North Star Shipping
Technical Superintendent (Hamburg)
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Job Title: Technical Superintendent
Department: Technical
Division: North Star
Location: Hamburg
Hours: Full Time (Hybrid working week)
Main Purpose of Job:
The Technical Superintendent is responsible for the technical integrity, maintenance delivery, and engineering assurance of assigned vessels, ensuring vessels remain safe, compliant, reliable, and 'In Class', while supporting the Vessel Manager as the asset owner to deliver contracted performance and commercial outcomes.
Operating within the North Star Integrated Management System (IMS), the role drives technical availability and reliability, reducing unplanned downtime/off-hire exposure through disciplined maintenance governance, defect elimination, and robust technical reporting.
For SOV/CSOV assets, the role provides technical authority for mission-critical systems (e.g., DP/power management and walk-to-work systems) and, where applicable, supports commissioning/acceptance readiness for newbuilds, conversions, or major upgrades.
Reporting Relationship:
- Reports to:
- Group Technical Manager (Direct – Functional)
- Vessel Manager (Indirect - Matrix Asset Based)
- Key Interfaces:
- Master/Chief Engineer
- Operations
- QHSSE
- Crewing & HR
- Finance
- Procurement/Projects
- Class/Flag/Port State
- OEMs and approved contractors
Authority & Accountability:
The Technical Superintendent operates with delegated authority for technical planning, specification, contractor control, and engineering decisions required to maintain assigned vessels in a safe, compliant, audit-ready condition aligned to the North Star Integrated Management System (IMS) and the Vessel Manager’s approved asset plan.
The role is accountable for delivering technical OPEX/CAPEX performance against approved budgets/forecasts, escalating material variance and risk before spending is committed, and ensuring all technical activity is evidence-led and controlled through the company’s authoritative systems (e.g., Shipsure ERP), avoiding informal bypassing through spreadsheets or email-only tracking.
Key Work Areas Responsible For:
Technical Integrity, Compliance & Audit-Readiness
- Maintain continuous oversight of vessel material condition, technical risk, and certification status, ensuring vessels remain safe, compliant, In Class, and audit-ready at all times.
- Plan, coordinate, and close out statutory, Class, and Flag surveys, including Conditions of Class, with robust evidence and on-time completion.
- Ensure technical records and close-outs meet IMS expectations and stand up to audit scrutiny (quality evidence, traceability, and governance).
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Planned Maintenance, Reliability & Defect Elimination
- Own PMS/defect governance quality: defects are assessed, prioritised, actioned, and closed with supporting evidence and system discipline.
- Monitor machinery performance and repeat failures; drive Root Cause Analysis (RCA), defect elimination, and reliability improvements to protect availability and reduce unplanned downtime/off-hire exposure.
- Provide clear technical direction to Masters and Chief Engineers on maintenance standards, breakdown response, and escalation thresholds.
SOV/CSOV Mission-Critical Systems & Technical Readiness
- Act as subject matter expert for mission-critical systems (DP/station-keeping, diesel-electric/power management, walk-to-work/gangway systems, hotel/POB critical systems, and transfer craft where fitted).
- Ensure operational readiness through disciplined maintenance, vendor governance, and performance trending to protect safety and charter compliance.
- Lead technical readiness for mobilisations/conversions/upgrades, including acceptance planning, punch-list control, and commissioning evidence where applicable.
Major Repairs, Modifications CAPEX & Dry Dockings
- Develop and deliver (with Vessel Manager approval) annual maintenance plans, docking specifications, and rolling lifecycle/CAPEX plans based on condition, risk, surveys, and obsolescence.
- Plan and technically manage emergency repairs/docking/major interventions, ensuring Class/Flag integration, variation control, cost control, and safe execution.
- Ensure redelivery is supported by testing/commissioning records, Class acceptance, clear residual risk statements, and full close-out (including lessons learned).
Financial Control – Technical OPEX/CAPEX Delivery
- Provide bottom-up vessel technical budget inputs and rolling forecasts based on real condition, defect maturity, survey windows, and planned work.
- Monitor and control technical spend against approved OPEX/CAPEX, escalating material variance early and maintaining a clear audit trail through requisition/PO/invoice discipline.
- Ensure costs, work orders, and defects are linked in the authoritative system to preserve financial and technical traceability.
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Leadership, Interfaces & Emergency Response
- Act as the shore-based technical authority for assigned vessels, coaching and challenging shipboard engineering teams to sustain consistent standards.
- Coordinate effectively with Operations, QHSSE, Crewing, Finance, Procurement, Projects, Class/Flag, OEMs, and contractors to deliver controlled outcomes.
- Provide calm technical leadership during breakdowns/casualties, ensuring containment, documentation, escalation, and learning (RCA and preventive actions).
Qualifications and Experience:
Essential
- Degree in Marine/Mechanical/Electrical Engineering or Chief Engineer CoC / STCW management level (or equivalent shore-based competence).
- Proven track record delivering class/statutory compliance, dry dockings/major repairs, defect control, and maintenance assurance in an offshore vessel environment.
- Demonstrable capability in technical budget control/forecasting and disciplined use of PMS/ERP systems for evidence-led reporting.
Desirable
- SOV/CSOV experience including DP and diesel-electric/power management and/or walk-to-work access systems.
- Commissioning/acceptance exposure (FAT/SAT/sea trials/handover) for newbuilds, conversions, or major upgrades.
- Strong competence in vendor management and performance improvement/learning transfer across vessels/fleet.
Personal Qualities/Characteristics:
- Evidence-led judgement and strong governance mindset: no tolerance for undocumented deferral, weak close-out, or informal bypass of controls.
- Organised, resilient, and decisive under pressure with strong stakeholder management across ship/shore, yards, OEMs, Class/Flag, and internal functions.
- Commercially disciplined and improvement-driven: protects uptime, controls cost, and converts defects/incidents into reliability improvements.
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