Does Sallaum Lines set out to make money or make waves in the industry? That is the question posed at the start of this podcast, and Natalie Sallaum says that the company’s priority is to balance both objectives: “We recognise the importance of profitability… but we also understand that long-term success comes from being a responsible corporate citizen,” she says.

She also argues that “creating value goes beyond the traditional metrics of just financial performance. It also encompasses our responsibility to contribute positively to the world around us”.

But she concedes that, because of its ownership structure, Sallaum Lines is better placed than some operators to set the priorities that it does. It “gives us a bit more flexibility to make decisions that reflect our values,” she says, while publicly traded companies might face short-term pressures that would hinder efforts to get involved in extensive community-based projects.

Yet there are commercial benefits in doing so, especially if investors and other stakeholders take account of such activities when choosing their own business partners. So even for companies with a different corporate structure from Sallaum’s, “I do think it’s still possible to make meaningful actions by including CSR and ESG in their company’s core values,” she says.

In the podcast, she outlines some of the initiatives the operator supports, including partnering with some marine academies through its Wave Makers Initiative, including providing scholarships and positions on its vessels for the highest achievers; five have so far joined the company via that route. This initiative is “all about nurturing the next generation by helping them succeed”, Sallaum says.

It also supports environmental projects, for example in Mozambique, where it is supporting the national Marine Conservation Institute’s “Blue Spark” project to protect marine habitats in Inhambane Bay on the country’s east coast, including providing a patrol boat.

Sallaum Lines’ own staff are also encouraged to engage in activities such as beach cleaning and tree planting. Some might say that such small initiatives don’t make a change, Natalie Sallaum says, “but if every company pitched in… we’d see a much bigger impact over time.”

At an investment level, the company is making moves to reduce its carbon emissions. It has six LNG dual-fuel car and truck carriers on order, with deliveries due to start in late 2025, which she says will have 25% less CO2 and 63% less other greenhouse gas emissions and she does not rule out converting them to use green methanol or ammonia in the future.

In the podcast she links some of its external activities to its support for the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and justifies why shipping companies such as Sallaum should support environmental initiatives.

“The ocean is the backbone of our operations”, she says. “Without healthy marine ecosystems, our business and the communities that depend on the ocean will suffer.”