PB Tankers is exploring the possibility, along with International Partners, to set up a division specialised in the operations & management of Research and Oceanographic vessels, to enhance our experitise by extending our Mission and its core values in terms of operational efficiency.
Statement from PB Tankers
Rome, July 4, 2019
In an announcement dated July 3, 2019, The US Department of Treasury, Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) de-listed PB Tankers S.p.A. and its owned and managed ships (Gold Point, Ice Point, Indian Point, Iron Point, Silver Point and Alba Marina Floating Storage), removing them from their OFAC list in relation to Venezuela sanctions.
The US Department of State has also acknowledged all the concrete and meaningful actions of the Company.
As a result of the delisting, all property and interests in property, which had been blocked as a result of the designation, are unblocked, and all transactions involving the Company and its ships are no longer prohibited.
In one of the fastest delistings in recent OFAC history, PB Tankers’ history of compliance and its continued commitment to strong compliance policies and procedures, as well as the support of the Italian Institutions and the quality of the information provided by the Company in relation to its involvement with Venezuela, were cited for the resolution of the case.
PB Tankers wishes to thank the Italian Institutions and in particular the Italian Embassy in Washington for their unstinted support, together with their professional advisors, Hill Dickinson of London (Julian Clark and Siiri Duddington) and Blank Rome of Washington DC (Matthew J. Thomas), for helping the Company to resolve this unfortunate situation.
All PB Tankers’ fleet remain fully crewed and in Class and ready to resume trading. Three of the vessels are in Freeport, The Bahamas, one is in Rotterdam and one is off Istanbul.
“We are open for business and wish to thank our crews, our customers and business partners for their patience and understanding through this very difficult period” says the Company.
Federica Barbaro, attended the conference “Geoeconomics of infrastructure investments: opportunities for the Italian System”, organized within the Infrastructure Observatory promoted by ISPI, with the knowledge partnership of McKinsey & Company.
During the event, held in Rome on April 9th, our Company participated in the debate together with the leaders of the most important Italian companies in the transport, energy and telecommunications industries. The purpose of the meeting was to create a dialogue between institutions, partners and sector operators with the aim of investigating the country’s opportunities related to the development of infrastructure.
What is the macroeconomic impact of infrastructure? How the increased global connectivity influences the relations between states? How can the public and private sectors work together to encourage more investment?
Important stakeholders have been called to speak in order to answer these questions, such as Giampiero Massolo (ISPI and Fincantieri), Stefano Napoletano and Nicola Sandri (McKinsey & Company), Claudio Andrea Gemme (Anas), Luigi Gubitosi (TIM) and Federica Barbaro who represented the maritime transport sector and presented the industry main critical issues and opportunities, suggesting a solution to increase international competitiveness and economic growth in the country.
During her speech, Federica Barbaro highlighted the five key topics linked to the maritime transport infrastructure system:
During her speech, Federica Barbaro, had the opportunity to illustrate some of the virtuous initiatives that have marked the commitment of our Company in the adoption of new technologies and solutions for decreasing the environmental impact.
Statement from PB Tankers
Rome, April 15, 2019
PB Tankers is shocked and concerned by the action taken by OFAC (US Office of Foreign Assets Control) in adding the company and a number of the company’s vessels to the current SDN (Specially Designated Nationals) list in relation to trade with Venezuela. This has been done without any notification or contact with the Company. As a consequence, we will be taking immediate steps to ensure that both are delisted as a matter of urgency.
PB Tankers, an Italian shipping company with more than 100 years of service to the international community, has been taking regular advice from both its UK and US lawyers and has been taking all possible steps to ensure compliance with current US sanctions including, but not limited to, restriction of trade under a single time charter contract which predates the current sanctions regime. PB Tankers does not have any ships in Venezuela, nor will be trading into or out of Venezuela.
It is therefore extremely disappointing that the US/OFAC have decided to take such action against an Owner who has throughout done everything possible to comply.
PB Tankers will continue to meet its obligations as a matter of international law.
Contact Pat Adamson + 44 7836 766 947.
Today we want to focus on a very important issue in our sector and how we have dealt with it: cybersecurity. We had already looked at the problem in the maritime area from some years now, studying the experiences of other sectors on the same issue, even before the threat hit the shipping system.
