Leading naval architecture and marine engineering consultancy Foreship has appointed Brendan Harris as Director, Project Management Services, Foreship LLC, in a clear signal of its strategy to grow the company’s US-based business activities.
Harris will be based at Foreship’s Seattle offices and take responsibility for driving regional growth in the group’s project management of ship refurbishment, focusing on fast-returning demand in the cruise sector and opportunities in the ferry market.
Well-known by multiple industry stakeholders, Harris joins Foreship from BC Ferry Services, where he oversaw a substantial fleet overhaul and upgrade and developed new quality control processes for fleet capital improvements. Previously, as Senior Project Manager, Vessel Refurbishment, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, he took responsibility for more than $300 million in NCL vessel drydocks, with notable projects including the ‘westernization’ of NCL Joy and the high value NCL Spirit refurbishment.
“This is a significant appointment by Foreship LLC of a leader in the field,” said Benjamin Sward, President, Foreship LLC. “Brendan is one of only a handful of professionals whose experience as a project manager include leading a $100 million-plus cruise refurbishment. He has supported the execution of +50 cruise and ferry dry dock refurbishments.”
The cruise industry lost knowledge and experience as a result of the Covid-19 shutdown, as talented staff moved on, Sward added. Harris brought “a unique set of skills, expertise and insights to Foreship in the US at a critical moment for our clients’ revived and new refurbishment plans”. His experience also takes in more than a decade with Gregg’s Marine Interiors, where duties included managing 100+ teams of shipwrights working on a Royal Caribbean Cruise Line revitalization project, said Sward.
The new Director will be tasked with strengthening Foreship’s US-based capabilities in the planning and implementation phases of project work. He will consolidate existing links with yards and contractors and optimize the relationship between project management and technical support to enhance the ‘on-call’ services cruise and ferry owners increasingly need. He will also focus on enhancing comprehensive project management support for owners seeking to fast-track ambitious refurbishment programs.
In doing so, Harris said he looked forward to working within an organization with which he has become wholly familiar as a customer.
“I’m delighted to join Foreship at a pivotal moment for the industry,” he said. “Cruise ship refurbishment is making a comeback and the landscape has changed - especially in the supply chain and in human resources. I’m eager to meet these challenges and work with owners as part of the robust and experienced team that Foreship has built over the last 20 years. I’ve been fortunate to have had their support on major refurbishment projects in the past.”
Over the last 20 years, Foreship has supported more than 1,200 refurbishment projects, including everything from feasibility studies to dry dock execution. Today, the company draws on support from over 80 in-house naval architects and engineers.
