Environment | Social | Governance
Download ESG Report 2021

Social

Material Issues
  • Employment
  • Diversity, Equal Opportunity and Non-Discrimination
  • Training and Education
  • Occupational Health and Safety
  • Emergency Preparedness
  • Response to Social Crisis

Our People

Attract, Retain, Motivate

In a fast-moving world that poses multiple challenges, the ability of our people to uphold the highest standards is crucial to keep growing in a sustained manner. Their safety and well-being are a priority for us while we strive to develop their skills and talents and make them feel inspired and valued. We promote equal opportunities and a culture of appreciation and respect while recruitment processes are applied without any discrimination. Our main objective is to create an inclusive environment where all feel welcomed. We know that our success depends on the work of talented, dedicated seafarers and ashore personnel who play a critical role in helping us reach our business goals. That’s why we seek to attract, recruit and retain only the best people. Through our commitment to our people, our values and our responsibility to our communities, we aim to create an environment in which our people are proud to work.

Ashore Personnel

Our shore-based staff is run by an expert team of individuals with extensive experience in the shipping industry and the containership market. We develop and maintain processes across departments and promote continuing professional development and training. The high employee retention rate is an important indicator of the employees’ satisfaction and the effort we put into engaging our staff.

Ashore Personnel
Employees
124
Average age of employees
39.9
Female representation
45.1%
Female managers
22.72%
Employee retention rate
94.1%
New Hires
9.6%
MSc
38.7%
Training hours
289
45.1 % of all our employees were women; 1 out of 3 in a managerial position
The average retention rate was 94.1%
We hired 12 employees and 11 summer interns
Increased self – awareness and improved working relations through the 360 Degree Feedback
Employees of all levels can share their perspectives and ideas through the Suggestion Box which enhances employee engagement and morale. This year we received 56 proposals by 34 participants and we awarded 4 of them ; participation rate went up by 41.6 year on year.

SEAFARERS

A seafarer is one of the toughest and most demanding jobs in the world. Seafarers often have to deal with isolation, difficult weather conditions and constant threat of piracy and accidents. As a matter of fact, crews’ welfare and development play a major role in our operations and it is in the center of our business. We keep a close relationship, and we work hard on their regular training and career development.
Access to communication facilities play a vital role for seafarers’ mental health and it contributes to their career development.

As of December 31, 2021:

  • 1,459 seafarers were onboard our ships
  • The average age of our seafarer was 37
  • We offer a diverse working environment with seafarers being from Russia, Ukraine, Zanzibar and Greece.
  • The crew retention rate was 84.6%
  • We offered 5,842 training hours
  • 69 Seafarers were promoted
37Average Age of our Seafarers
1,459Seafarers
84,6%Retention Rate
Promotions
Rank
11
Masters
24
Chief Mates
9
Chief Engineers
25
Second Engineers

Attracting, Developing, Retaining the best set of Crew

Crew sourcing is controlled directly from our Manning offices. We provide in-house training to promote environmental safety culture & awareness and organize frequent visits onboard by the Technical and Quality experts to ensure that all safety and navigational measures are in place. There are numerous onboard training programs and Computer Based Trainings (CBT) promoting training on the field. Company’s management system has been accredited with an ISO 9001 & ISO 14001. On top of the Regulatory requirements, Danaos has applied a Green Policy with regard to the chemical composition used onboard and a Garbage Management plan.
We invest in training that promotes safety, efficiency, environmental awareness, and multicultural communication. We continuously identify training needs and we have designed a customized training program to ensure safety awareness and competence. Our belief is that constant and detailed training of the staff is the key in order to achieve our development goals.

Company’s management system has been accredited with an ISO 9001 & ISO 14001.

In 2021 we offered 289 and 5,842 training hours to our ashore and onboard people, respectively, on the following topics:

  • Environmental policy and goals
  • Relevant environmental aspects
  • Operational, monitoring and contingency procedures
  • Updates in laws and regulations affecting ships’ operations

DANAOS ASSESSMENT AND TRAINING CENTER

The Danaos Assessment and Training Center (DATC) was established in 2016 in order to cover the newly arising training need of the fleets’ Officers, Crew and shore staff employees. It accommodates an on-premises installation, housed at the Danaos Piraeus offices, comprising of the full-mission Bridge Simulator and state of the art training facilities. The DATC defines the Company’s inherent duty and obligation to provide the best training facilities and to develop further the personnel’s competence in order to ensure operational excellence. An integral part of the curriculum is our Company’s Safety Management System (DSMS), and the feedback and lessons learnt from actual fleet experience. The training combines theoretical knowledge and practical training, tests and enhanced competence by using actual scenarios as simulation exercises. DATC has been certified and accredited by Lloyd’s Register of shipping and the DMS (Cyprus Government Department of Merchant shipping) with the Approved Training Provider Certificate and the ISO 9001:2015 Certificate. The DATC personnel continuously support and cooperate with all the Company’s departments for the identification of their specific training needs and thus providing training activities aimed to further enhance their knowledge, awareness, competence and performance.

