Testimonials

Interview

Richard DEVOS, IT Project Manager – PlenR

1/ What has been your career path so far?

In my first life, I was an electrician, often involved with tasks that interested me little. Then I discovered computer science on a personal level and it was a revelation. I was doing fairly technical projects for leisure and gradually realized that it would be good to make a living out of it. After taking some adult training classes, I realized that going back to school was the best option. I went back with younger people than me and continued on to bachelor’s degree. About twenty years ago, I entered the wind power sector and the field is directly related to electricity and electromechanics. The circle was closed.

2/ Could you tell us more about your current role / your missions?

Being in a small structure, IT is understood in the broad sense. I am a developer first and foremost, but I had to train myself in system administration: servers, linux and application settings.

3/ What do you like the most in this job?

To see a result. I think there are many jobs where you don’t necessarily see the results of your labor, except through numbers or charts. Starting from an idea and the machine does what you imagined, automating or eliminating repetitive tasks, etc., I find it rewarding.

4/ Could you name 3 must-have qualities for this job?

Curiosity above all. IT is a field where developments have been rapid, if you do not want to discover new things you will be quickly overwhelmed. When I was very young, I already liked to dismantle the devices “to see how it works”. Usually, I don’t just find a solution on the internet that solves my problem without really knowing how. I need to understand. In my case, I would even go so far as to use the term passion. I was lucky enough to be able to make it my job. Versatility. This is obviously even more true in a small structure where the computer scientist is expected to know how to use almost everything that goes through a computer. Luckily, I have been expanding my area of ​​knowledge for a long time, such as computer graphics: I gave 3D lessons for 10 years in several schools, equipment and other topics. I’m not a specialist, I have a broad technical culture which is very useful to me. Autonomy out of necessity. Being the only computer scientist, I cannot ask my colleagues to look into my problem. I still use my network when I need help.

5/ Any anecdote or major fact you would like to share about your job?

When wishing to offer my services, I discovered a technical design office, then a pioneer in wind power, I immediately liked the spirit that animated them, their passion and even their activism. I immediately accepted to join this team, delighted to assist two experts, and to participate in a (r) evolution to come.

6/ Are you a land or sea person?

I am rather a land person. But until the age of 20, I had always lived a few hundred yards from the sea and finding myself in the army in eastern France, I missed the sea. This idea that all around me there was nothing but land was a strange feeling, as if the sea was not a limit but on the contrary an opening.

7/ What are your hobbies and interests?

Music, IT, old radio devices or any old device

Interview

Sari Herawati – Head of Human Resources Department, SLM (SinarMas LDA Maritime)

1/ What has been your career path so far?

I have had a career of more than 17 years as a HR Professional in various industries. Human Resources have been my passion since I was in junior high and it is like a dream come true. 

2/ Could you tell us more about your current role / your missions?

I am leading the Human Resources department in SLM Indonesia which we divided into 2 areas: HR-Office (land staff) and HR-Crewing (sea personnel). Since SLM Indonesia was established only 6 years ago, there is a lot of room for improvement in the HR department, especially how HR can be close, walk and run side by side with the business to support and contribute to the company.

3/ What do you like the most in this job?

There are a lot of challenges to be tackled and I always get full support from our CEO and Management.

4/ How do you respond to the new HR issues related to the Covid-19 situation?

First of all, we create and increase the awareness Covid-19 health protocol.
We conducted several socializations through online meetings, email blast through internal announcement for employees, put several posters in offices and facilities to remind and increase employee awareness in maintaining the Covid-19 health protocol. This is a collaboration between HR and QSHE Dept.

Then motivating and maintaining employee moral during the pandemic.
Our CEO wrote a message to all employees saying that the company was in good situation, the business was still running even though there was an impact of this pandemic but our CEO asked all employees stay focused and stay positive to face this difficult time.
We still do/arrange the employee activities like Virtual Employee Yearly Eventa and some sports activity so to keep our employees engaged with the company.

HR continues to update the regulation from Indonesia government related with Covid-19 and linked to our business/company and employees such as office attendance in the office regulation, restriction for business trip (domestic travel requirement), etc.
With this, how HR can support the business keep run and in the same time keep our employee stay healthy.

5/ Could you name 3 must-have qualities for this job?

