Meet the Team - Steve Myers

As part of our ‘Meet the Team’ series, we’re excited to introduce the incredible people behind North Star who help drive our success across the business. We’ll take a closer look at their career journey, passions and day to day roles. So get ready to know your colleagues a little better!

Steve is based in the North East of England near the Port of Tyne where our Dogger Bank Wind Farm vessels operate from, approximately halfway between the Lowestoft and Aberdeen offices. Perfectly situated to work from our Grampian SOV’s. From his early days as a cadet to helping lead one of the most exciting offshore wind projects in Europe, Steve’s story is one of passion, purpose and perfect timing.

What is your name and job title at North Star? And how long have you been with us for?  
Steve Myers, SOV Operations Director and I have been with North Star for nearly four years now.

What inspired you to become a SOV Operations Director?

I ran away to sea as a kid! Like many of my generation of seafarers, I had family connections to the sea, salt water in my veins.

I was 17 when I started my cadetship as a deck officer with Shell Ship Management and then qualified and worked my way through the ranks. I then got the opportunity to work in ship management onshore as a secondment which I enjoyed and this eventually led to gaining an opportunity with Siemens in the Offshore Wind sector building up and working in Marine Logistics; managing and running their chartered fleet of vessels for the best part of 10 years. As the industry grew, my role and responsibility grew and then I moved here [North Star] after the Dogger Bank Award. They won the contract for the supply of SOVs and I joined the team to support implementation and management of the growing fleet, readying the business for Offshore Wind and to provide our first class service towards our clients.

So, I guess you could say a lot of it was ‘right place, right time’ but I like to think I was always meant to be here, eventually.

What kind of training/ experience is required to become a SOV Operations Director?

The Cadetship and experience at sea helps with my role, as well as an understanding of the offshore wind logistics market and operation. Having that experience and competence behind me to understand the operations is always helpful. I’ve had some formal health and safety training and my experience of ship and contract management. That’s the key parts that enable me to do what I do. My MBA helps too, but in honesty you don’t have to take this route, there are many routes to get here I believe and the really important bit about what I do is stakeholder management and understanding what the people around the table need. Really listening to the needs and wants of all parties. Across my career I’ve worked with people from all over the world; different backgrounds and cultures, and I think this is the real experience that counts. This aspect is less about the specific training I’ve had, and more about learning to understands your colleagues and counterparts, their expectations and ways of working.

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Can you walk us through a typical day in your role? What are your main tasks and responsibilities?

The beauty of the job is that no two days are the same, which is one of the reasons I love it. I used to have a rigid routine when I was out at sea, and that is kind of engrained in me, so sometimes not knowing what the day will bring can be challenging, but it is also what makes it so interesting and rewarding. I see my work as supporting the ships and our clients to fulfil scopes. Along with the reactive tasks to the requirements of the operation there are the more strategic inputs to determine strategy for our business and supporting the commercial team and other departments within the business with my experience with knowledge from the sector. Another aspect of my role that I really enjoy is the gathering and leveraging of data from our operations. By analysing performance data, we can increase the safety and performance of the teams on board and our fleet as a whole. I also work a lot on industry topics, to develop best practice with bodies such as IMCA, MSF and G+.

Problem solving is key, and being solution minded – it doesn’t matter the size or scale of a challenge, the important bit is to make sure it has a positive impact in resolution. My main responsibility is to ensure we continue to provide a first-class service to our clients.

What advice would you give to someone aspiring to do your role?

Always be willing to listen and learn from situations, and from others; the solution to the challenges we face often comes from exactly this. Taking time to capture everyone’s viewpoint and consider everyone’s needs helps to inform the final outcome. My job is to try and make sure that all these things are aligned. North Star, client technicians and the ship’s crew. I see myself as the mediator, or the pencil connecting the dots to reveal the picture. There are times when I need to trust my knowledge and experience, but there are many more times where I need to trust that of those around me.  

What is the one aspect of your role that people outside of your team might not fully understand but is crucial to the success of your work?

Understanding that ultimately, it’s all about our people. Using that collective hive mind of experience and knowledge is key to success. Then also realising that the decisions and actions we take affect people, and how they work and live onboard.

If you could swap roles for one day with a co-worker, who would it be and why?

It would be somebody on ship – partly because I miss the life and partly because they [the new SOV’s] are far beyond anything I ever sailed on. I’m jealous that they have this fantastic opportunity and future ahead.

Do you have a favourite vessel in our fleet and if so why?

I couldn’t pick a favourite – I’d upset too many Captains, who are all so proud of their ships! I genuinely love stepping onboard each of them; it feels like home when I do.

Seeing the Grampian Tyne sail up the Tyne was a special moment but that doesn’t make her my favourite ship. That was the first time we could say ‘we are here’ beyond planning, preparation and talking. I recall a day, months before arrival, when we mapped out where the ship would sit, using traffic cones for the various ship’s parts, where the bow and stern would be etc. and then to see it in real life lining up as we expected, well that was just really satisfying.

What excites you the most about the future of our industry and where its heading?

That it’s providing a future for the people of our industry. Providing a transition opportunity for existing seafarers and that the image of our industry is changing. It offers a career working in a comfortable environment that takes care of the crew and client’s wellbeing with an attractive onboard experience and an appealing career path with longevity and potential. Alongside that, it gives opportunity for a new generation of seafarers that has so much potential for growth. Seeing the look on the faces of students during school visits and explaining to them how accessible a career at sea is very gratifying.

If you could give your younger self (before starting work) one piece of advice about your career, what would it be?

Embrace the chaos! Embrace the opportunities that come your way. When there is a challenge that feels uncomfortable or stressful at the time just be conscious that those are the moments that make you, the ones that you learn and grow from. They build experience and resilience… every challenge is an opportunity.

And last but not least, what do you like to do when you’re not at work?

My life is basically my wife, kids and puppy, just keeping them alive day to day! We ride bikes, walk the dog, play computer games and watch movies.

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