Testimonials

Interview

Augustin LIEBARD, Logistics Coordinator – LDA

1)  Could you summarize your background and present your current position?

After a scientific baccalaureate, I spent a year in humanitarian service in French Polynesia. After this enriching experience with the inhabitants of these islands, I came back to France for my undergraduate studies in transportation and associated logistics management. I had the chance to join Louis Dreyfus Armateurs as an apprentice as a Logistics Coordinator for a two-year cycle within the technical department.

The daily missions carried out at the logistics department are organized in two main areas. Planning and coordination for the shipment and transportation of parts to the technical vessels of the fleet. We draw up packing lists and determine the optimal mode of transport. Secondly, we take care of the administrative part by preparing the different transport documents, invoices, customs documents and in certain situations we deal with disputes.

Moreover, I had the chance to develop a website to facilitate the management of our stocks and the organization of our shipments. This in order to be more efficient during our multimodal transports to the ships of the fleet.

2) What do you particularly like about your job?

I appreciate many aspects of the job I’ve been training for over a year. Firstly, the international aspect of my missions is for me a very interesting point, allowing me to travel from one end of the world to the other in a few minutes. Secondly, close to the first one, being constantly in contact with people from different cultures and different languages, and having to adapt to the customs of each one to deliver our ships on time, all this allows me to acquire an open mind. 

3) About your job: would you have an anecdote or an important fact to share?

One fact that stands out for me daily is that when I arrived at the age of 19, I couldn’t believe that I was at LDA, organizing international transports to support the needs of the sailors and the ships, I found it incredible. A year later, I am still in awe of the opportunity to be in the group and to be able to serve 20 LDA vessels.

4) What is your motto ?

“Straight ahead, you can’t go very far.” Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Interview

Cécile BELLORD , Head of Legal & Insurance Department – LDA

1) Could you summarise your career path and present your current position? If you have evolved within LDA, could you please specify it?

I have been a maritime lawyer since 1999, when I took the oath. After 7 years in a law firm, I left the bar to join the world of professional organizations and institutional relations: first as a lawyer for the French Federation of Maritime Pilots then Deputy General Delegate of Armateurs de France.

In 2017, I decided to join a more operational area in the shipping sector by becoming the Legal and Insurance Director of the LDA Group. The support and the trust of the senior management have enabled me to build a comprehensive and professional team to serve the entire group. In addition to the traditional scope of work of a legal and insurance department : company law, group structuring, development and management of contractual activity, support for financing operations and purchase, sale of vessels, underwriting and management of all the group’s insurance policies, litigation management, etc … the Legal & Insurance team brought a real “Risk management” dimension by identifying and evaluating the risks that the group faces and by implementing the best tools in order to master them.

Now, the Legal & Insurance department has become the reference partner in risk management, strategy support and for the group’s commercial development.

2) What do you particularly like about your job?

Legal structuring of commercial projects is extremely exciting and makes it possible to give meaning to an activity that supports the group’s commercial developments.

This position allows me to have a transversal look at the activities and strategy of the group, thus strengthening my sense of belonging.

3) About your job: would you have an anecdote or an important fact to share?

I had the opportunity to step in the Erika case as the firm I worked for at the time represented the charterer. Which “Maritimist” would not have liked to participate in such an emblematic and historic case ?

4) What is your motto ?

Have a sense of effort

Interview

Augustin VANDENHOVE, Offshore Solution Manager – LDA

1) Could you summarise your career path and present your current position? If you have evolved within LDA, could you please specify it?

I grew up not far from Dunkerque and the seafaring profession seemed to be an obvious choice.

I started sailing on the bulk carrier Pierre LD in 2009 as a student and, from 2011, on the cable ships as a deck officer, cable officer and sometimes subsea pilot. I was then lucky enough to take charge of the end of the construction of the daughter craft Speed of Change built in La Ciotat, with which I then sailed for a few months around the islands of Port-Cros and Levant. This experience enabled me to become second captain and I therefore returned to the cable ships.

In 2020, I accepted a position on land to work hand in hand with our client ASN. It is a very interesting and rewarding experience that will end in 2022.  I will then start sailing again.

2) What do you particularly like about your job?

