North Star invests £5million in digital transformation

North Star, the UK’s leading offshore infrastructure support vessel operator and service provider, has invested more than £5million in new business support software systems to drive operational and sustainability efficiencies across its operations, whilst also boosting its seafarers’ wellbeing.  

Its new digital solutions include a multi-million-pound investment in the ShipSure software platform, the industry’s leading enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution developed by V.Group, a strategic partnership with VesselMan to enhance its project management toolkit, and implementation of Starlink’s satellite communications across all ships to provide high-speed internet access and superior connectivity between its vessels and the shore.

Fraser Dobbie, chief financial officer said: “This £5million investment in our digital capabilities is key to underpinning the strength and efficiency of North Star, making use of the best available business systems and technologies to support our continued focus on sustainably scaling our operations. Partnering with the most innovative technology suppliers  allows us to elevate our corporate intelligence and decision making, generating increased value from the masses of data that we gather every day.”

ShipSure is an important step in North Star’s digitisation strategy, as a purpose-built cloud-based ship management ERP, it allows the maritime company to integrate knowledge, streamline processes and analyse data to improve performance across all elements of the business. ShipSure and VesselMan are also fully integrated, allowing seamless exchange of work order defects and status updates on purchase orders between the systems.

Fraser explained: “ShipSure will improve safety, increase the efficiency of vessel crewing, inform procurement strategies and help us to further improve the reliability of our vessels’ performance through planned maintenance. It provides a modern engine from which to drive the vast knowledge and experience of our team to new levels.”

Stephen Macfarlane, Group CIO at V., said “We are excited to support North Star on this digital journey with our all-encompassing digital solution, delivered as a service offering across their fleet and offices. Delivering ShipSure as a service is an important way for V.Group to partner with vessel owners to drive digitalisation of their businesses, and we are thrilled that a leading offshore services provider such as North Star has selected ShipSure in recognition of the platform’s unique capabilities.”

In addition to employing new technologies to enable business growth, North Star continues to place the wellbeing of its personnel at the forefront with the adoption of Starlink, the world's first and largest satellite constellation that uses a low Earth orbit to deliver high speed connectivity for offshore workers.

Fraser Dobbie

With bases in Aberdeen, Lowestoft, and Newcastle in the UK as well as Hamburg, Germany,  more than half of North Star’s 1,400 workforce are crew supporting its 49-strong vessel fleet, which includes emergency response and rescue vessels (ERRVs) in the North Sea, and its fast growing hybrid-powered service operations vessel (SOV) tonnage for the offshore wind sector. Working in some of the most challenging offshore weather conditions, looking after the health and wellbeing of crews is of the highest priority.

Trials of the new communications server confirmed internet speeds up to 50-times faster, enabling seafarers to make video calls with family and friends, as well as supporting streaming and online gaming without time delay or capacity issues.

Starlink’s low-latency rate also supports vessel operational technologies including decision support systems and other real-time solutions, with the ability to troubleshoot problems using virtual calls and video.

Fraser added: “Our crews are immensely dedicated and hard-working, operating vessels and supporting our clients for month long rotations. Providing them with the ability to not only stream entertainment services, but also connect with home is a major boost for our offshore teams. We are thrilled with the results Starlink has delivered to date.

“Last year, we welcomed several specialists into our team including the company’s first chief technology officer, supporting our people with technology is a key element of our strategy to secure the future of North Star as the market leading provider of support to Europe’s offshore Energy infrastructure.”

About North Star

North Star is the market leading UK provider of mission critical, offshore infrastructure support services to offshore wind and offshore oil and gas markets. 

The 137-year-old business, which was originally established to support the fisheries industry, is also the country’s largest employer of offshore cadets. Since 1996, it has trained hundreds of future deck and engineering trainees, investing £1million annually on average to develop the next generation.  

By combining safety, service and quality, the company delivers exceptional levels of support to its clients in one of world’s most challenging and demanding industries. 

Issued on behalf of North Star by BIG Partnership.