Under the surface with Krystyna Tsochlas: managing director, James Fisher Tankship division

Tell us a bit about yourself? 

Although my family is Greek, I was born and brought up in Swaziland (now called Eswatini) in South Africa. Shipping is very much in my blood because my father was a seafarer, and my grandfather on my mother’s side was a captain and even as a child I always wanted to become an engineer. When I was 18, I moved to Greece where I studied for a degree in naval architecture and marine engineering. Now I live in the UK with my partner and my two lovely children (aged four and nine). I enjoy horse riding and cake baking in my spare time, but more than anything I love to be close to the water, and I try to get out every day for a run along the towpath beside the River Thames.

How did you come to join the James Fisher group? 

After university I worked for various Greek tanker management companies starting as a junior technical superintendent and moving up to senior management roles, before moving to London in 2012 to join US energy firm, Phillips 66 to work in marine, commercial and then marketing roles. James Fisher Tankships was one of our largest customers so I knew the team well, and I was impressed by their professionalism, the diversity of the group’s portfolio, and the group’s impressive growth. Earlier this year I was invited to discuss the possibility of coming on board, and I started in my new role in April – right in the middle of the UK’s first lockdown. It was quite a challenge, initially, to manage my work schedule while home schooling my son at the same time as well as getting to know my team virtually with little opportunity for face to face time. Thankfully, things are a lot easier now the kids are back at school and I have a great and supportive team!

Tell us a bit about your job 

As managing director of the JF Tankships division I am also managing director for James Fisher Everard which owns and operates 16 vessels distributing fuel and chemicals predominantly in North West Europe. JFSS, the ship management side of the business and Cattedown Wharves, an oil and dry cargo terminal in Plymouth also form part of the Tankships division. Because of the restrictions imposed by the Covid pandemic, we have all been mostly working from home, and it wasn’t until July that I got to meet part of my team face-to-face for the first time. But we have all learnt to communicate effectively while working remotely. The pandemic has certainly brought challenges – notably a marked drop in demand from our oil-producing customers. But my team is working hard to keep our vessels busy by providing a top class and competitive service to our Charterers. For the long term, we are working to diversify our offering by adapting our vessels so they can target a wider range of markets. We are also working to form strong relationships with partners whose long term strategy supports our business.

What do you enjoy most about your job? 

One positive to come out of this pandemic is the way it has brought the issue of climate change to the fore. I’m really enjoying the process of building a new strategy and structure for the Tankships division to fit the group’s new mission to be more ‘purpose-led’. As part of this we have been working on environmentally friendly initiatives in a bid to reduce our carbon footprint to meet ‘clean maritime plan’ objectives set for the industry, and to help the companies which charter our vessels to reduce carbon emissions across their supply chains. To that end, we have initiated a study to look at different ways to reduce energy consumption and specifically the burning of fossil fuels across our existing fleet. Ultimately, we aim to phase out the older vessels which run on marine gas oil and replace them with vessels which run on LNG (liquid natural gas) which has 25 percent lower carbon emissions.

What does the future hold?  

It is really exciting to have the chance to investigate green new shipping technologies. Leasing new vessels which run on LNG is a positive environmental stepping stone but we are leaving no stone unturned. For instance, we are investigating whether we can adapt our vessels to run on ‘bio LNG’ which is produced from rotting vegetables, and which has a much lower carbon footprint. Right now, however, that isn’t produced in sufficient volume to supply the shipping industry. Hydrogenated vegetable oil is another consideration (that would reduce emissions by 80 percent). Although electricity powered vessels are not an option, there are a growing number of ports in the USA (particularly in California) which offer vessels the chance to ‘plug in’ on arrival, so loading and unloading can be powered by cleaner fuel. It might seem extremely futuristic, but also on the table are initiatives such as ‘kites’ which harness wind power to help propel a ship, or ‘Flettner rotors’ which improve the airflow over a vessel, thereby reducing the amount of fuel used. Ultimately, our aim is to build up a fleet of energy-efficient vessels propelled by alternative fuels with the flexibility to transport emerging cargoes as the market for green fuels develops.

Search Pelican

DOWNLOAD LATEST EDITION

Under the surface with Krystyna Tsochlas: managing director, James Fisher Tankship division

Tell us a bit about yourself?

How did you come to join the James Fisher group?

Tell us a bit about your job

What do you enjoy most about your job?

What does the future hold?

Other articles within Winter 2020

Under the surface with Krystyna Tsochlas: managing...

Load monitoring for aquaculture

Checking movement on Bristol's iconic bridge

China’s 500m diving system ready for trials

Experts step in for Bigfoot installation

Keeping the noise down at sea

A new nucleus for equipment testing

Managing offshore assets with new a digital partne...

STOP PRESS - Nanobubbles breathe life into aquacul...

COVID-19 care packs ease the return to office work...

James Fisher colleagues raise charity funds throug...

A new sense of purpose for the James Fisher group

Turbine testbed for offshore wind innovators