Damien Bertin shares how Opsealog guides maritime leaders in their digital transformation
Opsealog was created in 2015 with one clear objective,” Damien Bertin, Business Director begins. “Arnaud Dianoux, Founder & Managing Director, is an entrepreneur and former merchant marine captain. His passion for data and his maritime experience inspired him to start the business to address a clear need from the maritime industry. As a captain, he experienced what happens on board and identified the need to improve operational efficiency and support vessels through better data use. The first step identified at the time was to integrate and transform raw data into actionable insights that could drive measurable improvements in fuel efficiency, emissions reductions, and overall performance. Ten years later, this mission hasn’t changed. Today, we still focus on performance optimization.”
Indeed, Opsealog provides the energy and maritime industries with data integration and analysis tools as well as expert perspective to boost performance, optimize operations and leave a smaller footprint on the environment. The company creates digital strategies to drive business growth and meet customer needs. Its team comprises experts who are multidisciplinary, adaptable, agile and capable of working collaboratively with partners and customers in an inclusive way.
“Over the years,” Damien continues, “collaboration and long-term relationships with our valued customers have helped us identify other areas ripe for optimization such as contract performance and product management. That said, fuel consumption and emissions reduction remain focal points for improvement, and we are proud to still be able to achieve up to 15 percent in fuel savings, alongside CO₂ emissions reductions for our clients.”
Efficiency as a service
With a background in maritime law, international business and maritime management, Damien has over 15 years of experience in the marine offshore sector. At Opsealog, he is at the helm of maritime decarbonization, promoting customer-centric solutions that drive performance across the sector.
“My experience has enabled me to understand the complexity of offshore support vessels’ operations and more generally, oil and gas industry activities. I have always been convinced that data can genuinely boost performance optimization. When the opportunity arose to join Opsealog, I knew it would be a good fit. The merge of data and maritime experience brings a clear approach to addressing clients’ issues in a realistic way, and we continue to see excellent results for our customers. Indeed, the opportunities in front of us are really promising.
“What we don’t want to do is become a specialist in areas such as crew management or logistics because there are already providers in the market delivering those specialized solutions. That said however, we are highly focused on optimizing performance. If we have access to the right data points and identify a need, there will always be the opportunity to optimize performance in areas such as crew management, product management, and logistics. Thanks to the data we collect, we can help operational teams manage the duration of crew members’ stays onboard for example, to ensure they comply with standards. Likewise, we can also help with contract management and ensure clients comply with their contractual obligations. I believe this encourages partnerships, which are beneficial for long-term working relationships, thereby generating greater efficiency.
“While it’s true that it can sometimes be a challenge to manage integrating a data digitalization program into marine operations, at Opsealog, we believe pragmatism can make the difference. This is why our motto is to provide ‘efficiency as a service’. What makes the difference and what generates efficiency as a service is to ensure the right data points are being accessed for the right objectives. If you understand maritime objectives, as well as the data, it’s possible to leverage value. So, this is where we are quite unique, as we combine those two areas of expertise. If you have maritime expertise without data knowledge, you don’t get the fuel you need to deliver the power and likewise, if you have data expertise without an understanding of the maritime sector, you may use the fuel for something that won’t generate maximum power. We are pragmatic in our planning and define objectives in collaboration with our customers, consistently assessing those objectives for ongoing and maximum efficiency,” he elaborates.
Preparing fleets for the future
Looking to the future, Damien believes that fuel consumption and emissions reduction will remain the main areas and have the biggest potential for optimization. “Potentially,” he shares, “data could help optimize performance of almost all aspects related to operations. Product management is an important consideration, and particularly so in terms of the risk associated with cost if it is not properly managed. It’s not only about managing quantities and deliveries, but also about using data to minimize risk. This extends to the 500-meter safety zone around any offshore oil and gas installation, which represents a high risk in terms of safety. These are areas where we can assist, depending on objectives. The offshore support vessel (OSV) market today is tight. There are less vessels available than there used to be a few years ago, so costs are getting higher. Like other sectors of the shipping industry, OSVs will soon have to comply with regulations that demand official reporting. Filing improper or incorrect reports may lead to fines for ship owners. In addition, it creates a greater workload and burden on the crew. So, at some point, there will inevitably be a greater need for digitalization to streamline safe and reliable reporting. For crew members, what we have seen very concretely is that digitalization helps lighten the workload and make life easier. Seafarers must handle vessels in a safe and efficient way and reporting should not become a task, so, it’s important for that task to be delegated to a dedicated person to relieve the burden of those operating the vessels.”
In terms of the future, Damien believes that while new technologies will always be trialed, and some will bring benefits while others will ultimately fail, what will make a difference in the coming years more than technology is mindset, and especially mindset towards digitalization. “We trust in working under a common ecosystem,” he shares, “alongside other data providers and specialized companies in our approach to digitalization and processes. We all have different areas of expertise; we offer our own specialism in terms of analysis and data management. Combining forces to work in an ecosystem will bring significant added value to our common customers and identify areas of opportunity to ultimately deliver better services and improve performance.
“As I said earlier, we deliver efficiency as a service and are highly pragmatic. We’re not shy about showing the return on investment to our customers. There are so many options available today to optimize operations; some are very costly, whereas others take time. Many programs of improvement involve considerable capital expenditure, whereas what we provide is already available and has proven to deliver immediate, tangible results with associated return on investment. We would always urge people to talk to the experts, to talk to people like us at Opsealog. We can help companies to really analyze their strategy and to not underestimate the low hanging fruit,” he explains.
“There is often value in low hanging fruit and they’re easy to pick. Working with a specialized company like ours can deliver immediate results with very limited investment. Further afield, marine offshore companies will have to prepare for the future, and regulations will likely necessitate digital reporting, so it’s better to anticipate and address future challenges. I have faith in the sector and its ability to adapt,” Damien concludes. “As the market becomes more competitive, it’s vital for maritime actors to master their operations to better meet global demands. Technology and human expertise can bring answers that drive decision-making and prepare fleets for the future.”