“Surveyors are used to having difficult conversations. Working with many different nationalities means I am skilled at negotiating agreement by understanding differing viewpoints”
Based: Singapore
Role: Decarbonisation Consultant
Tenure at LR: 6 years
Shane’s career with LR actually started when he was at university (completing a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Bristol, UK), winning a place on a summer internship, and then progressing to join the LR Graduate Training Scheme. Being a surveyor, Shane ensured the safety and sea worthiness of our clients’ ships.
As part of this intensive 4-year development programme he had the opportunity to move to Singapore and was soon asked to play a key role in the development of the Lloyd’s Register Maritime Decarbonisation Hub. This team was established and funded by the LR Foundation to focus on the sustainable decarbonisation of the marine & offshore industry.
As Shane explains “We are in a unique position at the heart of the shipping industry and can effect real change by convening the debate around sustainability, bringing together key people and businesses in order to accelerate net-zero carbon attainment across the sector.”
This global team has already achieved the launch of The Silk Alliance green corridor - working in partnership across multiple industries and taking the lead in terms of analysis, thought leadership, reporting and tools in order to achieve this shared ambition. It is an ambitious, necessary, and transformational journey.
After all, it’s when communities are brought together that real change happens.
Shane also applies this truth as part of the LR EthNet Colleagues Network; a community that gathers colleagues from different cultures, languages, nationalities, and backgrounds together in order to promote and support an inclusive and equitable workplace.
He admits that the maritime sector has some way to go in terms of diversity and inclusion and has had the experience of being the ‘only brown person’ while attending to ships on 100+ occasions. However, he also felt that being a representative of Lloyd’s Register overcame any prejudice. LR has a strong reputation of colleagues who are competent in their knowledge and capabilities, regardless of gender, race or ethnicity. So, when Shane climbed aboard ships, he was already respected and authorised to do the job he came to do. In that respect, LR being valued for its expertise, is itself a tool for overcoming prejudice – “I have never felt held back at LR, in fact I have been challenged and given every opportunity to grow; my role in improving sustainability is a social purpose that will be felt by generations to come”.