PROFILE INSIGHTS WITH GEOFF PALMER – SHIPS AGENCY BRANCH MANAGER

1. Where and when did you start in shipping? I started as a trainee agent on Monday 3rd February 1992 for SCOTMAR agencies (latterly OBC). I spent 8 years with OBC, then 16 years between two other large shipping agencies before making my best move to Cory Brothers where I have been since December 2016.
2. How did you get into it? My mum spotted an advert in the local newspaper, said it would suit me and she applied to it for me! I’d just finished an IT course at college and was looking for a job at 19. I’ll always be very grateful to my Mum for getting me into this career.
3. What do you like about it? It’s different! it’s more a way of life than a job, never mundane or overly repetitive
4. What’s the best and worst parts? Sometimes there is just not enough hours in the day, and it can impact on the home / work life balance. Otherwise, the variety, the pace and the above all – the people.
5. Where have you travelled for your job? Around the UK mostly Immingham – 6 week pipe laying project running pipes from Immingham to Guinevere oil field. Aberdeen – 6 months secondment before going off to Greenock for 18 months and then the beautiful Flotta (Orkneys) for a further 18-month secondment to source and open an office.
6. What have been the biggest changes you’ve seen in shipping? Communication. In the early days, there were no emails or mobile phones. All messages were relayed using a Cheetah telex machine and statement of facts (shipping specific requirements) were hand typed in triplicate using carbon paper. All vessels were physically attended upon arrival, then we as agents had to attend the local Customs office (24/7) to report the ship inwards and outwards clearance if required, using the vessels original certificates, which were treated like gold until returned to ship. A night shift really was a night shift!
7. What things would you change about the shipping industry? Something I feel strongly about! The work an agent does is on the whole unrecognised or compensated sufficiently.
8. What do you do unwind when not at work? My first love is ice hockey which I still play occasionally, but more recently I’ve taken up golf which I really enjoy. My wife Sharon and I have four teenage boys between us (who all live at home) so home life is never dull and I adore family time.
9. This is Cory Brothers 180th anniversary – what is their recipe for longevity? Never standing still – literally! To survive and thrive in an ever-changing world for so long is incredible – to navigate through 180 years of feast, famine, war and more underlines our ability to plan, invest and adapt.
10. What changes do you foresee for the ships agency sector over the next 5-10 years? Admin heavy! Agency was very much a presence based / ship side role but has and will going forward be much more of a virtual process and admin exercise. The human touch is diminishing in areas but will always be important in this vital sector.