Manit Chander
CEO, HiLo Maritime Risk Management
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Manit Chander CEO, HiLo Maritime Risk Management
An accident that nearly ended my career inspired me to do everything possible to improve safety at sea.

Transforming maritime safety through data
“My wrist was hanging loose, and I remember thinking that my career was in the balance” is how Manit describes an accident while testing a lifeboat on an oil tanker in 2006. “People called it a ‘freak’ event – but actually this sort of thing had been happening for years beforehand and was still happening. Why? Because nobody had the data to provide an assessment of different maritime risks.”
After two decades on tankers, the final years as Captain, Manit began looking at risk data while working for Shell before HiLo was spun-out as an independent not-for-profit company in 2018, with the support of Lloyd’s Register Foundation funding. “We now bring together data from almost 4,000 ships across 50 companies,” says Manit. “This web of interconnected events, from minor incidents through to high impact and sometimes fatal ones, means we can provide an objective insight into risk. Customers can see where best to focus their efforts in order to improve health and safety across the fleet.”
But while Manit is understandably proud of the analytics, he’s equally pleased that HiLo has achieved something never before seen in the industry. “For the first time, lots of different shipping companies are happy to share anonymised but commercially sensitive information. Crunching the data is relatively easy compared to the huge challenge of winning trust,” he says.
Manit is confident that the impressive results seen to date will continue to improve safety at sea. “Our customers are experiencing dramatic benefits,” he comments. “For example, tanker customers have seen a 32% reduction in explosions, 20% in uncontrolled loads and 10% in fuel spills. We’re also pleased to have achieved industry recognition, winning the Lloyd’s List Global Safety Award for 2018.”
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