“It has been an amazing journey so far,” says Todd Allen, Regional Manager of NAVTOR USA while getting ready for the upcoming CMA Shipping 2018 in Stanford. “US shipowners and operators have been very receptive to the way NAVTOR can enhance their operations and deliver real benefits in efficiency. Now I am looking forward to connecting with both new and existing customers in Stanford. This is one of the premier shipping gatherings in North America, so it is definitely important for NAVTOR to be represented here.” The Seattle based NAVTOR USA Inc, which is the latest addition of the Norwegian e-Navigation specialist’s global offices, had its Grand Opening in early January. Representatives from ship owners, industry groups, government organizations and the Consul of Norway attended to celebrate and formally welcome the Norwegian company. NAVTOR CEO, Tor Svanes, was also present to share the company’s excitement of being part of the US maritime community. “Seattle has traditionally been a maritime center in North America, but nowadays it is more famous for its large IT community,” comments NAVTOR CEO Tor Svanes. “This makes NAVTOR a great fit for the city since our company has been built with experiences in both sectors.” Despite the formal opening in January, city native Allen has been on site and servicing the US market since September 2017. He feels that both the customers and NAVTOR has benefited by having a local presence in the US.
“Since the US office opened we have been meeting a lot of people we wouldn’t have met by servicing the market from abroad,” says Allen. “And Seattle is a very exciting place to be. The Port of Seattle had its biggest cruise season ever last year, with over one million revenue passengers on approximately 216 vessels, making Seattle the biggest cruise port on the West Coast.” NAVTOR also had a record year in 2017, with one of the major contracts seeing Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCC) sign up to install ENCs, digital publications and the NavBox solution across its entire corporate fleet. “In addition to a fast-growing cruise industry, we have also built a good relationship with the local fishing fleet,” says Allen. “We’ve had a great start, and more is yet to come to realize the massive potential we see here. I look forward to helping our US clients plot the optimal course forward for their future operations.” Comments are closed.
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