Vessels for change: Richard Chandra Chan

Since rising to the top of the career ladder, Richard Chandra Chan, President Director of Indonesian marine services provider Eka Nusantara Line, remains humble and grateful for the opportunities he’s received.

"My dad has always been my role model," he says. "He worked hard to ensure I grew up with the right culture and values, and I’m really thankful for the support he gave me. He always brought a lot of positive energy and encouragement when I was growing up."

It is this upbringing that drives Chan’s leadership of the company today.

"When we are leading, we have to stay positive to allow our colleagues to embrace that positivity," he says. "If we have problems, we must try to be constructive and have a discussion to find the solution.

"I think the most important qualities a leader can have is to be positive, to have empathy for the people around you and to be able to inspire them."

Eka Nusantara Line, established in 2009, is the Marine Arm of PT Meindo Elang Indah which provides offshore marine vessels for the marine construction works in the offshore oil and gas engineering, procuring, construction, installation and commissioning works. The company owns a total of 30 offshore marine vessels that can support various activities from dredging, pipeline installation, heavy lifting services, offshore transportation services, as well as offshore brownfield services.

"We own the biggest Heavy Lift Vessel (Eka Nusantara 3000) in Indonesia with 3,000-metric-ton lifting capacity and pipe-lay capabilities up to 60 inches [152.4 centimeters]," Chan explains.

"It has installed and performed major installation projects for the established oil and gas operators. In addition, our pipelay vessel (Eka Nusantara 600) has recently completed a significant milestone to install 60-inch pipeline, the biggest in Indonesia."

Chan explains that his interest in the industry started during his time in education.

"The exposure of oil and gas is something that I have been into since my university days. I studied a bachelor's in chemical engineering at the University of Wisconsin Madison and a master's in petroleum engineering at the University of Southern California," he says.

"When I came back to Indonesia, the particular thing that interested me was the offshore side of the business, for oil and gas marine construction."

Expansion plans

The passion that gripped Chan as a graduate still persists today as he looks to fulfill the company’s vision to become the leading Indonesian and international provider of offshore support and specialized vessels for marine offshore works.

"We have a very passionate vision for the company," he says. "I’m looking to grow it into a global player, especially with the marine assets that we have in the company."

Eka Nusantara Line’s path to global primacy starts with local expansion.

"We want to continue to expand further into Vietnam where we have provided excellent services to a major player in there," Chan says. "Also, we are targeting more work in India, Thailand and Malaysia as we progress in the next few years, given the positive outlook in the oil and gas markets."

"The first step is to become a regional player, and then become a global player."

The challenges that await the company don’t keep Chan up at night, as he knows setbacks will be inevitable. Instead, he sees them as opportunities to grow.

"Of course, there’ll be challenges and mistakes along the way. Mistakes are meant to make you stronger, and drive the improvement and perfection of the company," he says.

Unique excellence

When asked what sets the company apart from its competitors, Chan is quick to respond.

"Our end-to-end vessel management," he affirms. "Managing vessel operations starts with having an efficient recruitment system, a solid maintenance team, sound supply chain relationships with key strategic suppliers and visionary team members who can challenge and support one another in good times and bad.

"We have people from all around the world, from China, India, Vietnam and more. Having people from different countries is such a precious thing to have as a company. It allows us to learn from different backgrounds and gives us a range of different opinions."

He also mentions the unique operational capabilities of Eka Nusantara Line, and what it can provide to its customers.

"Our investments set us aside from others in Indonesia. We not only focus on the support role in marine construction work, but we have also invested in the main specialized construction vessels themselves. We are increasing our number of assets in order to support the market demands locally, regionally and globally," he says.

"This means we have an end-to-end supply chain capability for offshore executions."

Key partners

While the company has developed this end-to-end supply chain capability, Chan acknowledges that it wouldn’t be able to provide the services it does without the help of key suppliers.

"As much as we like to develop most of the things in-house, there’ll be certain moments where we have to put faith in our reliable partners," he says. "Over many years we have learned to develop synergy with preferred partners, like those that help us to do repairs and maintenance as well as docking.

"Without these people, we wouldn’t be able to maintain the highest standard of services for our ultimate clients."

It is with the support of these key partners that Chan and Eka Nusantara Line are able to keep pushing forward toward the company’s expansion goals. As ever, Chan’s unwavering positivity is providing the driving force behind it.

"You have to grab your chance, especially because you never know if you’ll have the same momentum from the business cycle again," he says.

"When you have identified momentum, you have to set up the right strategy, put your heart into it and only then will you be able to grow."