In 2017, the expert Raul R. Walters, Director of the Global ABS CyberSafety program, has announced the imminent arrival of cyber attacks that would undermine the security of our sector at multiple levels. During the same years, we’ve made official our company project management with the aim of providing PB Tankers with a structured maritime cybersecurity system capable of protecting its ships and its network.
We have therefore created a working group within our company organization chart, including the skills of Information Technology, Operational Technology, Quality Systems, Ship Security, Electronic and Instrumental Navigation, Insurance with these goals. We formed a team, operating both in Rome and in Palermo, coordinated by the figure of the CSO of PB Tankers, to which the assignment has been submitted to develop a detailed analysis of the vulnerabilities of the systems, appraising the risks of it and proceeding in the development of an effective cybersecurity plan.
The priority of our project was to establish a defensive strategy able to counteract the two main cyber threats in the area of maritime transport: cyberpiracy and cyberspying. As regards the security of ports and ships, the strategy included protecting goods from theft, smuggling and computer hacking to defend shipments from being detected, intercepted and manipulated by cyber pirates. To safeguard the Company’s headquarters, a security plan was set up to shield data and sensitive information at the center of a possible cyber espionage attack, which is often used as an instrument to achieve an industrial advantage.
After a careful analysis of threats, risks and vulnerabilities, our team promptly identified the necessary actions to mitigate critical issues: the plan included various initiatives from training for ground and on-board personnel to the adoption of software and hardware dedicated to the recognition and interception of potential threats, as well as the drafting and the promulgation of best practices to be followed for the use of corporate and private devices at our disposal (laptops and mobile phones).
Consciousness and innovation are, therefore, the central elements that immediately distinguished the maritime cybersecurity management plan developed by our team, which outlined a policy aimed at personnel education and the use of modern and effective technologies in order to protect sensitive informations and goods.
The information system in the world of maritime transport can, in fact, be extremely vulnerable to potential attacks, considering that to date, around 30,000 boats worldwide have equipment that provides constant internet access: a constantly evolving number, considering that in 2008 there were only 6,000. Furthermore, the global nature of business relationships and the diversity of operational activities expose the industry to a wide range of cyber security threats.
An example of this vulnerability lies in the fact that many shipping companies rely on numerous local partners around the world, exposing back-end system links and information flows that are sensitive to potential local security weaknesses.
In May 2018, we formalized the cybersecurity manual and the procedures became operational both on the ground and on board. After the first six months, we have analyzed the results and planned the expansion and strengthening of the procedures to guarantee increasingly effective and complete protection. Today we are ready to improve the work done so far, because constantly improving is in the DNA of PB Tankers, well impressed in our team work values: Courage and strive to be better!
What are the opportunities set up by Shipping 4.0 and what impact do they have on the implementation of innovative ecological technologies in the marine field? Federica Barbaro, CEO of PB Tankers, launches the challenge to the audience of the Millennials Ambassadors Forum (MAF), the think tank aimed at the mentorship of the new generations who want to join the entrepreneurial market with successful projects.
During the “Connecting Generations” panel, held on November 7 at Nuvola Lavazza in Turin, Federica Barbaro shared the story of PB Tankers with the young audience, presenting the results of the Company and its future scenarios and launching a challenge for the #IdeasWork contest, dedicated to ecology and innovation, on the use of the Internet of Things applied to Shipping.
In fact, Gruppo Barbaro and PB Tankers have always anticipated regulations by choosing to take virtuous paths to reduce the environmental impact: it was decided to apply for ISO 14001 certification and to translate this commitment into concrete actions, for example by equipping each ship with sensors to measure consumption in real time. The challenge proposed to the Millennials has thus had the purpose to bring to light an aspect of fundamental importance in the Shipping field, encouraging problem solving and the ability to deepen matters and to achieve a common goal: to identify possible solutions in the data collection and processing in order to exploit new technologies dedicated to reducing environmental impact.
A challenge caught up with enthusiasm by the young participants, who will present their projects by January 31, 2019 and that will see the first five classified win the opportunity to present their ideas to the PB Tankers management team in the Roman headquarters of the company with the possibility to have a direct comparison with the team responsible for ship management.