The job of a sailor is not for everyone, it is a rhythm of life that has a big impact on the sailor and his family, we are on land for a few months and are completely available then we are not there at all, and often not easily reachable. I really like this rhythm, I appreciate the fact that I have a task to do in a given time and then I can manage my time as I wish. Fortunately, this rhythm also suits my family, who appreciate my availability when I am on holiday.

During this onshore experience, it is totally different, I am available much more regularly but much less often. This allows me to plan events on a long-term basis. As a previous contributor said, during our time at headquarters we have time to enjoy the seasons. I smiled a little when he told me that. A year later, I have come to realise the full extent of this sentence.

3) About your job: would you have an anecdote or an important fact to share?

At sea, there is a lot: an arrival in Sydney, the northern lights, the Atlantic swell that more or less rocks the crew for a few weeks, but also the encounters with all these people around the world who are often happy to receive us and share with us.

On land, the discovery of teleworking, one month after arriving, was not an easy experience but I found my feet.

4) What is your motto ?

A ship that stays in port is not in danger but is not going anywhere.

Interview

Louey JEDER, Administrator and IT Security Project Manager – LDA

1) Could you summarise your career path and present your current position? If you have evolved within LDA, could you please specify it?

Passionate about IT, I decided to attend a school specialized in IT and offering work-study training course in 2018. I then applied to LDA, hope and perseverance were my two allies. I was hired as a systems and networks technician apprentice. I had the chance to evolve during my 4 years of apprenticeship and endorse the role of Network and Database Systems Administrators then IT Security Project Manager. I have carried out numerous missions on the Group’s ships: in Dunkerque, Calais, Singapore, Poland, on the Canary Islands, in Turkey … Louis Dreyfus Armateurs allowed me to acquire a lot of skills such as technical, linguistic and project management. Today, I have the pleasure of joining the group on a permanent contract as Administrator and IT Security Project Manager.

2) What do you particularly like about your job?

I was fortunate to be able to work in the IT support for users, which allowed me to have direct contact with the various collaborators. I was also sometimes among the first people to welcome newcomers and participate in their integration into the company. What I like most about this job is the vast scope of IT, the constant evolution of IT technologies and the maritime world, which is a field that I really liked for its greatness and diversity. Over the past few years, I have been able to participate in the development of several projects on board ships, in particular the implementation of the IT infrastructure of SOV, Wind Of Change, Wind of Hope ships and securing the systems of information on the entire fleet.

3) About your job: would you have an anecdote or an important fact to share?

Most of the time we operate remotely, but it’s really once you’re on board that you understand the needs and our responsibility within the company. I have, on several occasions, put on the work outfit, the helmet and the gloves, and been able to put myself in the same working conditions as the sailors while doing my job as a computer scientist. It is really a chance to be able to participate and especially to witness the various operations of the ships from the front row.

4) What is your motto ?

We all help steer the rudder !

Interview

Emma BELMAIN, Planning Coordinator – LDA

1) Could you summarise your career path and present your current position? If you have evolved within LDA, could you please specify it?

Former trilingual assistant manager, it is on LinkedIn that I discovered the Louis Dreyfus Armateurs (LDA) group and its universe. The adventure began for me in September 2018  within the Louis Dreyfus Seaplane (LD Seaplane) team. I am responsible for planning the transportation of oversized sections of Airbus planes via barges, trucks as well as on our LDA ships. I also participate to the update of our quality documentary system.

2) What do you particularly like about your job?

No day is alike at LD Seaplane. Every day, you must manage emergencies and hazards in coping with the various traffic streams around the world, it’s very stimulating. Emergencies also mean new situations to adapt to – I feel like I’m learning every week. My job also allows me to be in daily contact with people from all over the world, each of whom performs completely different functions, I love it! Finally, what I particularly appreciate is my team, which is like a second family. We are very close and we support each other in our missions, always in a good mood.

3) About your job: would you have an anecdote or an important fact to share?

My job has allowed me to observe the handling of huge fuselage parts on trucks or ships. Some of them were impressive, you wouldn’t imagine parts of A380 or Beluga XL could fit on a trailer or a mafi (a type of harbor trailer)! I also visited various Airbus assembly plants and had the honor of boarding on a Beluga XL as well as an Antonov. These are great memories.

4) What is your motto ?

“Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill

Interview

Bernardo FORTINI, Marine Engineer – LDA

1) Could you summarise your career path and present your current position? If you have evolved within LDA, could you please specify it?

From a young age I have been passionate about ships and the merchant navy. There was something unusual about the maritime industry I was meant to discover. In 2013 I joined the department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). In 2017, I was awarded a scolarship to pursue my studies in France on the same field.

I hold a double degree diploma on Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering from ENSTA Bretagne and UFRJ.

Before joining LDA, I worked on the assessment of seaworthiness of offshore O&G platforms at SBM Offshore (Monaco) and with Dynamic Positioning systems at Centrum Techniki Okrętowej (Poland).

I joined the EPI department at Louis Dreyfus Armateurs last November as Marine Engineer. Since then, I have been technically supervising the construction of 3 new Crew Transfer Vessel (CTV) for the Saint-Nazaire offshore wind farm.

2) What do you particularly like about your job?

The thing I appreciate the most about my job is the technical challenges I am led to face daily and the support I have from my colleagues. Moreover, we work with very demanding clients that push us towards innovative solutions. Each day is a new day.

I supervise technically the construction of our 3 CTVs (two of them hybrid) that are currently being built in Fontenay-le-Comte, France. This means I must deliver a vessel suitable to its mission.

I count with the support of more experienced colleagues who share openly their knowledge on both technical and operational matters. This helps decision making and providing a built to purpose boat I will be proud of once it is deployed offshore.

Overall, I feel that few other companies offer this much exposure to young engineers. This is the best part, especially for someone who is willing to make a difference and take responsibilities.

3) A propos de votre métier : auriez-vous une anecdote ou un fait marquant à partager ?

There is still a lot of seas to sail.

I am a junior engineer and I have been working for LDA for less than a year. Even though most of this time we have faced restrictions due to the Covid-19, I had the pleasure of going onboard our cable layer vessels (Ile d’Aix and Ile de Sein), attending the inauguration of the Wind of Hope in Saint-Nazaire and witnessing the activities in the shipyard.

I know there is still a lot yet to come in my journey at LDA. I am interested to see where the wind will take me next.

4) Quelle est votre devise ?

“Don’t give up the ship” – Captain Lawrence

Interview

Augustin LIEBARD, Logistics Coordinator – LDA

1)  Could you summarize your background and present your current position?

After a scientific baccalaureate, I spent a year in humanitarian service in French Polynesia. After this enriching experience with the inhabitants of these islands, I came back to France for my undergraduate studies in transportation and associated logistics management. I had the chance to join Louis Dreyfus Armateurs as an apprentice as a Logistics Coordinator for a two-year cycle within the technical department.

The daily missions carried out at the logistics department are organized in two main areas. Planning and coordination for the shipment and transportation of parts to the technical vessels of the fleet. We draw up packing lists and determine the optimal mode of transport. Secondly, we take care of the administrative part by preparing the different transport documents, invoices, customs documents and in certain situations we deal with disputes.

Moreover, I had the chance to develop a website to facilitate the management of our stocks and the organization of our shipments. This in order to be more efficient during our multimodal transports to the ships of the fleet.

2) What do you particularly like about your job?

I appreciate many aspects of the job I’ve been training for over a year. Firstly, the international aspect of my missions is for me a very interesting point, allowing me to travel from one end of the world to the other in a few minutes. Secondly, close to the first one, being constantly in contact with people from different cultures and different languages, and having to adapt to the customs of each one to deliver our ships on time, all this allows me to acquire an open mind. 

3) About your job: would you have an anecdote or an important fact to share?

One fact that stands out for me daily is that when I arrived at the age of 19, I couldn’t believe that I was at LDA, organizing international transports to support the needs of the sailors and the ships, I found it incredible. A year later, I am still in awe of the opportunity to be in the group and to be able to serve 20 LDA vessels.

4) What is your motto ?

“Straight ahead, you can’t go very far.” Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Interview

Cécile BELLORD , Head of Legal & Insurance Department – LDA

1) Could you summarise your career path and present your current position? If you have evolved within LDA, could you please specify it?

I have been a maritime lawyer since 1999, when I took the oath. After 7 years in a law firm, I left the bar to join the world of professional organizations and institutional relations: first as a lawyer for the French Federation of Maritime Pilots then Deputy General Delegate of Armateurs de France.

