Shadowing Practice: Navigating Change: DNV Maritime’s Vision for a Resilient Shipping Industry - Learn English Speaking with Video

Hello to everyone and welcome.

I'm Nicolas Bornaus of Capital Link and we are delighted to be joined today by Cristina Sanz de Santamaria, the CEO of DNV Maritime.

We are going to have an insightful discussion on the evolving maritime landscape hosted as part of Capital Link's expert talk series.

As the industry navigates an increasingly complex environment shaped by decarbonization,

regulation, digital transformation, and geopolitical uncertainty,

DNV continues to play a central role in helping stakeholders navigate both the challenges and opportunities ahead.

Christina recently assumed the leadership of DNV Maritime,

and today's discussion will explore her early priorities and strategic vision for the organization,

while also touching on some of the key developments for the industry as the industry looks ahead for its future.

So, Christina, thank you for joining us today.

First of all, I'd like to say, besides the congratulations that are long overdue now, because you've been on the CEO position for some time, I'd like to start by thanking you,

Knut, and the whole DNV team for the great cooperation we have had over the years.

And with this, let me ask you, you've been the CEO of DNV Maritime for a few months now.

What have you been your key observation so far?

And what are the priorities that shape your activities and initiatives for the organization right now?

Thank you.

Thank you so much, Nicolas, and thank you to Capital Link on behalf of myself, Knut, and DNB, first of all.

Yes, first, I think I would like to say that we had launched a new strategy from 1st of January 2026.

So in that sense, it was quite timely

that we had spent quite some time at the end of last year to look at the context in

which shipping and the world is and setting up the direction.

So in a way, when I took on the position, we knew what we had to do per se.

So it was more on execution mode.

Having said that, I think that the shifts and important trends that were shaping shipping,

which you have mentioned in terms of geopolitics,

right, the decarbonisation agenda, also the digital transformation and specifically AI.

I find that the pace at which we are seeing these trends and maybe the intensity at which they are

affecting the industry are more than what we had anticipated when we were preparing our strategy maybe six months ago.

As we all know, the year started with, in a way, it was 28th of June, with the conflict in the middle east

that reminded everyone of the importance of of shipping

and how the fact that uh the turmoil

that is happening across the strait of hormones is affecting uh

the security the security of energy uh right towards uh the uh countries and the super security of supplies, right?

So I would say that maybe an underlying red thread against everything that shipping is going through is that security aspect.

And that is also linked to the digitalization side and AI, because there's a lot of good things that can be done with those,

but there's also the dark side in terms of the cyber security part.

So it's really a complex time for the world and certainly for shipping.

But I believe that customers are looking for guidance in their complex times

and that is what we try to do in DNB,

to be pragmatic and help our customers with practical solutions, both through the classification, advisory.

So maybe if there were three words that really DNV stands for is safety,

reliability, independence, and forward-looking.

Safety, reliability, and forward-looking.

Yes.

Christina, let me ask you in terms of the strategic direction of DNV Maritime under your leadership.

You've been a key member of the DNV leadership for quite some time, but now you're the CEO.

So how do you see the organization evolving under your leadership?

I think it's a little bit related to the context that we are living in, right?

And I feel that the pace at

which we need to respond to the industry is much higher than what it was required six months ago.

Again, because of maybe the geopolitical tensions, and that makes that for example customers

that have vessels stuck there with their crew there we need

to go back with solutions to them today it's not good enough

that we reply to them in three months right just as a normal maybe project would have taken

so pace and speed and pragmatism

are key areas in whatever we are looking at whether it's a really um urgent aspect

that we need to do today maybe attend a remote survey on a vessel stuck in the straight for example

or or maybe whether it's helping them

because they are going to order a new building

and taking the best decision they have in terms of

which fuel to take or whether they should go for energy efficiency devices

so yeah fast pragmatic approaches is what we are trying to

to to provide the industry with now clearly as one of

the leading classification societies we have to provide solutions across the board for everything

that relates to ship operations

but let me start honing into specific areas for example let's talk about decarbonization in the regulatory direction

following the recent outcomes of napc 84 how do you see the industry uh moving forward

Do we have the clarity we need for long-term investment decisions?

