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By Vivien Miranda, Vice President – Marine, Asia Pacific, BCD Travel
What is marine travel? Researching the question online or via ChatGPT won’t exactly paint a full picture. Google defines maritime transport as “the transport of passengers or goods via waterways.” ChatGPT explains that “crew travel” typically refers to the transportation of a group of people who work together, often on a common project or task. The power of AI does a bit better than Google – but they both miss the nuance.
Having grown up in a seafaring family and started my career as a crew planner, I spent the last decade in marine travel becoming quite familiar with the nuance. So, here’s my take on the subject. Crew travel is also called rotational travel, marine travel, seaman travel, and offshore travel. And yes, it is the movement of people to and from remote work locations, but these locations aren’t swanky glass office towers. They are camp sites or mines in faraway places around the world; oil rigs and offshore platforms perched in the middle of oceans; and the ships that deliver the cargo we need for our lives. So, why the different names? Well it depends on the place or nature of work and if the location is fixed or on the move. If that answer has you scratching your head, keep reading.
Planning crew travel to fixed or stationary locations
A camp site, mine, oil rig or offshore platform (however remote and off the beaten track it may be) is a stationary or fixed worksite. In my experience, the first challenge is just finding the location on the map! Jokes aside, to plan travel, you will need to identify the nearest functional airport, identify the visas based on crew nationality and work type, find an airline, and plan a multi-sector flight to get the crew to their mine or camp worksite. That could mean taking a long-haul flight seated in economy, then making a one- or two-day trip via a train that’s not temperature controlled or on roads that aren’t always paved. Offshore workers whose jobs are on an oil rig in the middle of the sea would also need to travel by helicopter to the site. Travel to these locations though challenging and complex, is par for the course for our experienced travel consultants. Through the use of published fares and/or special marine-offshore fares with flexibility and extra baggage allowance, BCD gets the job done.
Managing crew travel to moving locations
Ships are considered moving locations. Think cargo ships, cruise lines, small feeder ships plying domestically, tugs, barges, supply vessels and support vessels.
Cargo ships are like the Grabs and Ubers of the high seas moving cargo of all types around the world. They are constantly on the move and may come into port for a few hours before sailing out again. Some remain in outer port limit for a longer time before moving to their next destination. With these vessels, sailing schedules are always changing, and by changing I don’t only mean time changes. I mean the port of call could change. One day, they’re sailing to the Philippines. Hours later, their course is changed to Hong Kong or Japan or somewhere else entirely.
Imagine the knowledge and skill required by travel teams to manage the complexities of this type of crew travel. BCD’s robust systems collect and consolidate data into actionable insights for crew planners and travel managers to identify patterns, change purchasing and traveler behavior, streamline processes and enable swift response in the event of an incident. In addition to the tasks previously mentioned, crew travel teams must be available 24/7 every day – always ready to support crews in any situation.
With decades of travel management expertise, BCD Travel is excels in marine travel. We understand the importance of every step. Each step builds a bridge, connecting different parts of the business, bringing together crew logistics and traditional corporate travel, saving you time, money and resources. BCD knows the steps required to navigate the complexity around crew travel.
The post Marine travel: Remote sites, extreme conditions, tight deadlines. BCD can do it. first appeared on BCD Travel.
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