use disclose and distribute the information to others without limitation, and shall be free to use in any way for any purpose whatsoever the content of such communications including any ideas, know-how, techniques or concepts disclosed therein.

APPLICABLE LAW AND JURISDICTION

The law applicable to the terms of use of this website is the law of the Republic of Singapore and the courts of the Republic of Singapore will have exclusive jurisdiction in case of any dispute.

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.