MESSAGE FROM OUR PRESIDENT & CEO
Safety is measured by what does not happen. No injuries. No spills. No releases.
But good safety is about much more than avoiding something going wrong. It starts at the culture of an organisation and good safety is simply good business and about care for yourself and your colleagues around you.
We operate in a high-risk environment and our staff onboard and ashore need to maintain a mindset of 'chronic unease'. A constant awareness that risks evolve, and that safety is never something we can take for granted. We want to create the conditions for things to go right, where people feel confident to speak up, systems are designed to recognise that humans make mistakes, and technology helps people do their jobs better and more safely.
I spoke about some of these at The Nautical Institute (Singapore) Conference during Safety@Sea week. Our seafarers today have better ships, better technology and far better information than when I first went to sea, but the responsibility they carry remains enormous, and the risks they face continue to change – from geopolitical conflicts and security threats to new fuels, new technologies and increasingly complex operations.
As an industry, we need to keep asking ourselves: are we making life safer and more effective for the people operating our ships?
At AET, this thinking shapes how we work, how we design and operate our vessels and how we improve our performance. The examples of colleagues recognised for speaking up and acting on risks in this edition show why this matters. Technology and innovation should reduce complexity, not add to it. Our recent retrofits aboard Eagle Hydra are a good example. By applying proven technologies to an existing vessel, we can improve efficiency and performance, reduce emissions while supporting safer, more reliable operations.
But improving the ships we operate today is only part of the challenge. We also need to prepare for what comes next. The energy transition will bring different fuels, technologies and infrastructure. Making them work at scale will require regulators and industry to work together. Through the Clean Energy Marine Hubs (CEM-HUBS) I look forward to playing my part in that effort.
We have a busy few months ahead, with AET colleagues participating in industry discussions around the world on energy security, new fuels, decarbonisation and the future of shipping. We look forward to continuing these conversations and, importantly, learning from the perspectives of our customers, partners and peers.
Thank you for your continued support and I hope you enjoy reading these highlights.
Best Regards,
Nick Potter
President & CEO
SAFETY & OUR PEOPLE
Speaking up for safety: Captain Piotr Sopala and the Eagle Colombo crew recognised with Shell Goal Zero Hero Award
Good safety depends on people having the confidence to recognise risk and act before an incident occurs.
Captain Piotr Sopala, Master of Eagle Colombo, received the Shell Goal Zero Hero Award on 20 August 2026 for identifying and proactively reporting a potential hazard, helping to prevent a more serious incident.
Congratulations to Captain Piotr and the Eagle Colombo crew on this outstanding achievement!
AET colleagues recognised at the 2026 OMBAK Awards
Congratulations to David Baker, Sayeed-Ul Mursalin and Aniszamari Ibrahim, for winning the HSSE Personality Award (Office-Based) at the 2026 OMBAK Awards, MISC Group’s annual HSSE recognition programme, on 2 September 2026 in Kuala Lumpur.
Their awards recognise different ways we put safety into practice:
- David for his HSSE leadership across AET Offshore, fostering open reporting, operational learning and a strong safety and wellbeing culture. In 2025, AET Offshore recorded zero incidents.
- Sayeed for speaking up after identifying a gap in passenger safety briefings and taking action to strengthen safety awareness.
- Anis for his leadership during a period of heightened security risk, keeping safety and security of our seafarers at the heart of decision-making.
AET’s vessel management partner, V.Ships France SAS, was also recognised with the Health & Wellbeing Excellence Award for its V.Care Employee Assistance Programme.
These examples reflect the behaviours that underpin our strong safety culture: leadership, speaking up and keeping our people at the heart of every decision.
DELIVERING PROGRESS
AET President & CEO takes on an expanded role in CEM-HUBS
Scaling low- and zero-emission fuels will require more than changes at sea. Energy producers, ports, shipping companies, regulators and customers will need to move together across the value chain.
Our President & CEO, Nick Potter, has been appointed Co-Chair of the Clean Energy Marine Hubs (CEM-HUBS) Steering Committee and Chair of the CEM-HUBS Private Sector Group.
Through CEM-HUBS, we will work with public and private sector partners, to help align efforts across the energy-maritime value chain, supporting the production, transportation and use of low- and zero-emission fuels, while contributing to greater energy security.
Read the CEM-HUBs announcement.
Improving the ships we operate today: proven measures aboard Eagle Hydra
The transition to lower-emission shipping isn’t only about new vessels. There is also meaningful progress to be made across the ships operating today.
Eagle Hydra has completed a series of retrofits to bring proven, scalable efficiency measures to the vessel, expected to offer substantial savings in fuel consumption and to reduce emissions.
The retrofit includes:
➡️ Full Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) deployment, the first retrofit on existing vessels in AET’s fleet
➡️ The fifth Propeller Boss Cap Fin installation in AET’s fleet
➡️ X-GIT graphene propeller coating
➡️ Low-friction hull coating
See the details of Eagle Hydra’s new efficiency measures and their impact.