Best-practice knowledge, integrity and passion. 

6/ Any anecdote or major fact you would like to share about your job?

You can’t never satisfy everyone, keep the good performance and have a great day.

7/ Are you a land or sea person?

A land person.

8/ What are your hobbies and interests?

I enjoy sports activities and watching movies.

9/ What is your motto?

Tough times never last, but tough people do.

Job testimonial

Fulvio Astengo, Operation & Performance Manager at LDPL Middle East

1/ What has been your career path so far?

I have recently reached 15 years of experience in the maritime and logistics industries, operating in different sectors and playing different roles.
I started with container liner shipping, moved to maritime logistics for mining and commodities, dealing from operations, which is my current area of work, to pure commercial and business development roles. I was involved for some time also on QHSE matters and up to a more general and overall country company representation.
So far I have lived and worked in four different countries: Italy, Spain, Indonesia and the UAE.
I can say that this path helped me have a 360-degree view of the business – at least I do hope so.

2/ Could you tell us more about your current role / your missions?

I started in LDPL a year and a half ago with a new project in Vietnam. I am now focused on current LDPL projects, i.e Hassyan, UAE, and Kamsar, Guinea, where I am in charge of operations and commercial operations management.

3/ What do you like the most in this job?

Well, what I like has both pros and cons. Dynamicity and constant evolutions of these projects make myself always challenged and continuously looking for new and best solutions to meet the clients’ requirements.
This is of course stressful sometimes but I personally find it stimulating and it finally can give appreciated rewards.

4/ Could you name 3 must-have qualities for this job?

Passion. Proactivity. Customer orientation and awareness.

5/ Any anecdote or major fact you would like to share about your job?

I like to recall that in several cases during my career I have been physically present when a project has actually started, meaning when the first ton of cargo was shipped, which is kind a of milestone in our business.
This happened also about a year ago when I was onsite at the transshipment area in Kamsar, Guinea, when LDPL handled the first cargo in GAC project with EGA.

6/ Are you a land or sea person?

Definitely a sea person – I was born, I grew up and spent my entire life in seaside places.

7/ What are your hobbies and interests?

I am a football “fanatic”, I used to play at some decent level and also support my local football team wherever it was playing around the country.
I also play tennis.
In general, beside sports, I like travelling and meeting new people from different countries and cultures.

8/ What is your motto?

I do not really have my own motto and this one probably does not have much to do with work but I would like to quote one which is in French and expresses what my ideals in daily and private life are: “Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité”.

Interview

Orazio La Pira, Master / Offshore Installation Manager at LDPL Middle East

1/ What has been your career path so far?

I graduated from a nautical school, got my Nautical Competency certificates and started my career in the maritime industry as a Deck Cadet on a transhipment vessel. I continued working with this kind of ships but the need to step up to a Chief Officer role made me decide to go to an ocean-going-vessel (bulk carrier) to learn more about the job.

I continued for about 2 years and got my Master License. I try to keep my knowledge up to date during my sea service (how to manage ship including crews, cargo, documents, loading/unloading, mooring/unmooring, liaising with authorities, agent, clients, etc).

I eventually got the opportunity to work with LDPL ME as an Offshore Installation Manager (OIM), who is the person in charge of all offshore transhipment operations in Kamsar.

It is a new role for me as I act as the middleman between onshore and offshore operations. It is exciting to me as it is a totally new challenge. I had a steep learning curve, but I am blessed to get connected with many people who are highly experienced in transhipment vessels.

I have been working with LDPL ME for almost 2 years now, and I appreciate the opportunity I was given as we continue together to achieve the company’s goals.

2/ Could you tell us more about your current role / your missions?

As the OIM, I am entrusted with the duties of how to speed up the loading rate and make sure loading operations go smoothly. Of course, I need to work and liaise with other departments (Technical, Crew, Logistics, QHSE, etc.) and to align with the company management system as well.

I assist with manoeuvres as the Mooring Master with STS (Ship-to-Ship) operations.

3/ What do you like the most in this job?

Organising, planning and monitoring the main stages of our operations (loading/unloading, mooring/unmooring, crew management, etc). Planning daily operations for our fleet, facing all the challenges brought by bad weather season. Changing the set up and looking for new ideas on how to improve.

4/ Could you name 3 must-have qualities for this job?

