Sustainable growth report 2023

People
The introduction of HiBob, a new HR system for our office colleagues, supports transparency. All HR-related information is now easy to find and stored in one central location. The system is also accessible on mobile devices. An example of how HiBob contributes to transparency, is that we could disclose our salary framework and scale overview in this system.

We continuously evaluate whether we need to modify our employment conditions due to new governmental regulations or changing conditions in the general market. For instance, following a national increase in the minimum wage standard, we adjusted the salary band of our lowest scale accordingly and checked the training & development policy to comply fully with the latest legal requirements.

Next to that we regularly benchmark and review our primary and secondary employment conditions. In December we have benchmarked our secondary employment conditions and made necessary amendments to ensure consistency within each role or scale.

OGSM Strategy
For our OGSM framework, we organised access to the OGSM for all office colleagues in 2023. It accommodates transparency and give people insights and updates on what each department is working on and a clear vision of what the company is heading to.

Marine Assurance
With our Marine Assurance mindset, we strive to manage and mitigate risks across our fleet. This is crucial as we aim to prevent harm to people, the environment and the entire supply chain. Our goal is to control the risks onboard and manage them if elimination is not possible.

This proactive approach is in line with the change OCIMF (Oil Companies International Marine Forum) is targeting with their new SIRE inspection program: SIRE 2.0. In 2023 we did not have any rejections related to a SIRE inspection on our fleet, which proves that our proactive way of working is on the right track.

When preparing for an audit, all technical conditions and procedures must be in place to manage and mitigate the risks. The next step is to focus on the human element.

The Marine Assurance department supports seafaring colleagues before, during and after an inspection and involves office colleagues from various departments.

Awareness of necessary actions and transparency in information are crucial in implementing the mitigating actions. Their commitment to improvements and actions will prove invaluable in our interactions with our stakeholders and be a reliable partner.

Anti-corruption
As members of the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN), we are committed to improve integrity standards within the maritime industry. We actively participate in the MACN network by reporting all events and participating in seminars as organised by MACN.

In 2023, we updated our anti-bribery policy, now referred to as the ‘Payment of Kinds’ policy. This policy, which is part of our policy booklet, is published on BASSnet and our intranet portal, making it accessible to all colleagues.

We took additional steps in 2023 to raise awareness about this policy within our company. For vessels planning operations in high corruption risk areas, we decided to proactively communicate with the agents and master.

We emphasise our ‘Payment of Kinds’ policy and make it clear that our company will not participate in such payments.

To further reinforce this message, we displayed a letter on the publication board at the entrance of the ship’s accommodation. The letter, signed by our CEO, clearly states that giving and receiving gifts, money, or presents is not acceptable under any circumstances. This serves as a constant reminder of our commitment to ethical business practices.