The “Safety Excellence And Leadership” Forum is a pivotal event for the maritime industry. This first edition will take place in Rome on September, 28th 2017. PB Tankers’ Marine Manager Roberto Nulli Gabbiani is among the selected speakers of the conference and will share the company’s best practices in terms of safety and security with professionals and leading experts in the maritime field. The aim of the Forum is to spread and share the best “Safety & Leadership Practices“ defining the role of Leadership and its influence on preventing risks and accidents and on business development.
PB Tankers top management has once again optimized its processes in order to keep the company at the forefront of a market that is ever more competitive.
The economic crisis has created new challenges for the shipping industry over the last decade. In these circumstances, one must ride the waves of change and adapt in order to make strategic decisions that turn challenges into opportunities. Our leadership is continuously striving to improve the company’s skill set in order to approach these changes head-on.
PB Tankers knows we have to re-invent the future and shape our organization according to the times we are living in. Working toward this goal, we have focused on the fundamentals: people, efficiency, and modernization. It came naturally to ask ourselves: are the company’s vision, mission and corporate values still relevant and achievable? And are they actually being implemented?
Early in 2016, we decided to redefine our core values by re-familiarizing ourselves with the Safety and Environmental Policy principles and goals and ask ourselves: do our company’s daily operations reflect these goals?
A comprehensive and anonymous survey was prepared and distributed to all of our employees. The response from our crew was outstandingly extensive and allowed for a well-informed re-definition of our core values, which has been implemented on our websites, in our policies and daily work.
This year, in the process of acting and being recognised as a High-Reliability Organization (HRO), we have prepared a new Safety Culture Survey according to the “ABS Guidance Notes on Safety Culture and Leading Indicators of Safety, 2014” and in line with the available tools and checklists associated with these Safety Culture guidelines.
The Safety Culture Survey is intended to be a tool for measuring our levels of communication, empowerment, feedback, mutual trust, problem identification, promotion of safety, responsiveness and safety awareness.
As PB Tankers CEO, Federica Barbaro, has stated on the matter:
“The future of this sector is really about innovation, people and excellence. Our strength is based on the collaboration between a skilled management team onboard and ashore and the commitment to an open and safe ship-shore working environment. I am sure that all our people will enthusiastically contribute to the new Safety Culture Survey in order to work together toward a positive future.”
The changing of the sea bottom was properly detected by the onboard equipment of the ship and confirmed with the evaluations made by local port authorities.
In agreement with all interested parties it was decided to direct the ship towards the Port of Marghera.
Moreover, it was confirmed that the steer neither during the approach to the dock, nor following departure from Pescara, had by any means damaged the ship or touched the sea bottom.
PB Tankers achieved “High Performance” Company Status in the Paris MoU PSC targeting system. The company’s fleet is now “LOW RISK”.
Thanks to the excellent results of the last three years of Port State Control inspections in the Paris MoU area (Europe, Russia and Canada), PB Tankers achieved the status of “High Performance” Company.
This goal could be achieved after in-depth analysis and evaluations, during which PB Tankers’s fleet received an average of 0.9 deficiencies per inspections and no detentions.
The “High Performance” Status is particularly important since it represents the last requirement to meet the highest standard for vessels within the Paris MoU, which is “LOW RISK SHIP”.
Today, all PB Tankers vessels engaged in international trading are considered “LOW RISK SHIPS”. As such, they get the highest level of trust by European Authorities and shall be targeted for inspection only once every three years.
This excellent result it is part of PB Tankers’s continuos effort to identify and assess all risks associated to ship’s operations and establish proper safeguards against them. Flying flags that are ranking at the top of “white list” and cooperating with technical partners, such as RINA (also awarded as High Performance Organisation by Paris MoU), are all strategic decisions that helped PB Tankers reached this achievement.
The Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control (Paris MoU) consists of 27 participating maritime Administrations and covers the waters of the European coastal States and the North Atlantic basin from North America to Europe.
The Mission of Paris MoU is to eliminate the operation of sub-standard ships through a harmonized system of port State control.
PB Tankers is a company of the Pietro Barbaro Group that owns and operates a fleet of medium range (MR) tankers, built and managed according to the highest standards of quality, reliability and safety.