Through the DATC the following Simulation Trainings are provided:

  • BR(T)M: Bridge Resource Management
  • MRM: Maritime Resource Management
  • Mega carries Shiphandling basis Danaos 13,100/10,100 TEU vessels
  • Incident Command & Rescue Sim AFF Module
Maritime Resource Management
Multinational ship Management
Bridge Resource & Team Management
Damage Control
Mega Carriers ship’s handling
The Human Element in SHIPPING
Incident Command
Marine Environment Awareness
Simulators Training
Passage Planning and ECDIS awareness
Damage Stability & Control
Charter party peculiarities
Bridge Seamanship
Scrubber
Anti-drug Trafficking
Ballast Water Treatment
Leadership
IMO 2020 Sulphur Cap
Oil Record Book

It is imperative for people involved in daily operations to understand the importance of energy management and company’s commitment to the battle against climate change. We place emphasis on training our people so as to be well aware of a company’s environmental policy, objectives, performance, and ultimate goals, in order to be able to embrace the corporate efforts and contribute each one as a unit the maximum to this collective effort. Decarbonization is not a simple process and requires joint efforts not only internally, but also externally engaging key stakeholders. Training is to be provided to both shore -based personnel and seafarers.

Shore personel

  • Sustainability committee meetings and guidance
  • Training Express (Tr-Ex) program run in Tech-supplies-R&D-electric dptms
  • Access to Beyond WAVES
  • Presentations
  • Teams agility & projects running
  • Social media

Seafarers

  • Remote training sessions
  • Remote briefing and familiarizations
  • Participation in workgroups
  • Knowledge sharing onboard through company's representatives
  • Local training in manning offices
  • Social media

Promoting Safety at Sea

The health and safety of our people are paramount to us, and we are working towards the safest possible conditions through the implementation of an Occupational Health and Safety regime.
This regime includes:

  • The application of best practices in ship operation and working environment in order to prevent injuries
  • Continual, flexible, and regularly reviewed risk assessment for vessels, cargo and environment
  • The ongoing development of the health and safety skills of our people

DNV certified

Danaos Shipping was the first Greek company to be certified by Det Norske Veritas (“DNV”)

The main objective of the policy is to start and finish the day safe and healthy

The policy clearly states that all incidents are reported, investigated, and analyzed in order to prevent similar incidents in the future. We encourage reporting of incidents which do not result in injuries and near misses. These minor incidents are regarded as warnings signals for procedures and practices that merit revision and remediation. All incidents are investigated by the ship’s Master, with the support of the safety Officer, seafarers’ safety representative or any other member of the Safety, Environmental & MLC Committee.

Danaos uses the most objective measuring tool, the Loss Time Injury Frequency (LTIF) which measures the number of hours a seafarer is unable to work due to injuries. We train our people onboard and actively engage them in recognizing and reporting a near miss. To further decrease the LTIF rate we have incorporated the Lockout/Tagout system which is used to control hazardous energy.

Additionally, from 2018 onwards we started implementing a Behavior Based System approach in order to address the factors that influence and reinforce learning and behavior. Successful implementation leads to significant improvements to the safety performance, and through the BBS approach we aim to create a “total safety culture” throughout the company. All systems of Danaos Safety Management are audited by the Safety Quality and Environmental Department. Unscheduled audits are performed if a serious deficiency in any part of the DSMS becomes evident during third party inspections. Audit findings, Non-Conformities or Observation notes are collectively analyzed and evaluated during the management review process. In pursuit of managerial excellence, we have established our own KPIs by participating in the BIMCO SHIPPING KPIs. Findings that pose a serious threat to the safety of personnel or the ship or a serious risk to the environment are analyzed with the RCA method and immediate corrective action is undertaken.
In the beginning of 2021, we introduced a new reporting application called UDE (Undesired Event) for the internal reporting of all medical cases related to injury or sickness onboard ships. The same application is used for the reporting of near misses. This new application offers a more in-depth analysis into the causes of an event which together with the detailed description assist us to better analyze and understand the circumstances under which an event occurred. In addition, there is interchange between office and vessel on corrective actions with set-up deadlines and on proposed preventive actions which are also recorded.

