Guest Post: Andrew Berthelson, Part 1 - The Intro

We have a special guest post from Andrew Berthelson, Director of Technology at Curtin Maritime! In this first post in a two-parter, learn about his journey from engine room to digital command center.

🚢 From the Engine Room to Digital Transformation: Join Me on the Journey

My name is Andrew Berthelson, and after nearly two decades in the maritime industry, I’ve spent my career navigating more than just open water. From sailing tugboats and hovercrafts to leading maritime technology initiatives, my journey has always been fueled by one goal: making maritime operations safer, smarter, and driving change for the better.

I’m currently the Director of Technology at Curtin Maritime, where I oversee operations technology to keep our fleet running efficiently and our people connected. Previously, I spent 16 years at Crowley, working as an engine cadet, chief engineer, port engineer, process manager, and then as director of technology. You may wonder how all these career experiences coalesced - allow me to explain.

In 2017 (after ten years of sailing and Alaska port engineering), I was introduced to Helm CONNECT and became a part of the Crowley Ship Assist group. We began to realize, with reporting requirements, just how much data the vessels were producing. Using Helm CONNECT meant no more paper to go through, store, and throw away. Physically, tons of data could be mined and utilized. When APIs were introduced, I wrote connections to oil analysis sites while still being a port engineer and supporting vessels for our fleet.

While attending Helm Conference in 2019, I kept hearing that companies were not participating in building the changes necessary for our work to succeed. I was actively involved in a project aimed at feasibly building a hybrid or fully electric tugboat for harbor service. This fact prompted my new understanding that companies needed to invest in new roles to increase their understanding of what happens on their boats. These may sound like two different items, but they are very much connected. 

Using Helm data (and some magic), I was able to explain how we could build those tugs, even though I continued to get people telling me electric tugboats just wouldn’t work. With that success came recognition that I really was no longer a port engineer by operation. With a semi-made-up title of Business Process Manager, I started changing how we looked at doing business. We published our lockout/tagout for the whole fleet. We reviewed near misses in real-time. We got fuel consumption every morning. Boats in the fleet began competing for the lowest burn per job rates. Because of this, the company began to address smaller issues because the major issues had been resolved.

I took data from Helm generated by our vessel crews and turned it into a whole new job, and it really had no limit on where it would go. At Curtin I have pushed the teams to new heights, and we are using data to make crews safer. We use actual fuel burn, per boat, per operation, on every job. With automation we are getting crews doing less recording the mundane, and more providing the “color” of what happens onboard. The results were incredible, and I was thrilled at what we were able to accomplish.

Despite of all of this, it has been a lonely journey undertaking a digital transformation within just two companies.  I knew that there was a way to bring the rest of the industry along for the Helm ride, so more on that soon…