AET CARES
AET SG colleagues join charity walk for children
Eight colleagues together with families and friends joined close to 3,600 participants at Singapore Children's Society's Walk for Our Children on Sunday, 23 August 2026.
This year's charity walk shone a spotlight on children's rights, including the right to be heard and respected. AET has supported Children's Society for more than 10 years through initiatives such as refurbishing the gym at VOX @ Children's Society, Sports Day, and annual beach clean-ups.
The event raised over S$950,000 (USD 750,000) to support children and youth across Singapore. We were very glad to have been able to contribute in a small way to this with our participation.
AET (Alpine Eagle Titans) takes on the Alps
Our Alpine Eagle Titans – Fathin Idris, David Kappelin and Martin Hildrum – took on The Mission to Seafarers’ inaugural Maritime Mountain Race in Le Bouveret, Switzerland, on 27 June 2026, completing the challenging 16km Sails & Summits course.
The event was part of a global fundraising effort that raised more than US$500,000 to support The Mission to Seafarers’ frontline welfare work for seafarers around the world.
With the 2026 race successfully completed, we’ll be keeping an eye out for the next challenge in 2027!
From 1 Heart to 3: AET earns highest tier Company of Good recognition
AET has earned Company of Good – 3 Hearts, the highest tier under Singapore's National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC)’s recognition framework, up from our previous 1-Heart rating.
The recognition reflects how purpose is woven into the way we operate. The 3-Hearts tier recognises organisations with a clear Corporate Purpose and robust plans to scale impact across economic, environmental, social, governance and people dimensions.
Our President & CEO, Nick Potter, received the award from Ms Low Yen Ling, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Culture, Community & Youth and Ministry of Trade & Industry, at NVPC's Company of Good Conference & Conferment on 20 July 2026.
Find out more about our #AETcares initiatives.
IDEAS BEYOND SHIPPING
Against the Odds - What can one of the world's toughest yacht races teach us about leadership?
How do you build trust, make tough decisions, and keep a team moving when pressure is relentless?
In the latest episode of AET’s Making Waves podcast, round-the-world yacht race skipper Mark Denton shares first-hand lessons from leading teams through uncertainty and high pressure, with practical takeaways for anyone leading an organisation, a project, or a small team.
🎙️ Catch the full conversation on Spotify!
UPCOMING EVENTS - WHERE TO MEET US
15 September 2026: Gastech 2026 – Sobhith Hariharan, Head of Decarbonisation, will be presenting "Pioneering Ammonia as a Fuel for Crude Carriers: Insights from World’s First Ammonia Dual-Fuel Aframax Tanker" at the session “Ammonia as a fuel: Session 1”.
15 September 2026: 18th Annual Capital Link Shipping & Marine Services Forum – Nick Potter, AET President and CEO, will join a panel discussion on “Energy Security and Shipping”.
17 September 2026: Veson Nautical’s 2026 Singapore Summit – Joey Chua, Head of Business Improvement, will be joining the panel discussion on "The Collaboration Advantage: A Client Panel on Uniting Teams and Workflows”.
21 – 24 September 2026: ROG.e 2026 – Meet the AET team at Rio Oil & Gas to explore our latest developments in dynamic positioning shuttle tankers (DPSTs) and ship-to-ship (STS) solutions for Brazil and beyond. Visit us at Pavilion: 4, Stand 56.
23 September 2026: 2026 Marine Money Week Asia – Benjamin Chan, Head of Commercial Assurance, Enterprise Risk and Performance Management, will join the panel “Strait of Hormuz, Re-stocking and The Tanker Orderbook” as a panellist.
24 September 2026: Splash Singapore – AET President & CEO Nick Potter will join senior global shipping leaders for the opening "Big Issues" panel, discussing the key trends shaping the industry's future.
14 October 2026: Singapore International Bunkering Conference and Exhibition 2026 – Smriti Sharma, Global Director of Strategy, Sustainability & Enterprise Risk Management, will be joining the panel “Shipowner’s Fuel Decision Today: Cost, Risk and Reality” as a panellist.
20 October 2026: World of Workato Singapore – Joey Chua, Head of Business Improvement will be joining the panel “Built to Move: How Leaders in Essential Industries are Embracing Frontier Mindsets”, discussing how organisations are approaching AI and modernisation in environments where safety, continuity and reliability are non-negotiable.
4 November 2026: International Association of Ports and Harbors World Ports Conference 2026 – AET President & CEO Nick Potter will be joining the panel discussion on “Competitiveness and security of maritime energy hubs”.
KEEP THE CONVERSATION GOING
Comments or feedback on this edition? Contact the AET Corporate Communications team at aetcc@aet-tankers.com