Yeah.

So I think it has become clear that reaching consensus on greenhouse gas pricing mechanisms remains very difficult.

whereas I understand that the commitment to reach to net zero by 2050 remains there.

How to reach there is difficult and there's not alignment there, unfortunately.

So what does it mean?

It means that the risk of having more regional approaches and legislations will certainly

make the shipping context much more complex for the stakeholders and for the ship owners.

So I think, and what we try to advise our customers with is to start now

and to start building resilience and flexibility across different scenarios and certainly energy efficiency,

because irrespective of whatever shape or form of regulation,

we will have energy efficiency devices are good business case for the ship owners right now.

Well, clearly energy efficiency will improve the emissions reduction anyway.

But I think from the ship owner's viewpoint, they go to new buildings, they upgrade the fleet,

so they need to balance optionality against the multiple fuels of tomorrow with practical decisions that need to be taken today.

And I know that DNB has a lot of initiatives and advice in this area.

Can you share some more insight on that?

Yeah, I think that my reflections is that But unfortunately,

I see that waiting, given what we have seen in terms of how the process with the net zero framework is going,

I think that waiting for full regulatory clarity, it's a risk.

because it might take longer than what we had anticipated to get that consensus.

You have the CII, the EEXI, the EU ETS, and those are already shaping the fleets of today

and of tomorrow

so uh we need to have verified data regarding emissions uh in place today i think

that that will uh put in a better position ship owners with regards to their charterers you know commercial discussions

so working on your fleet composition looking at how to pull uh it's important i think

that it's important to have a solution

or a plan today even though it's not perfect rather than

waiting for the perfect clarity in the years to come i

think that's too risky unfortunately actually we had a discussion recently with the president of a major dryball company

and it was very interesting

that the industry may be getting help from an unexpected corner

100

given the very high prices of fuel now everybody may be slowing steam you know the speed may be less

101

and therefore the outcome will be fewer emissions uh so maybe that's that's going to be something to help the industry

102

absolutely yes but just sorry just sorry to interrupt but just to say that even just this

103

conflict in the middle east it's really making

104

that currently we have a huge ton mile driven market

105

so already the emissions that are happening because of that increase are painful

106

that's a very good point actually so the longer ton miles are going to offset whatever uh Yes, exactly.

107

So now let me move on to another point, the digitalization and innovation.

108

Now, beyond decarbonization, where do you see the most impactful opportunities for digitalization and shipping, and how is D&D positioning itself in the space?

109

I know that's a big area for you.

110

Yes, thank you so much, Nicola.

111

indeed i think digitalization and i would specifically point ai

112

because i also believe again

113

that in the last six months ai has proven to be able to have a much wider impact

114

that maybe we had anticipated before

115

and it can bring really very big improvements in terms of performance right

116

and efficiency which is what what the industry could benefit on

117

but it needs to be used responsibly

118

and as i said before uh you know with every positive

119

side you have the the the risk associated within this crisis in this case is the cyber security one

120

which is uh something that uh can have uh yeah terrible consequences

121

if not taken uh seriously so i think that uh that should become kind of a hygiene factor,

122

the same as safety on board the vessels, both from the IT side and the OT side.

123

So that's something that we are investing a lot in D&B.

124

I don't think there's a simple AI playbook for shipping, unfortunately.

125

So it will be a lot of tests and trial and learn.

126

but there are concrete opportunities like route optimization,

127

some anomaly detection that can prevent us from disasters and again helping us become more efficient.

128

We are taking ourselves that medicine in a way

129

and really challenging on how to apply AI more in our operations both internally and towards customers.