During 2021 we have performed 72 internal audits as well as 32 third party audits carried out by DNV, KR and LR to ensure that our systems remain in compliance with the ISM/ISPS Code, the ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 50001 standards and the MLC Convention. 49 MLC inspections were carried out by qualified auditors without major deficiencies and our vessels were certified successfully.

2020
2021
LTIs
16
16
LTIF Rate
1.27
1.29
Near Misses Reports
224
274

Crisis Management and Emergency Planning

Danaos has taken all necessary measures and resource to protect people, vessels and operations in case of an emergency. We have established procedures to identify potential emergency situations and we have prepared the relevant plans. The plans are communicated to all employees and crew members, and we provide response training. An important parameter for our emergency preparedness system is our hands-on management system on board every vessel, detailed in the Ship Security Plan (“SSP”). All employees, crew members, visitors, inspectors, suppliers, and any third party seeking to board the ship are also required to comply with the SSP. There is a number of risks associated with the shipping industry and therefore we have policies and procedures for risk assessment onboard our vessels. A specific Emergency Response Plan and an in-house Emergency Response Service system have been developed to support the whole process and provide specific instructions and task allocations.

Danaos Cyber Security Management System

The adoption by the IMO of the Resolution MSC.428(98) – Maritime Cyber Risk Management in Safety Management Systems at Maritime Safety Committe’s 98th session in June 2017 foresaw that the Safety Management System (SMS) of a shipping company should incorporate cyber risk management in accordance with the objectives and functional requirements of the ISM Code. This was verified in the first annual verification of the company’s Document of Compliance after 1 January 2021. At Danaos we established protective guards for our IT systems a long time ago since Information Technology applications had been at the core of our management system from the early stages. This was clearly described in our Danaos SMS. Now, particular focus is given also to the risks derived from the internet-accessible operational technology (OT) assets onboard ship. Our cyber security policy includes a number of procedures and tools in order to have in place a robust cyber security management system.

Our Sustainable Supply Chain

TRACKING KEY SUPPLIERS’ SUSTAINABILITY PERFORMANCE System

Company’s Procurement department is responsible for sourcing, analyzing, negotiating and supplying materials and services for each vessels and personnel’s needs. To this context, there is interaction with hundreds of vendors and service providers across the globe producing tenths of thousands of orders and service agreements.
Due to the complexity of the needs of vessels, our supply chain includes providers of products and services such as Spares/Maintenance, Provisions, Cabin, Deck, Engine Stores, Lubricants, Chemicals, Gases, Paints and Safety services. These product and service providers are in almost every calling port. The ability to conduct business in an appropriate manner towards ethical, social and environmental standards plays a major role on the selection of suppliers. As such, they are expected to take steps for continuous improvement towards a responsible and sustainable way.
Criteria such as equal opportunities, compliance with international labor standards (no child labor, decent working conditions), health and safety awareness, zero corruption tolerance, transparency and fair business policy are combined with high standards products that promote best use of the vessels’ machinery and the hull as well as the wellbeing of our crews onboard.
We concluded in 2021 the assessment criteria identification for our suppliers and prepared the analysis platform required. In 2022 we will initiate the assessment process.
In addition to responding to the challenges posed by locating, selecting an ordering, we ensure effective delivery onboard, considering minimum energy footprint and proper timing. In this process we implement and evaluate tactics like seeking local deliveries, placing bulk orders, consolidating shipments, optimizing courier usage and implementing a one-step final delivery.

Orders
21,183
Requisitions
17,269
Suppliers
more than 500 suppliers
Quotations
40,406

Our Response to COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has significant impacts on the shipping industry on both our employees and seafarers, or “key workers” as designated by a number of IMO Member States. Travel restrictions imposed by governments around the world created major issues to crew changes and repatriation of seafarers. During this unprecedented time, the safety of our people is more important than ever while our goal is the efficient transportation of goods. However, protecting our crew and continuing operations in unchartered environments with special requirements is considerably hard. For the second year now, we have been working hard following all the precautionary measures and procedures to ensure crew changes can take place safely, in compliance with the WHO and the IMO instructions. In the meantime, trying to support our seafarers in such difficult times we offered a bonus system for those who have overworked their contracts. Regarding our in-between communication, we are currently meeting online 100% of our seafarers during pre-joining familiarizations, workgroups, online meetings, de-briefings and delivery of training under these difficult circumstances and worldwide travelling restrictions.

