When Murat Demir studied business at CBS, he had no idea that he would end up working in shipping. That all changed when he began looking for post-graduate trainee positions and successfully applied for a job with a liner container shipping company.
“I realized I needed a position that would allow me to sharpen more of my business skills.”
“My first position was a great start for my career,” Murat recalls. “I learned the basics of liner container shipping pretty fast and soon had a lot of responsibility. But while I knew I wanted to continue in shipping, I also realized I needed a position that would allow me to sharpen more of my business skills.”
So, Murat decided to apply to TORM’s trainee program.
“The chance to rotate through different departments in a large, international and very professional shipping company was a great way to learn,” he says.
“This is especially true at TORM, which not only owns its own ships, but also has all of their commercial and technical departments in-house, so you really get a 360-degree view of what makes for successful shipping.”
Murat still counts the negotiation of his first bunker purchase - worth several hundred thousand dollars - as a highlight of his early trainee days. “That’s a lot of money for a trainee, so it was really exciting to be given the responsibility to make the deal and see it through.”
“It was really exciting to be given the responsibility to make the deal.”
From trainee to full-time employee and expat - and increasing responsibility
After a successful trainee period, Murat was offered a job as an assistant operator in Tanker Operations, which included two years in Singapore as an expat. While in Singapore, he was promoted to assistant manager and then operations manager.
Upon returning to DK, he applied for a chartering position. Murat is now responsible for all of TORM’s Medium Range tankers in one of its most important markets: everywhere between the Gulf of Suez and Singapore.
“What makes this role particularly interesting for someone like me is that you have to use a wide variety of tools to be successful.”
“Put simply, it’s my job to make sure that our tankers in the region help our customers get their products from A to B and at the same time deliver on our commercial targets. The market is extremely competitive, there are many moving parts that need to come together to make a deal, and the pace can be pretty fast. What makes this role particularly interesting for someone like me is that you have to use a wide variety of tools to be successful. You have to be able to recognize and maximize business opportunities. You need to be very customer-focused and able to build and maintain relationships. Your negotiation skills really get a workout every day. Every day is different. It also helps if you are curious by nature and like to keep up on current events that impact everything from oil prices to shipping lanes to macroeconomics.”
What makes TORM different?
According to Murat, one of the big differences between TORM and other shipping companies is how the One TORM platform works in everyday business.
“It’s my job to fix contracts for our tankers with our customers,” he explains, “but I also need consider many other things, including vessel maintenance schedules and crew needs. Where we start and end a voyage matters both to our technical department, that keeps our ships running optimally, and to our Marine HR department, that knows when and where it’s best to arrange crew changes and whatever else they need. Because we have everything inhouse and all key functions are supported by the One TORM platform, we can make intelligent, holistic decisions fast - and that gives us a competitive edge.”
Another aspect of TORM that is important to Murat is its open, international culture. “The TORM organization is relatively flat. If you need information or some other kind of help, the door is open, and people are accessible - no matter what department they are in, no matter where in the world they are. That’s great for a guy like me who is very curious about how things work.”