Pictured: Howard Seto, Teekay's Manager, Environment & Quality,
Teekay is a leading tank ship operator. A New York Stock Exchange listed company since 1995, its revenues last year were $1.82 billion.
Howard Seto, Teekay’s Manager, Environment & Quality, is responsible for environmental performance issues and research across a large fleet of tankers. He has a big job. With a fleet of 151 vessels ranging from Aframaxes, Suezmaxes, FSOs, FPSOs, LNG and LPG carriers and shuttle tankers to VLCCs, Teekay is looking to play a leading role in helping to secure a safe, clean future for tank shipping.
Horizons spoke to Howard. With MEPC 62 and a big decision on EEDI approaching, he emphasised the need for the industry to promote itself better. “We are already subject to regulations into which the industry had little input. We need to have more influence,” he said.
“Shipping has been weak at speaking with one voice. The nature of the industry is that it is very fragmented – both within individual sectors and in that it has so many different sectors. We look to our trade associations to help in this respect. For example we have been working through INTERTANKO (Howard is Chairman of INTERTANKO’s Environmental Committee) and we have encouraged a more co-ordinated approach, where we work with stakeholders, to get results.”
Commenting on the shift in focus from oil spills to air emissions, Howard said: “We have to face the facts: shipping is behind other industries in reducing the harmful effects of airborne emissions.” In the past, Teekay has successfully worked with stakeholders to reduce emissions. A leading example is its successful collaboration with other operators and the emissions of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) in North Sea shuttle tanker operations – see Horizons, June 2010, pages 40-41 – when it used systems such as absorption, condensation and KVOC technologies to help reduce local emission levels.
At corporate level, Teekay is also looking for partnerships with stakeholders. “We need more discussion and the sharing of ideas,” said Howard.
“The EEDI (which was adopted at IMO in July just after Horizons met with Howard) will be a good start but we have other important issues to address as well – notably ballast water,” he said.
In his new book "Leadership Is Language, The Hidden Power of What You Say and What You Don't", former submarine commander Captain L David Marquet (USN Ret) dives deep into one of the most thoroughly investigated marine disasters, the sinking of the El Faro, and surfaces with new ideas on leadership and language.
by John Konrad (gCaptain) Over the past few years a few of my fellow captains and I have been working on new ways to teach Bridge Resource Management (BRM). We...
by John Konrad (gCaptain) Last week gCaptain had the privilege of interviewing Rear Admiral Jack Buono, USMS. Two years ago Buono was appointed as the thirteenth Superintendent of the United...
December 3, 2020
Total Views: 3255
Sign Up Now for gCaptain Daily
Just enter your email and get hot news every morning
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.