Revolutionising the power dynamic in the shipping industry
By Verity Relph
Imagine if you could find out what the facilities are like on a vessel ahead of your next contract. Imagine if you could read feedback from other seafarers about a particular shipping company. That is exactly what a new professional networking platform is helping seafarers to do.
Seafarer’s Anchor is the brainchild of Kaushal Rohilla. A former seafarer, Kaushal later moved into a shore-based career in operations, adding extensive business knowledge to his seafaring experience. After Covid hit, he found many seafarers approaching him for help via LinkedIn, with no idea what type of ship they were joining. “I started listing issues faced at all levels, be they a cadet or a captain, and thinking about how they could be addressed digitally.”
Kaushal and his former crew mate ND, who had also moved into a career ashore, soon came up with what is effectively the world’s first maritime community for seafarers, by seafarers.
Seafarers can rate and leave reviews for vessels, shipping companies and ports, as well as network with other seafarers around the world. The idea is to shift power from the hands of ship owners, ship managers and port authorities to the hands of seafarers.
“It is firstly about empowering seafarers,” Kaushal explains, “and secondly about having a platform to exchange knowledge. A lot of knowledge is lost – although we learn so much from different experiences at sea, it doesn’t get transferred back to the rest of the industry. Seafarers are often relying on information from books that are 10 or 15 years old, but things today are very dynamic. We wanted to create something that is live.”
Glassdoor for shipping
The platform can be compared to Glass- door, creating greater visibility within the industry and allowing seafarers to make informed decisions about their careers.
Seafarers can rate vessels on their living conditions and facilities. This means a seafarer joining a vessel on a nine-month contract can find out, for instance, about the Wi-Fi connectivity onboard. As co-founder ND explains: “They might be told by the company that yes, the internet is very good, but the seafarer would go onboard to find that the connection is horrible, and feel that they could have made a better decision.”
Similarly, seafarers can rate shipping companies on aspects such as their safety culture, salaries, support from ashore, and opportunities for career development. “The aim is not to criticise, but to create healthy competition to improve conditions,” says Kaushal.
The platform also has live data on ports. “Ports are another entity where seafarers sometimes get sidelined and taken advantage of,” says Kaushal. “Similar to ships, they can leave feedback on aspects such as the pilots, the customs authorities, the shore leave. This is live data from seafarers all over the world.”
A unique function of Seafarer’s Anchor is that it shows the seafarers’ live locations. “There is no other platform which gives us live location,” says Kaushal. “It is possible to chat with other seafarers, even when on leave, increasing safety and improving visibility.”
Seafarers have an individual profile and they can network with other seafarers. It means being able to connect with seafarers that you’ve worked with, or for female seafarers to chat with other female seafarers around the world and learn more about their experiences.
Furthermore, seafarers who have sailed with you before can rate and review you, giving seafarers credible feedback which they can use in their careers.
To sign up for the platform, seafarers need to provide a copy of their seaman’s book and include their sea time in their profile, ensuring that all reviews being left are verified.
As well as the web version, Seafarer’s Anchor is also available as an app, which can be downloaded for free on Android and iOS.
The platform already has 1,500 registered seafarers, and the team are continuing to evolve what they can offer to seafarers by incorporating technologies such as AI.
It’s ultimately about helping seafarers to make informed decisions about their careers, share experiences, and build networks. “It gives a common voice to the seafarer which they lack as of today,” says Kaushal.
Seafarer’s Anchor would be happy to hear from anyone interested in collaborating or supporting the product financially or with IT. If you are interested in finding out more, please contact: [email protected] or tel. +61 413 399 094.
To find out more go to: seafarersanchor.com.