Passion, experience in transhipment and good attitude.

5/ Any anecdote or major fact you would like to share about your job?

We have 2 seasons in our Kamsar transhipment area, the tropical season and the rainy season. Our main challenges are during rainy season. The bad weather comes with strong current and wind, and we need to protect our assets in Kamsar and avoid any damage to our fleet, cargo and especially our crew.

6/ Are you a land or sea person?

I am a sea person.

7/ What are your hobbies and interests?

Travel and jogging. I love traveling with my Vespa.

8/ What is your motto?

Nothing is impossible if we can work together as a team to achieve our goal.

Interview

Marc Geffroy, Project Manager – Louis Dreyfus TravOcean

1/ What has been your career path so far?

I always have been attracted to the sea, so it was natural for me to get specialized in Ocean Engineering during my studies at Centrale Marseille Engineering School.
I wanted to start my career with an operational experience. I had the opportunity to do my end-of-studies internship at the Toulon naval base. The company was in charge of the maintenance of the French navy ships. As an assistant project manager, I was lucky to be involved in the disarming of the Dupleix Anti Submarine Frigate. During the second part of my internship I was in charge of the technical stop of the Gapaud landing barge, which was connecting the Levant Island and Hyeres.
In addition to this “field” approach, I wanted to travel. This is why I applied for a project engineer position at Louis Dreyfus Travocean, which seemed to tick all the boxes.

I started to work at the La Ciotat office in 2015. Since then, I have gained experience in submarine cables installation, repair or burial in Telecom, oil and gas and even offshore windfarm markets.

2/ Could you tell us more about your current role / your missions?

I am mainly in charge of managing different service agreement contracts: supply of ROVs and personnel to assist one of our clients during offshore windfarm inter-array cables installation and burial.
In addition to this long-term mission, I am involved in different submarine cable installation or burial projects.
My job starts, as soon as the contract is awarded, by a preparation phase: project documentation, definition of the technical solutions to be implemented, follow-up of equipment preparation on our different sites, purchasing, logistics…
This initial stage is followed by an operation phase on the project location, starting by organising the mobilisation of the equipment on the chosen vessel. Then, depending on the project, I am either involved in the operation on land or at sea.

3/ How did your position evolve in the LDA Group?

I was hired as a project engineer in 2015 and gained a strong experience thanks to the variety of projects I was involved in and the trust I was given by the company. About a year ago, I became a project manager, working on various projects at the same time.

4/ What do you like the most in this job?

The great diversity of projects: in the space of a few months I can go from working on the burial of a seismic cable in an oil field in Norway, to the laying of shore ends in the United Kingdom or Argentina, and finish by the mobilisation of various ROVs in Poland on a vessel dedicated to the laying and burial of offshore windfarm inter-array cables. All of this during a global pandemic !

5/ Could you name 3 must-have qualities for this job?

I think you must be very curious, be self-sufficient and able to adapt to different situations: operational and weather conditions on site can change very quickly. Also you need to have good interpersonal and communication skills. This job involves working with a lot of different people and cultures.

6/ Any anecdote or major fact you would like to share about your job?

In 2016, following a storm in the English Channel, 4 network cables between the United Kingdom and France were damaged close to Dover. Louis Dreyfus Travocean had to perform a repair very quickly. Almost 12 months later, we got a call informing us that the network was damaged again, but on the French side this time. It is a rare event in the life cycle of this kind of cable, and I was lucky to be involved in both projects with very different technical solutions, within a year.

To bounce back on funnier statistics: before I started to work for Louis Dreyfus Travocean, I had only been on a plane twice… Since then, I have stopped counting !

7/ Are you a land or sea person?

I would say a mix of both: I am a littoral person.

8/ What are your hobbies and interests?

I really like outdoor activities whether at sea (sailing, diving…) or in the mountains (skiing, hiking…).

9/ What is your motto?

I don’t really have a motto but I always try to learn something from every situation, whether difficult or not.

Podcast ????️ ????

Do you wish to learn more about newbuilding at Louis Dreyfus Armateurs Group?

So, take a time to listen to the podcast by Pierre-Arthur Fortin, our Newbuilding engineer at EPI  Engineering, Projects, Innovation department!

Click here!

Podcast made by Cluster Maritime Français.

