Maersk Tankers wants to boost the size of its digital team as demand grows.

The Danish product tanker owner and pools specialist is seeking 16 new staff this year to bring the total number of digital experts to 23.

Recruitment will focus on data scientists and engineers, and back-end and front-end developers.

Seven of the positions will be re-allocated from an agency to the in-house digital team at Maersk Tankers.

A third of the technical developers hired will be new graduates or juniors, with the company taking co-responsibility for their development in the field of digital technology.

The team will also be working closely with universities and sharing data with them for research.

“With demand for digitised shipping increasing, we are adding capacity to keep up with the pace,” said Bjorn Orving, head of digital at Maersk Tankers.

“We’re also re-orchestrating our team, moving from a generalist digital department to one of expertise in high-demand areas.”

The company’s digital strategy is aimed at developing solutions that support clients, enhance vessel efficiency and cut carbon emissions.

Maersk Tankers said charterers need to decide on how best to utilise the fleet to maximise its potential and earnings.

Human judgement is still needed

This entails selecting the most suitable vessel for each voyage based on its speed and fuel consumption, as well as calculating the best voyage route while considering future positioning.

The digital team is creating solutions that can help charterers make these calculations in a matter of seconds, the owner said.

It believes human capability and skill are necessary for providing insights that artificial intelligence and algorithms lack.

“We’re working towards providing the best possible software that can ensure our brilliant colleagues are able to focus on providing even better services and solutions,” Orving said.