In 2017, I decided to join a more operational area in the shipping sector by becoming the Legal and Insurance Director of the LDA Group. The support and the trust of the senior management have enabled me to build a comprehensive and professional team to serve the entire group. In addition to the traditional scope of work of a legal and insurance department : company law, group structuring, development and management of contractual activity, support for financing operations and purchase, sale of vessels, underwriting and management of all the group’s insurance policies, litigation management, etc … the Legal & Insurance team brought a real “Risk management” dimension by identifying and evaluating the risks that the group faces and by implementing the best tools in order to master them.

Now, the Legal & Insurance department has become the reference partner in risk management, strategy support and for the group’s commercial development.

2) What do you particularly like about your job?

Legal structuring of commercial projects is extremely exciting and makes it possible to give meaning to an activity that supports the group’s commercial developments.

This position allows me to have a transversal look at the activities and strategy of the group, thus strengthening my sense of belonging.

3) About your job: would you have an anecdote or an important fact to share?

I had the opportunity to step in the Erika case as the firm I worked for at the time represented the charterer. Which “Maritimist” would not have liked to participate in such an emblematic and historic case ?

4) What is your motto ?

Have a sense of effort

Interview

Augustin VANDENHOVE, Offshore Solution Manager – LDA

1) Could you summarise your career path and present your current position? If you have evolved within LDA, could you please specify it?

I grew up not far from Dunkerque and the seafaring profession seemed to be an obvious choice.

I started sailing on the bulk carrier Pierre LD in 2009 as a student and, from 2011, on the cable ships as a deck officer, cable officer and sometimes subsea pilot. I was then lucky enough to take charge of the end of the construction of the daughter craft Speed of Change built in La Ciotat, with which I then sailed for a few months around the islands of Port-Cros and Levant. This experience enabled me to become second captain and I therefore returned to the cable ships.

In 2020, I accepted a position on land to work hand in hand with our client ASN. It is a very interesting and rewarding experience that will end in 2022.  I will then start sailing again.

2) What do you particularly like about your job?

The job of a sailor is not for everyone, it is a rhythm of life that has a big impact on the sailor and his family, we are on land for a few months and are completely available then we are not there at all, and often not easily reachable. I really like this rhythm, I appreciate the fact that I have a task to do in a given time and then I can manage my time as I wish. Fortunately, this rhythm also suits my family, who appreciate my availability when I am on holiday.

During this onshore experience, it is totally different, I am available much more regularly but much less often. This allows me to plan events on a long-term basis. As a previous contributor said, during our time at headquarters we have time to enjoy the seasons. I smiled a little when he told me that. A year later, I have come to realise the full extent of this sentence.

3) About your job: would you have an anecdote or an important fact to share?

At sea, there is a lot: an arrival in Sydney, the northern lights, the Atlantic swell that more or less rocks the crew for a few weeks, but also the encounters with all these people around the world who are often happy to receive us and share with us.

On land, the discovery of teleworking, one month after arriving, was not an easy experience but I found my feet.

4) What is your motto ?

A ship that stays in port is not in danger but is not going anywhere.

Interview

Louey JEDER, Administrator and IT Security Project Manager – LDA

1) Could you summarise your career path and present your current position? If you have evolved within LDA, could you please specify it?

Passionate about IT, I decided to attend a school specialized in IT and offering work-study training course in 2018. I then applied to LDA, hope and perseverance were my two allies. I was hired as a systems and networks technician apprentice. I had the chance to evolve during my 4 years of apprenticeship and endorse the role of Network and Database Systems Administrators then IT Security Project Manager. I have carried out numerous missions on the Group’s ships: in Dunkerque, Calais, Singapore, Poland, on the Canary Islands, in Turkey … Louis Dreyfus Armateurs allowed me to acquire a lot of skills such as technical, linguistic and project management. Today, I have the pleasure of joining the group on a permanent contract as Administrator and IT Security Project Manager.

2) What do you particularly like about your job?

I was fortunate to be able to work in the IT support for users, which allowed me to have direct contact with the various collaborators. I was also sometimes among the first people to welcome newcomers and participate in their integration into the company. What I like most about this job is the vast scope of IT, the constant evolution of IT technologies and the maritime world, which is a field that I really liked for its greatness and diversity. Over the past few years, I have been able to participate in the development of several projects on board ships, in particular the implementation of the IT infrastructure of SOV, Wind Of Change, Wind of Hope ships and securing the systems of information on the entire fleet.