Interview

Richard DEVOS, IT Project Manager – PlenR

1/ What has been your career path so far?

In my first life, I was an electrician, often involved with tasks that interested me little. Then I discovered computer science on a personal level and it was a revelation. I was doing fairly technical projects for leisure and gradually realized that it would be good to make a living out of it. After taking some adult training classes, I realized that going back to school was the best option. I went back with younger people than me and continued on to bachelor’s degree. About twenty years ago, I entered the wind power sector and the field is directly related to electricity and electromechanics. The circle was closed.

2/ Could you tell us more about your current role / your missions?

Being in a small structure, IT is understood in the broad sense. I am a developer first and foremost, but I had to train myself in system administration: servers, linux and application settings.

3/ What do you like the most in this job?

To see a result. I think there are many jobs where you don’t necessarily see the results of your labor, except through numbers or charts. Starting from an idea and the machine does what you imagined, automating or eliminating repetitive tasks, etc., I find it rewarding.

4/ Could you name 3 must-have qualities for this job?

Curiosity above all. IT is a field where developments have been rapid, if you do not want to discover new things you will be quickly overwhelmed. When I was very young, I already liked to dismantle the devices “to see how it works”. Usually, I don’t just find a solution on the internet that solves my problem without really knowing how. I need to understand. In my case, I would even go so far as to use the term passion. I was lucky enough to be able to make it my job. Versatility. This is obviously even more true in a small structure where the computer scientist is expected to know how to use almost everything that goes through a computer. Luckily, I have been expanding my area of ​​knowledge for a long time, such as computer graphics: I gave 3D lessons for 10 years in several schools, equipment and other topics. I’m not a specialist, I have a broad technical culture which is very useful to me. Autonomy out of necessity. Being the only computer scientist, I cannot ask my colleagues to look into my problem. I still use my network when I need help.

5/ Any anecdote or major fact you would like to share about your job?

When wishing to offer my services, I discovered a technical design office, then a pioneer in wind power, I immediately liked the spirit that animated them, their passion and even their activism. I immediately accepted to join this team, delighted to assist two experts, and to participate in a (r) evolution to come.

6/ Are you a land or sea person?

I am rather a land person. But until the age of 20, I had always lived a few hundred yards from the sea and finding myself in the army in eastern France, I missed the sea. This idea that all around me there was nothing but land was a strange feeling, as if the sea was not a limit but on the contrary an opening.

7/ What are your hobbies and interests?

Music, IT, old radio devices or any old device

Interview

Sari Herawati – Head of Human Resources Department, SLM (SinarMas LDA Maritime)

1/ What has been your career path so far?

I have had a career of more than 17 years as a HR Professional in various industries. Human Resources have been my passion since I was in junior high and it is like a dream come true. 

2/ Could you tell us more about your current role / your missions?

I am leading the Human Resources department in SLM Indonesia which we divided into 2 areas: HR-Office (land staff) and HR-Crewing (sea personnel). Since SLM Indonesia was established only 6 years ago, there is a lot of room for improvement in the HR department, especially how HR can be close, walk and run side by side with the business to support and contribute to the company.

3/ What do you like the most in this job?

There are a lot of challenges to be tackled and I always get full support from our CEO and Management.

4/ How do you respond to the new HR issues related to the Covid-19 situation?

First of all, we create and increase the awareness Covid-19 health protocol.
We conducted several socializations through online meetings, email blast through internal announcement for employees, put several posters in offices and facilities to remind and increase employee awareness in maintaining the Covid-19 health protocol. This is a collaboration between HR and QSHE Dept.

Then motivating and maintaining employee moral during the pandemic.
Our CEO wrote a message to all employees saying that the company was in good situation, the business was still running even though there was an impact of this pandemic but our CEO asked all employees stay focused and stay positive to face this difficult time.
We still do/arrange the employee activities like Virtual Employee Yearly Eventa and some sports activity so to keep our employees engaged with the company.

HR continues to update the regulation from Indonesia government related with Covid-19 and linked to our business/company and employees such as office attendance in the office regulation, restriction for business trip (domestic travel requirement), etc.
With this, how HR can support the business keep run and in the same time keep our employee stay healthy.

5/ Could you name 3 must-have qualities for this job?

