BW’s employees are central to our mission and vision to be Best on Water. By creating a healthy and diverse workplace onshore and at sea, BW builds a culture of innovation, high performance, and Zero Harm.
BW Wellness Programme
The BW Wellness Programme is designed to promote the mental and physical wellbeing of seafarers, while fostering a sense of togetherness onboard.
BW’s employees are central to our mission and vision to be Best on Water. We recognise a healthy and diverse work environment, onshore and at sea, is important for fostering a culture of innovation, high performance, and safety.
The BW Wellness Programme is designed to bring about a cultural shift throughout the organisation, providing ongoing support for the holistic well-being of our seafarers.
The BW Wellness Programme offers a variety of activities that can be chosen based on individual preferences and schedules. A unique aspect of the programme are the Inter-vessel Challenges, which allow seafarers from different vessels within BW to participate in friendly competitions. These challenges foster camaraderie and collaboration among seafarers.
The Programme also encourages them to create their own challenges, with monthly recognition for top-performing vessels. As a reward for active participation, monthly rewards are provided as incentives.
The BW Wellness Programme uses internet and mobile-enabled platforms to provide a personalized experience, based on individual health data, including meal plans, exercise reminders, and mindfulness exercises. Crew members can easily access areas of interest, including fitness, nutrition, wellness, and education.
In 2023, BW significantly increased seafarers’ participation rates across all fleets, with around 70% involved in at least one social activity per month. This success was fueled by the dedication of Wellness Ambassadors aboard ships, who actively engaged seafarers in social interactions.
Diversity and Inclusion
We believe our global businesses should reflect the world we serve.
Different nationalities
Diversity and inclusion is part of BW’s culture. BW is committed to diversity and inclusion. We support the development of our employees, and we are proud that so many of our people choose to remain at BW for a long time.
The collective sum of individual differences, life experiences, knowledge, capabilities, and talent constitute our culture. BW embraces differences in age, ethnicity, family and relationships, and all other characteristics that make our employees unique.
Gender Diversity
According to the IMO, women represent just 2% of approximately two million seafarers globally, and 94% of these women have chosen to work in the cruise industry. For onshore positions, the balance is better, and most of our offices comprise an average of over 30% female employees.
Local recruitment and training
We are committed to developing employees, and we ensure our development programme shortlists are representative of our diverse workforce. In 2023, we launched Explorer, our inaugural six-month people leadership development programme designed for bite-sized learning, with insights, tools, and techniques to equip our managers to lead with greater impact. Held in Oslo and Singapore, with online electives, the programme was attended by a global cohort of 95 participants across multiple affiliates.
Regardless of the country BW works in, training and integration is key to a sustainable pool of local seafarers. Having gathered significant experience over the years, we now have an extensive recruitment and training process for seafarers.
Familiarising seafarers with BW and shipping culture is also a priority. For example, in Nigeria, we set up the BW Crew Integration Programme to bridge cultural and language differences and develop positive relationships across people of different ranks.
BW Cadet Programme
Beyond providing job opportunities for locals in the areas where we do business, BW has set up the BW Group Cadet program to develop our own in-house talent around the world. Having this talent pool ensures a steady supply of officers to all our managed vessels.
Aligned with our commitment to develop local maritime experience, in certain countries, our Cadets selected from ratings and maritime academies are fully sponsored by BW to pursue their maritime university studies. Over the years, BW has developed more than 1,832 cadets from the Philippines, India, China, Nigeria, Russia, Romania and other countries. 659 of them currently sail as BW Officers today.
