The European team of the archived DeltaMeco crewing agency looked after seafarers recruited in Northern Europe, Croatia and Poland. The archived page profiles three people. This summary focuses on what their roles reveal about the work, and leaves out personal details.
The director
The page describes the director as someone who knew early on that he wanted a shipping career. After college he began at the bottom of the company and, over roughly fifteen years, worked as personnel administrator, personnel officer and operations manager. This gave him a ground-level view of the business.
In later years his knowledge widened to union and salary negotiations, cadet training and maritime legislation. The text adds that dealing with different cultures and personalities sharpened his communication and negotiation skills, which it calls valuable in a business built on traditional values. His stated aim was to grow the client portfolio and keep the company thriving.
The personnel officer
A personnel officer who joined in 1999 as personal assistant to the managing director later moved into the personnel role. She is a main contact for European seafarers. Her responsibilities include processing documents, making sure flag-state licences and certificates are valid in time, arranging travel for crew joining and leaving ships, and liaising with agents.
The newest operations member
The latest addition at the time of the snapshot joined from Germany in October 2010. She had completed an apprenticeship as a shipping clerk at Hamburg Sued and then worked in its payroll department from 2009. According to the page, her knowledge of shipping and her interpersonal skills suited the operations department. With the personnel officer she handles the daily administration around crew changes.
What this shows about crewing work
Crew changes, in particular, depend on dozens of small tasks that must be completed in the right order: valid certificates, flights, handovers and a person on call. The way the team is organised reflects that. Read crew administration for the full list of tasks, or see the Philippines team for the other half of the operation.