3) About your job: would you have an anecdote or an important fact to share?

Most of the time we operate remotely, but it’s really once you’re on board that you understand the needs and our responsibility within the company. I have, on several occasions, put on the work outfit, the helmet and the gloves, and been able to put myself in the same working conditions as the sailors while doing my job as a computer scientist. It is really a chance to be able to participate and especially to witness the various operations of the ships from the front row.

4) What is your motto ?

We all help steer the rudder !

Interview

Emma BELMAIN, Planning Coordinator – LDA

1) Could you summarise your career path and present your current position? If you have evolved within LDA, could you please specify it?

Former trilingual assistant manager, it is on LinkedIn that I discovered the Louis Dreyfus Armateurs (LDA) group and its universe. The adventure began for me in September 2018  within the Louis Dreyfus Seaplane (LD Seaplane) team. I am responsible for planning the transportation of oversized sections of Airbus planes via barges, trucks as well as on our LDA ships. I also participate to the update of our quality documentary system.

2) What do you particularly like about your job?

No day is alike at LD Seaplane. Every day, you must manage emergencies and hazards in coping with the various traffic streams around the world, it’s very stimulating. Emergencies also mean new situations to adapt to – I feel like I’m learning every week. My job also allows me to be in daily contact with people from all over the world, each of whom performs completely different functions, I love it! Finally, what I particularly appreciate is my team, which is like a second family. We are very close and we support each other in our missions, always in a good mood.

3) About your job: would you have an anecdote or an important fact to share?

My job has allowed me to observe the handling of huge fuselage parts on trucks or ships. Some of them were impressive, you wouldn’t imagine parts of A380 or Beluga XL could fit on a trailer or a mafi (a type of harbor trailer)! I also visited various Airbus assembly plants and had the honor of boarding on a Beluga XL as well as an Antonov. These are great memories.

4) What is your motto ?

“Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill

Interview

Bernardo FORTINI, Marine Engineer – LDA

1) Could you summarise your career path and present your current position? If you have evolved within LDA, could you please specify it?

From a young age I have been passionate about ships and the merchant navy. There was something unusual about the maritime industry I was meant to discover. In 2013 I joined the department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). In 2017, I was awarded a scolarship to pursue my studies in France on the same field.

I hold a double degree diploma on Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering from ENSTA Bretagne and UFRJ.

Before joining LDA, I worked on the assessment of seaworthiness of offshore O&G platforms at SBM Offshore (Monaco) and with Dynamic Positioning systems at Centrum Techniki Okrętowej (Poland).

I joined the EPI department at Louis Dreyfus Armateurs last November as Marine Engineer. Since then, I have been technically supervising the construction of 3 new Crew Transfer Vessel (CTV) for the Saint-Nazaire offshore wind farm.

2) What do you particularly like about your job?

The thing I appreciate the most about my job is the technical challenges I am led to face daily and the support I have from my colleagues. Moreover, we work with very demanding clients that push us towards innovative solutions. Each day is a new day.

I supervise technically the construction of our 3 CTVs (two of them hybrid) that are currently being built in Fontenay-le-Comte, France. This means I must deliver a vessel suitable to its mission.

I count with the support of more experienced colleagues who share openly their knowledge on both technical and operational matters. This helps decision making and providing a built to purpose boat I will be proud of once it is deployed offshore.

Overall, I feel that few other companies offer this much exposure to young engineers. This is the best part, especially for someone who is willing to make a difference and take responsibilities.

3) A propos de votre métier : auriez-vous une anecdote ou un fait marquant à partager ?

There is still a lot of seas to sail.

I am a junior engineer and I have been working for LDA for less than a year. Even though most of this time we have faced restrictions due to the Covid-19, I had the pleasure of going onboard our cable layer vessels (Ile d’Aix and Ile de Sein), attending the inauguration of the Wind of Hope in Saint-Nazaire and witnessing the activities in the shipyard.

I know there is still a lot yet to come in my journey at LDA. I am interested to see where the wind will take me next.

4) Quelle est votre devise ?

“Don’t give up the ship” – Captain Lawrence