Navigating Forward Together Leadership, Safety and Motivation at Uniteam Marine
Since joining Uniteam Marine in August 2023 Captain Leonard Rodriguez Quality Safety and Environment Manager and Designated Person Ashore has had the privilege of working alongside a team that consistently demonstrates professionalism resilience and a shared commitment to excellence.
“As the company’s Quality Safety and Environment Manager and Designated Person Ashore I’d like to share a message about what drives us forward leadership and our collective pursuit of safety and operational efficiency both onboard and ashore” he says.
In the maritime industry conditions change rapidly. Weather patterns shift voyage instructions evolve and cargo types vary from port to port. Captain Rodriguez points out that these changes demand more than technical expertise. “They require situational leadership.”
He explains “Situational leadership means adapting our approach based on the environment the team’s readiness and the task at hand. A strong leader knows when to direct when to coach and when to delegate. This flexibility is essential to maintaining safety and efficiency under pressure.”
According to him seafarers demonstrate this daily adapting to new cargo handling procedures responding to unexpected weather and implementing revised voyage plans. “Their ability to adjust is a testament to the strength of our crews and the value of leadership that responds to reality not routine.”
For Captain Rodriguez resilience is more than endurance it’s the ability to recover refocus and perform under challenging conditions. In our industry resilience isn’t optional it’s essential.
At Uniteam Marine we foster resilience through training support and a culture that values learning from adversity. We don’t just prepare for smooth sailing we prepare to thrive in any condition.
To remain competitive and sustainable he believes adaptation must go hand in hand with innovation. That means encouraging teams to seek smarter solutions suggest new tools and embrace technologies that enhance our work and deliver sustainable service.
He lists digital platforms real time monitoring systems predictive maintenance tools and crew welfare applications as examples of technology that can:
- Improve operational efficiency
- Minimise costs through smarter resource use
- Enhance safety through better data and decision making
- Improve quality of life onboard by reducing manual workload increasing connectivity
“At Uniteam Marine we are committed to exploring and implementing technologies that support both performance and wellbeing. Your ideas and feedback are essential to this journey.”
Captain Rodriguez also connects motivation to results. “Our motivation is driven by performance and improvement not complacency. That’s why we’ve integrated third party inspection requirements such as the RightShip Questionnaire and SIRE 2.0 into our audits and inspection strategy. These benchmarks push us to meet high standards and maintain continuous improvement.”
By aligning internal audits and training programmes with evolving industry frameworks we ensure our vessels and crews are always prepared compliant and performing at their best.
Training and development he stresses remain at the heart of the company’s success. “The company doesn’t just support systems it supports people. Our training centre and company developed programmes go beyond STCW requirements delivered through platforms like KREDO and other providers.”
He also reflects on his role “As Quality Safety and Environment Manager and Designated Person Ashore my role is to ensure our systems and culture empower everyone to work safely and effectively. But this is a shared journey. We must continue building a culture of trust transparency and continuous improvement.”
And his message to all colleagues is clear:
“If you see a risk report it, if you have an idea share it, together we navigate forward.”
