For Brian Bendixen, the three years he has worked at A2SEA have been quite an adventure. In that time, he has had the helm on SEA JACK, SEA WORKER and SEA INSTALLER, and now heads up operations aboard the latest addition to the A2SEA fleet, SEA CHALLENGER.

Before joining A2SEA, Brian worked in the oil industry, with his last two years in that industry as a ship’s master for product tankers, which move refined oil products from refineries to points near consuming markets.

Formally speaking, the master is responsible for a vessel’s safe and efficient operation, including cargo operations, navigation, crew management and regulatory compliance. Everyone on board, from officers and crew to passengers, guests and pilots, are the master’s responsibility – and under his authority.

“I’m responsible for everything that happens on board,” says Brian Bendixen. “And I’m the guy that deals with things when they go wrong.”

Brian’s day starts at 6 am. He officially stops again at 6 pm, then aims to be asleep around 10 pm. Like any master, however, he’s on call 24/7 – so he risks being back on his feet again at any time of night. Thankfully, that doesn’t happen so often, and Brian gives his officers and crew the credit for each good night of sleep.

“I’ve got good people around me, so I don’t need to constantly check up on them, just to assist with problems they can’t solve themselves. When the going gets tough, I’m the ultimate decision-maker, of course, but usually, the routines run as they should and we have a pretty flat hierarchy.”

Brian’s leadership style is people-oriented and involving, and he is convinced that this works best in offshore wind installation.

“I haven’t been in the military and I’m not the hard-core type,” he says. “I try to keep things down-to-earth, because I believe that you get the best out of your crew when they are happy and satisfied with what they’re doing, and are given responsibility along with their tasks. That’s the only way you can run a unit like this.”

At 8.30 am every day, there’s an operational meeting with ship staff, followed by a 9 am project meeting with client representatives and contractors to discuss upcoming installation tasks, safety and other issues.

He also works closely with land-based personnel such as A2SEA’s site manager, the project manager and, of course, the vessel superintendent. In any one week, he makes use of most of A2SEA’s infrastructure, working with all of the departments at headquarters in Fredericia, Denmark.

“For me, the best part of the job is the human interaction. Getting people to work together as a team is a great thing, and there are always new challenges, even though you might think we basically do the same tasks over and over again.”

Brian enjoys his work. When asked, in fact, it’s hard for him to find any downsides. Like other vessel personnel, however, he works 4 weeks on, 4 weeks off, so there’s always at least one such aspect: “The hardest thing is being away from my family, but that goes with the job.”

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