Norstar Ship Management opens crewing office in Myanmar

The new establishment, named Norstar Crew Management Company Limited, was formally opened earlier this month, after having commenced operations in February this year.

“We have been using Myanmar seafarers on our vessels for many years now and the move to establish our own office where we can invest further in training and welfare is consistent with our long term commitment to our seafarers and Myanmar as a whole,” said Tom Bonehill, director at Norstar Ship Management.

Norstar Crew Management will now undertake all crew manning and departure arrangements on behalf of Norstar Ship Management in Singapore.

The ship manager currently operates a fleet of 19 ships, mainly oil product and chemical tankers. The ships are predominantly manned by Myanmar officers and crew.

The company has a pool of around 1,000 Myanmar seafarers making it one of the largest crewing companies in Myanmar. It is also actively recruiting local cadets from the Myanmar Maritime University and Myanmar Maritime Mercantile College.

“We are investing in Myanmar for the long term and wish to play an active role in the development of the maritime sector in the country. We are keen to explore the idea of setting up our own dedicated training centre here one day and this is something which is high on our agenda as our fleet grows and our operations expand,” Bonehill said.

“We intend to increase the recruitment of Myanmar seafarers to become one of the leading and preferred employers in Myanmar. Our focus will be on training crew and officers to the highest standards supplying seafarers to all sectors in the maritime industry,” he added.

To mark the official opening of Norstar Crew Management in Myanmar, the company held a three-day officers’ conference in Yangon which was attended by around 200 clients, friends, staff and seafarers.