New Transas CEO plans to “shake up the market”

Transas CEO Frank Coles

JANUARY 26, 2016 — Frank Coles, the new CEO of Transas, has set out his vision for the future of global maritime technology for the first time since his appointment in late 2015.

Transas is a leading provider of high tech equipment, software applications, integrated solutions and services for the maritime industry. It has over 35% of the ECDIS world market share, around 25% of VTMS installations and over 45% of the maritime simulation market.

Mr. Coles has his sights set on the company delivering the technology and solutions needed for the integrated maritime industry infrastructure of the future.

Outlining Transas’ new vision statement in a recent interview, Mr. Coles says that Transas will be “stepping up to shake up the market” in order to lead the industry.

“It’s not enough just to talk about it, we’ve now got to walk-the-walk in the industry,” he says.

The vision statement reads: “Transas will lead the way in creating an ecosystem of harmonised integrated solutions in safety, navigation and ship operations. In creating these solutions Transas will unite the global maritime stakeholders in the future of e-Navigation and operations.”

For Transas, a harmonized ecosystem represents the different products created separately for bridge, safety, navigation and operations operating as one united, complete, integrated solution.

Mr. Coles intends to actively address challenges to making this a reality, drawing upon Transas’ world class R&D capability in addition to close collaboration with industry. Part of this close collaboration will be forums that will gather the industry to discuss issues and understand the technology opportunities by experiencing them first-hand.

In order for more shipowners to invest, says Mr. Coles, technology companies need to “stop trying to hard sell their software products and instead switch to trying to solve shipowner and operator problems and educating potential customers.”

This strategy will also form a core part of the Transas approach moving forward. It says that “through clear vision, education, collaboration and a world leading suite of products, Transas intends to deliver the ecosystem that equips the maritime industry and its crew for the future.”