Best-practice knowledge, integrity and passion. 

6/ Any anecdote or major fact you would like to share about your job?

You can’t never satisfy everyone, keep the good performance and have a great day.

7/ Are you a land or sea person?

A land person.

8/ What are your hobbies and interests?

I enjoy sports activities and watching movies.

9/ What is your motto?

Tough times never last, but tough people do.

Job testimonial

Fulvio Astengo, Operation & Performance Manager at LDPL Middle East

1/ What has been your career path so far?

I have recently reached 15 years of experience in the maritime and logistics industries, operating in different sectors and playing different roles.
I started with container liner shipping, moved to maritime logistics for mining and commodities, dealing from operations, which is my current area of work, to pure commercial and business development roles. I was involved for some time also on QHSE matters and up to a more general and overall country company representation.
So far I have lived and worked in four different countries: Italy, Spain, Indonesia and the UAE.
I can say that this path helped me have a 360-degree view of the business – at least I do hope so.

2/ Could you tell us more about your current role / your missions?

I started in LDPL a year and a half ago with a new project in Vietnam. I am now focused on current LDPL projects, i.e Hassyan, UAE, and Kamsar, Guinea, where I am in charge of operations and commercial operations management.

3/ What do you like the most in this job?

Well, what I like has both pros and cons. Dynamicity and constant evolutions of these projects make myself always challenged and continuously looking for new and best solutions to meet the clients’ requirements.
This is of course stressful sometimes but I personally find it stimulating and it finally can give appreciated rewards.

4/ Could you name 3 must-have qualities for this job?

Passion. Proactivity. Customer orientation and awareness.

5/ Any anecdote or major fact you would like to share about your job?

I like to recall that in several cases during my career I have been physically present when a project has actually started, meaning when the first ton of cargo was shipped, which is kind a of milestone in our business.
This happened also about a year ago when I was onsite at the transshipment area in Kamsar, Guinea, when LDPL handled the first cargo in GAC project with EGA.

6/ Are you a land or sea person?

Definitely a sea person – I was born, I grew up and spent my entire life in seaside places.

7/ What are your hobbies and interests?

I am a football “fanatic”, I used to play at some decent level and also support my local football team wherever it was playing around the country.
I also play tennis.
In general, beside sports, I like travelling and meeting new people from different countries and cultures.

8/ What is your motto?

I do not really have my own motto and this one probably does not have much to do with work but I would like to quote one which is in French and expresses what my ideals in daily and private life are: “Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité”.

Interview

Orazio La Pira, Master / Offshore Installation Manager at LDPL Middle East

1/ What has been your career path so far?

I graduated from a nautical school, got my Nautical Competency certificates and started my career in the maritime industry as a Deck Cadet on a transhipment vessel. I continued working with this kind of ships but the need to step up to a Chief Officer role made me decide to go to an ocean-going-vessel (bulk carrier) to learn more about the job.

I continued for about 2 years and got my Master License. I try to keep my knowledge up to date during my sea service (how to manage ship including crews, cargo, documents, loading/unloading, mooring/unmooring, liaising with authorities, agent, clients, etc).

I eventually got the opportunity to work with LDPL ME as an Offshore Installation Manager (OIM), who is the person in charge of all offshore transhipment operations in Kamsar.

It is a new role for me as I act as the middleman between onshore and offshore operations. It is exciting to me as it is a totally new challenge. I had a steep learning curve, but I am blessed to get connected with many people who are highly experienced in transhipment vessels.

I have been working with LDPL ME for almost 2 years now, and I appreciate the opportunity I was given as we continue together to achieve the company’s goals.

2/ Could you tell us more about your current role / your missions?

As the OIM, I am entrusted with the duties of how to speed up the loading rate and make sure loading operations go smoothly. Of course, I need to work and liaise with other departments (Technical, Crew, Logistics, QHSE, etc.) and to align with the company management system as well.

I assist with manoeuvres as the Mooring Master with STS (Ship-to-Ship) operations.

3/ What do you like the most in this job?

Organising, planning and monitoring the main stages of our operations (loading/unloading, mooring/unmooring, crew management, etc). Planning daily operations for our fleet, facing all the challenges brought by bad weather season. Changing the set up and looking for new ideas on how to improve.

4/ Could you name 3 must-have qualities for this job?

