Time to say Goodbye

All
Just thought I would take the opportunity and this is probably the best place, to tell you all, it’s time for me to move onto pastures new. After almost 10 years in Shipping, I am moving into a more "office" based role within BP. I remain within the Shipping IT team but will now manage internal users/systems rather than the Ships.

I remember arriving in Shipping in 2000 and thinking to myself what have I managed to get myself into here. Ships were running old PCs, mixture of DOS/Windows 95 and communication speeds of 9.6Kbs back to shore (sorry if you are still running these today!) Fortunately, I was given the opportunity and funds to make some big changes within the organisation and take BP Shipping to what has been described as the "Rolls Royce" of IT and Comms within the industry. Some of you would have read some of my articles and I can assure you, it’s not been an easy ride (shipping never is!). Luckily for me, along the way, I have met some great people, who have strived to deliver an end-solution with a similar passion and drive. My aim when I started in Shipping was to provide users onboard the same functionality with those in the office. Mission accomplished.

I leave the Shipping environment (although I do plan to come back if the right offer comes through!!) on a high and most importantly, with many new friends. I have had the good fortune of meeting many of you and I hope to continue our relationship going forward. I will still pop onto this site and will still read the Digital Ship magazine regularly to keep on top of the ever-changing technology within shipping.

Last point and I still chuckle ...in 2004, when I installed my first VSAT on a ship, I was told at a conference in Athens that always-on technology would never take off in Shipping and the industry was 20 years away...how things change !

Anyway, thank you all for your help over the years. Please feel free to contact me at any time about anything....

Speak soon.
Waz