130

For example, we are doing it in our survey processes, regulatory navigation on customer support right and also in terms of where we have a

131

the rule agent to help both our internal experts

132

and the customers navigate easily through our rules and standards

133

and the list goes on but we need to be open-minded and and hope that ai

134

will enhance our performance to make the industry safer and more efficient

135

and be able to adapt to the difficult context and environment

136

that we are against that thank you christina by the way another topic

137

that has always been very big for sweeping and i think it's even bigger now is safety

138

safety of proof safety of the human factor

139

and i know that's another big area for for dmd as well you would like to share some insight on that?

140

Yes, no, I think that absolutely safety and to be honest,

141

safety is our reason for being for DMV and the class societies in general.

142

And again, when such conflicts like the one in Middle East appear,

143

it really reminds everyone about the safety, especially of the seafarers.

144

I think we had a similar though, different context through the crisis we had with COVID pandemic some time back.

145

And now again, we have a huge lot of seafarers stuck there under tremendous stress

146

and I think we need to as an industry we need to make our best to help them in terms of safety,

147

their wellbeing, connectivity and nonetheless help them adapt

148

and to be able to take what the industry is going to require in terms of new competences, new technologies, new fuels and so forth.

149

So we have a responsibility towards them, I feel.

150

Thank you, Cristina.

151

So you talked in the opening remarks about risk and resilience.

152

So looking forward, how should companies look at the future?

153

How should they look at risk, risk at opportunities ahead.

154

Any suggestions?

155

Yes.

156

So obviously it's very difficult, but I think that again,

157

I would like to mention energy efficiency because obviously depends the device on what type of vessel you have, the trade, the size and so forth.

158

But in general, I believe that that's a very good business case and investment for any ship owners to look at.

159

I think that trying to bet for one scenario of how the future might look like is very risky.

160

So finding solutions that will give you the best resilience in multiple scenarios,

161

I think it's a very smart move.

162

And I think I mentioned it in the beginning, having a strategy, whether it's not perfect, but at least have something prepared,

163

I think it's better to just wait and see, certainly.

164

And then the other aspect, though I know it's easier said than done, is building that flexibility in your fleet.

165

I think it's important that we look at fleets in total, not just vessel specific.

166

And that hopefully should give the ship owners some flexibility and some leverage to work in different type of ships,

167

depending on when they're trade and so forth.

168

So, yeah, flexibility, having a strategy now, even though it's perfect and that it can be resilient in different possible scenarios in the future.

169

But now closing our discussion, and that's not a softball statement or question, but I think given exactly the extremely complicated world we live in,

170

all the challenges around for ship owners and every industry participant,

171

I think it makes the role of classification societies at DNV even more important because a lot of people exactly,

172

a lot of stakeholders are coming to you to the classification societies for help, for insight, for solutions.

173

So I think that really enhances your very important position in the industry right now.

174

Thank you.

175

Thank you, Nicola.

176

I love the statements on that.

177

Essentially, the role of the class society is in today's puzzle, if I can call it that way.

178

Thank you.

179

Thank you, Nicola.

180

I fully agree with you.

181

I think the role of class is more relevant than ever on having those independent facts and statements, right?

182

it will be good for the industry.

183

So we had a very good discussion.

184

I appreciate very much your being with us.

185

Thank you.

186

We had Christina Sanz de Santamaria, the CEO of the Envi Maritime.

187

Thank you for sharing your insight on the many challenges, opportunities, risks, and initiatives that the industry has to implement going forward.

188

I'd like also to thank everybody who joins us to listen to this webcast.

189

And please, this will be available for replay again on capitalinkswebinar.com and capitalinkwebinars.com and our YouTube channel.

190

And Christina, thank you again for being with us today.

191

Thank you, Nicolas and Capital Inc.

192

See you soon.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing Practice: Navigating Change: DNV Maritime’s Vision for a Resilient Shipping Industry - Learn English Speaking with Video

Context & Background

Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication

Step-by-step Shadowing Guide

What is the Shadowing Technique?