Passion, experience in transhipment and good attitude.

5/ Any anecdote or major fact you would like to share about your job?

We have 2 seasons in our Kamsar transhipment area, the tropical season and the rainy season. Our main challenges are during rainy season. The bad weather comes with strong current and wind, and we need to protect our assets in Kamsar and avoid any damage to our fleet, cargo and especially our crew.

6/ Are you a land or sea person?

I am a sea person.

7/ What are your hobbies and interests?

Travel and jogging. I love traveling with my Vespa.

8/ What is your motto?

Nothing is impossible if we can work together as a team to achieve our goal.

Interview

Marc Geffroy, Project Manager – Louis Dreyfus TravOcean

1/ What has been your career path so far?

I always have been attracted to the sea, so it was natural for me to get specialized in Ocean Engineering during my studies at Centrale Marseille Engineering School.
I wanted to start my career with an operational experience. I had the opportunity to do my end-of-studies internship at the Toulon naval base. The company was in charge of the maintenance of the French navy ships. As an assistant project manager, I was lucky to be involved in the disarming of the Dupleix Anti Submarine Frigate. During the second part of my internship I was in charge of the technical stop of the Gapaud landing barge, which was connecting the Levant Island and Hyeres.
In addition to this “field” approach, I wanted to travel. This is why I applied for a project engineer position at Louis Dreyfus Travocean, which seemed to tick all the boxes.

I started to work at the La Ciotat office in 2015. Since then, I have gained experience in submarine cables installation, repair or burial in Telecom, oil and gas and even offshore windfarm markets.

2/ Could you tell us more about your current role / your missions?

I am mainly in charge of managing different service agreement contracts: supply of ROVs and personnel to assist one of our clients during offshore windfarm inter-array cables installation and burial.
In addition to this long-term mission, I am involved in different submarine cable installation or burial projects.
My job starts, as soon as the contract is awarded, by a preparation phase: project documentation, definition of the technical solutions to be implemented, follow-up of equipment preparation on our different sites, purchasing, logistics…
This initial stage is followed by an operation phase on the project location, starting by organising the mobilisation of the equipment on the chosen vessel. Then, depending on the project, I am either involved in the operation on land or at sea.

3/ How did your position evolve in the LDA Group?

I was hired as a project engineer in 2015 and gained a strong experience thanks to the variety of projects I was involved in and the trust I was given by the company. About a year ago, I became a project manager, working on various projects at the same time.

4/ What do you like the most in this job?

The great diversity of projects: in the space of a few months I can go from working on the burial of a seismic cable in an oil field in Norway, to the laying of shore ends in the United Kingdom or Argentina, and finish by the mobilisation of various ROVs in Poland on a vessel dedicated to the laying and burial of offshore windfarm inter-array cables. All of this during a global pandemic !

5/ Could you name 3 must-have qualities for this job?

I think you must be very curious, be self-sufficient and able to adapt to different situations: operational and weather conditions on site can change very quickly. Also you need to have good interpersonal and communication skills. This job involves working with a lot of different people and cultures.

6/ Any anecdote or major fact you would like to share about your job?

In 2016, following a storm in the English Channel, 4 network cables between the United Kingdom and France were damaged close to Dover. Louis Dreyfus Travocean had to perform a repair very quickly. Almost 12 months later, we got a call informing us that the network was damaged again, but on the French side this time. It is a rare event in the life cycle of this kind of cable, and I was lucky to be involved in both projects with very different technical solutions, within a year.

To bounce back on funnier statistics: before I started to work for Louis Dreyfus Travocean, I had only been on a plane twice… Since then, I have stopped counting !

7/ Are you a land or sea person?

I would say a mix of both: I am a littoral person.

8/ What are your hobbies and interests?

I really like outdoor activities whether at sea (sailing, diving…) or in the mountains (skiing, hiking…).

9/ What is your motto?

I don’t really have a motto but I always try to learn something from every situation, whether difficult or not.

Podcast ????️ ????

Do you wish to learn more about newbuilding at Louis Dreyfus Armateurs Group?

So, take a time to listen to the podcast by Pierre-Arthur Fortin, our Newbuilding engineer at EPI  Engineering, Projects, Innovation department!

Click here!

Podcast made by Cluster Maritime Français.