We’re pleased to share the fourth instalment of our coalition partner spotlight series, and this time we’ve been speaking to Philip Fullerton, Managing Director of Northern Marine.
Providing a range of valuable insights, Philip explores a number of topics including the main benefits of safer practices, the importance of strong safety performance in relation to recruitment and retention, and the different ways Northern Marine utilises Together in Safety’s resources.
Please can you outline what your company does?
Northern Marine Group is a global ship management and marine services organisation, headquartered in the United Kingdom and part of the Stena Group. Our two core service areas are ship management and marine services. Whilst a proud Stena company, 75% of our business is with external shipping companies.
We provide technical and crew management across a diverse fleet that includes LNG carriers, Floating Storage and Regasification Units, LPG vessels, oil and chemical tankers, offshore support vessels and passenger vessels.
Our work spans the vessel lifecycle, from design and newbuild supervision through to crewing, training, compliance, maintenance and day-to-day operation.
Through our wider Group companies, we also provide marine engineering, technical and cadet training, crew travel management, marine quality assurance, offshore catering, and marine project and ship agency support.
These capabilities allow us to support shipowners and operators with the people, technical knowledge and practical services required to operate complex assets safely and reliably.
Why did you join the coalition?
We joined the Together in Safety coalition because its purpose closely reflects how we believe safety improvement should be approached. Shipping companies have their own management systems and operating procedures, but many of the underlying risks are shared across the industry.
There is considerable value in companies, industry bodies and safety specialists pooling experience, learning from incidents and making proven resources freely available. From an engagement point of view, most of our business is in a very heavily regulated safety environment which is not unsurprising with our footprint in energy. We joined the coalition to assist industry with our knowledge and endeavour to pass on what we have learned so other companies in other sectors can benefit and raise their safety profile.
For Northern Marine, participation is also consistent with our values of Care, Innovation and Performance. Care means protecting the wellbeing of our people. Innovation includes being willing to learn from others and improve established ways of working. Performance means delivering reliable results, which in our industry can only be sustained when operations are safe.
How important is Together in Safety in helping to promote safer practices in the shipping industry?
It has a very important role because it gives the industry a shared, non-regulatory space in which to learn from experience and turn that learning into practical action. Its resources are freely available and bring together input from shipping companies, industry bodies, classification societies, insurers and other organisations. That breadth matters because serious incidents are rarely unique to one company or one vessel type. Sadly through life, accidents and incidents can occur; but learning from these to prevent reoccurrence is paramount. Safety is all about proactivity and Goal Zero is possible. As Leaders we have the responsibility to ensure that our staff, onboard and ashore, have a safe working environment and all return safe and well to their families after assignments.
The Golden Safety Rules are a good example. They were developed from a review of fatal incidents across the shipping industry and focus on ten everyday areas in which individual actions can reduce the risk of serious injury or death. They cover matters including stop-work responsibility, enclosed-space entry, energy isolation, line-of-fire hazards, navigation, lifeboats, hot work and distraction. Importantly, the rules support rather than replace company procedures. That makes them useful as a common language that can reinforce existing safety management systems.
The coalition also recognises that safety is not achieved through procedures alone. Leadership, wellbeing, fatigue, respectful behaviour and the confidence to speak up all affect the decisions people make. Its ability to connect these issues and share practical tools across the sector is therefore particularly valuable.
What are the main commercial benefits of safer practices?
Safe operation and good commercial performance are closely connected. A vessel that is well managed, properly maintained and operated by competent people is better placed to remain available for business, avoid disruption and protect its long-term asset value.
Strong safety practices can reduce the likelihood of injury, equipment damage, pollution, operational delay and off-hire. They also support more consistent planning and decision-making, protect the confidence of clients and other stakeholders, and reduce the reputational exposure associated with a serious incident.
There is a wider organisational benefit as well. A healthy safety culture encourages people to report concerns and near misses, challenge complacency and learn before a weakness becomes a more serious operational problem. At Northern Marine, we do not regard safety as separate from performance. It is a prerequisite for reliable commercial delivery. One of our core values is Care. Care for our people also allows us to foster a culture that assists greatly with our recruitment and retention of competent staff. The more engaged staff you have, the safer your organisation becomes.
How vital is strong safety performance in relation to recruitment and retention?
It is vital. Seafarers are assessing not only pay and career progression, but also whether an employer will protect their wellbeing, provide proper training, maintain suitable working conditions and support them when they raise a concern.
A strong safety culture builds trust. People are more likely to remain with an organisation when expectations are clear, leaders act consistently and everyone feels able to stop work or speak up if something is not right. Respect also plays a direct part. If people feel valued and supported, they are more able to contribute, collaborate and perform at their best.
This is especially important as the industry competes for people with specialist experience in LNG, FSRUs, methanol and other technically demanding vessel types. That competence takes time to build. Retaining experienced seafarers therefore supports safety, operational continuity and succession planning at the same time. Northern Marine’s crewing model accordingly combines recruitment with training, welfare, competence development and longer-term career pathways.
Family engagement is also key. If a seafarer’s family trusts the Company to return them home safe and well after each assignment, it augers exceptionally well for retention. Word of mouth recruitment also has a key place in shipping today.
How does your company utilise Together in Safety’s resources?
The coalition is a very helpful additional source of industry learning and practical safety material. Its resources complement our own safety management system, training, onboard engagement and fleet safety campaigns rather than replacing company procedures.
More broadly, the Together in Safety resource library provides material on leadership, wellbeing and care, and incident risks including navigation, mooring, enclosed spaces, lifeboats, heavy weather, personnel transfer, lifting, bunker spills and engine-room fires. These are useful inputs available to us for safety discussions, training, toolbox talks, reflective learning and the continuing review of fleet risks.
Our own approach follows a similar cycle of learning and application. Northern Marine uses fleet safety specialists, onboard safety meetings, campaigns, seminars, incident and near-miss learning, recognition of positive safety behaviours, and specialist committees covering areas such as navigation and mooring. Coalition resources add an external industry perspective to that continuing work and help us compare our thinking with shared experience across the sector. Together in Safety is that additional voice when we are at the table.
