Columbia Shipmanagement together with Marlow Navigation, have underlined their individual commitment to a digital agenda in quality shipmanagement by signing a partnership with Lufthansa Industry Solutions.

The agreement between Blue Dynamics – a software company previously set up by Columbia and Marlow – and Lufthansa Industry Solutions will provide the highest standards of information technology relating to performance monitoring, predictive maintenance, remote sensoring, procurement, logistics, crew planning and other topics such as development resource sharing, lab utilisation and state‐of‐the‐art development processes.

Lufthansa Industry Solutions has provided several innovative IT solutions to the maritime industry over the years, both in the transport and the cruise sector.

The subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group supports its clients toward secure network and internet solutions, from the concept and implementation of IT infrastructures to the optimization of existing ones.

Columbia and Marlow are awaiting regulatory approval for a merger to create one of the world's largest shipmanagement companies. Mark O’Neil, president of Columbia Shipmanagement, and the future ceo of the merged Columbia Marlow, welcomed the partnership and said the goal was to create, “a truly transformational digital environment consisting of integrated applications and services which will enable the customer to be fully integrated into the management and vessel operation process”.

Bernd Appel, md of Lufthansa Industry Solutions, said, “our roots are in aviation, a highly digitised, security‐sensitive industry. The sharing of IT solutions between the airline and maritime sectors can only assist both and lead to improved safety, efficacies and efficiencies.”

Source:seatrade-maritime.com