HAFNIA has made significant progress in increasing the number of female seafarers aboard its owned fleet of product tankers since the launch of its Hafnia Maritime Culture Lab programme. 

Meanwhile, the Singapore-headquartered company has co-operated with Denmark’s OSK Ship Design to design vessel crew accommodation to make it more relevant for the crews of the future.

Hafnia’s Culture Lab was initiated to increase diversity at sea. Back in 2019 when Culture Lab was first being considered, goals around diversity were not particularly clear.

After “traditionally” just hiring numerous female colleagues, the idea emerged to have at least 50% female representation of combined ship’s officers and ratings on board two ships to see and learn what changes that composition would create.

Today, the goal is to crew six vessels with at least 50% women. Hafnia has five ships already at 50:50, with a sixth vessel almost there. 

Hafnia head of technical Ralph Juhl told Lloyd’s List that as of April 2024, Hafnia employed 424 female crew, accounting for 8% of shipboard personnel, compared with a 2% female pool of seafarers globally. Since then, the percentage of female crew aboard Hafnia ships has reached almost 10%.  

Of the female crew on board Hafnia’s tankers, some 25 different nationalities are employed; “enabling our learnings to go beyond gender and within the context of a wider diversity topic,” Juhl said.

Since launching, the Hafnia Culture Lab has been joined by researchers from the Centre for Maritime Health and Society at the University of Southern Denmark to conduct research on the six vessels. The research will include reviewing policies and procedures, interviewing shore teams and sailing with vessels to observe environments.

A detailed report with recommended best practices will be published once the research is completed and could serve as a learning tool for the entire maritime industry.

Early results are promising.

“Improved behaviour towards one another and enhanced mutual respect has emphasised that the diverse set-up is a new norm,” Juhl said.

Furthermore, an improvement in general hygiene standards on board was noted, together with higher food standards.

“An increase in social gatherings and general common activities and increased mentorship between seafarers, both on a personal and professional front, were also noted,” said Juhl.  

Meanwhile, Hafnia is progressing with an upgrade programme on board its owned tankers to enhance vessel cabins and common areas to make them more relevant to what the company envisages will be the increasingly diverse crews of the future.

Juhl said that the company has for some time recognised that operations are changing rapidly as a consequence of increasing digitalisation, shore connectivity, and technological developments for the green transition.

“To prepare our colleagues at sea for the changes and increase their welfare and well-being, it was only natural as a people-first company, to look at their living conditions and ensure that they are contemporary and relevant for the future,” said Juhl.

Hafnia has worked with Danish naval architects and ship interior design consultancy OSK Design to develop a superior design template for its vessels.

OSK Design is noted for its high-spec passenger and crew accommodation designs, demanded as a matter of course by owners of ro-pax and offshore ships.

“When we started to look for expertise to assist us, we found that OSK Design had similar views and was thinking the same as us. Further, OSK has already worked on projects with ship designs catering to a new generation of onboard living conditions,” Juhl said.

“It strives for designing areas with a diverse crew in mind, aiming to create public spaces that foster belonging and community and that make room for informal encounters as well as varied and lively traditional shipboard functions.”

Meanwhile, crew cabin design has been specified to support rest and recovery within an “oasis-like” space.

“The aim is to ensure seafarers’ ‘home away from home’ is more comfortable”.

In partnership with OSK, the company has created a Hafnia Design Manual to provide a standard for crew accommodation that can be used for newbuildings and retrofits within the Hafnia fleet.        

Juhl said that the full design scope was optimal for newbuildings, with OSK working directly with the shipbuilder to deliver the enhanced crew accommodation.

He admits structural changes to standard shipyard designs can be “very difficult”.

“It is however not impossible if you can be out early and know what you want,” he said. “We have, for example, been able to add swimming pools to all the ships we have built, so it is possible.”

Juhl notes that a full retrofit of existing vessels is unlikely, but elements of the design manual will be used as the foundation for upgrades, which include a selection of materials, light sources, and colours.

Juhl did not disclose the cost of the programme so far, but similar accommodation upgrades by other owners have added up to $500,000 to newbuilding contract prices.           

“We do not typically disclose the exact monetary amounts that we allocate to any initiatives, but we see this as an investment into our seafarers’ wellbeing.”