Vaccination for our Seafarers

Immunization through vaccination is a safe, simple and effective way against serious, preventable, and sometimes deadly, contagious diseases. In the global fight against Covid-19, vaccination is a key. COVID-19 vaccines reduce the severity of symptoms or prevent symptoms completely in a vaccinated person.
Throughout the pandemic, seafarers are on the frontline playing an essential role in maintaining the flow of vital goods, they ensure that the global supply chain continue to deliver goods whilst the last 2 years they have been collateral victims of the crisis, as travel restrictions have left tens of thousands of them stranded on ships, or unable to join ships.
For Danaos Family, it is essential that these key workers are prioritized when it comes to lifesaving vaccines. Therefore, Danaos not only strongly recommends seafarers to get vaccinated, but in May a Vaccination program was introduced for the crew members visiting US ports. The first seafarers were vaccinated in Houston onboard M/V Express France. However, physical distancing, washing hands with soap and water or the use of hand sanitizer, good respiratory hygiene, and use of a mask remain the main methods to prevent spread of COVID-19 and seafarers should continue these practices even when fully vaccinated.
By the end of 2021 39% of onboard seafarers had been vaccinated against COVID-19.

Marine Casualties

Containers Loss overboard – 1 non-serious incident
On October 21st around 22:30 local time while c/v ZIM KINGSTON was off the entrance of Juan de Fuca awaiting to proceed to the port of Vancouver she encountered heavy weather. For a short period, the ship suffered extreme and violent pitching and rolling caused an excessive listing. This resulted some containers from bay 14, 34 and 54 collapsed on deck and fell overboard.
The accident is attributed to adverse weather conditions which in combination with other factors aligned at that moment such as small metacentric height, wavelength versa ship’s length led to parametric rolling phenomenon.
None of the containers that fell into the sea identified as being Harmful to the Marine Environment.
The company hired a specialized marine service company that would be responsible for the removal of any containers and debris that had, or might at a future date, have landed on shore.
From the very beginning the Company worked in close cooperation with the authorities. As a second step an internal investigation took place to identify the weak links in the chain of events and avoid recurrence. Further enhancement of our SMS procedures and special emphasis was given in the pre-joining briefing for the better comprehension of the Parametric Rolling phenomenon among Masters and Bridge Officers. Relative safety alert was distributed also on board.

Our Strong Community Engagement

Our strategic priority is to create value for the society and the community, in which we operate, and to keep our employees engaged and involved through various voluntary initiatives. We believe in the value and power of solidarity and our community investment activities focus on supporting vulnerable groups and institutions.

CSR ACTIVITIES

Running for ELEPAP in the Athens Classic Marathon

The 38th Athens Authentic Marathon returned after two years of absence, due to the Coronavirus pandemic, with thousands of participants from 83 countries. We proud for everyone who participated to such a great social and sporting event that unites the legend with history, highlighting the power of the human will and soul. Danaos runners ran the 5km, 10km and 42km aiming to support and highlight the social contribution of ELEPAP!

Afforestation – Acharnes

Afforestation is an internationally accepted term for the practice of planting trees on land that has not recently been used to grow a crop of trees. Over the last 50 years, afforestation of abandoned or marginally productive agricultural land has been a common practice in many areas of the world. The average tree can absorb on average 22 kg of CO2 per year and create 117 kg of oxygen. In November, in collaboration with the non-profit Environmental Organization We4All, we planted our first 1000 trees in a tree planting initiative in Acharnes and it was such a special and rewarding experience! At The principles of social responsibility are an inextricable part of Danaos culture and we take pride in partnering with organisations who are as passionate about protecting the planet as we are.

Beach Cleanup – Freattida Beach

The goal of beach cleanups is to raise awareness in the population about marine pollution and contribute with it the reduction of garbage and plastic in the ocean.
Every year, in partnership with HELMEPA that coordinates the oldest and most extensive public awareness campaign on marine litter, a selected beach is cleaned by Danaos volunteers as part of our social responsibility. This year, we visited the beach of Freattyda in Piraeus, where waste and garbage were collected, categorized and counted.
About 12 million tons of plastics flow into the ocean every year and being a part of the solution to this global problem is of major importance, it is a beacon of hope, leading and inspiring action in support of our ocean.

Certificate of Corporate Responsibility in recognition of the North Atlantic right whale protection, one of the world’s most endangered large whale species

Collisions between endangered North Atlantic right whales and large shipping vessels are one of the leading causes of death for these rare whales and hinder the recovery of their entire species of approximately 500 individuals. As a protection measure, mariners are required to travel at ten knots or less in designated right whale habitat areas and their speed is monitored.

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