Paul Van Vessem has spent fifteen years at the intersection of maritime weather and commercial decision-making, working across Europe and Asia with shipowners, operators, and charterers.
He joins Sofar Ocean as Head of Wayfinder Sales, APAC, bringing deep regional relationships and a clear perspective on what better ocean intelligence means for fleet performance.
Hear from Paul on what he is building in APAC, what fleet operators are up against right now, and how better ocean intelligence translates to better outcomes at sea.
Fifteen years of commercial roles in maritime tech, almost entirely at the intersection of weather data and voyage decisions. I started at MeteoGroup (later DTN) selling forecasting to shipowners, traders, and operators across Europe and Asia, then moved into voyage optimization at ZeroNorth, where I built the Asia business from Singapore as VP of Sales and GM. The technology has changed quickly, but the mission has stayed the same: better data, better decisions, and less waste at sea.
Two things. First, the technology is differentiated in a way that matters. Sofar's proprietary sensor network produces forecasts that are demonstrably more accurate than anything I've sold in fifteen years. In a market defined by extreme geopolitical disruption, bunker volatility, and rate swings, ETA accuracy and speed are the whole game. Clients need to make high-stakes decisions in seconds, not hours.
Second, the team is moving fast and thinking big. I'm most excited to make Wayfinder the default voyage optimization platform for APAC fleets, and to build the regional team behind it.
I'm leading Wayfinder Sales across APAC. I’ll be partnering with fleet operators, charterers, and commercial managers to turn better forecasts and vessel performance models into measurable outcomes: lower fuel burn, tighter arrival windows, voyage planning that takes minutes instead of hours.
Why does this matter? Shipping carries roughly 80% of global trade and is one of the harder sectors to decarbonize. Every voyage optimized is fuel saved, emissions avoided, and margin recovered. At fleet scale those numbers add up quickly.
The market is as volatile as it's been in a long time — severe weather, fuel prices, regulation (CII, FuelEU, EU ETS), geopolitical disruption, and tightening charter party terms. Decisions that used to take hours now need to happen in minutes, and in a lot of cases they're being made on forecast data that hasn't materially improved in decades.
After spending time with the team in San Francisco I am even more convinced AI in the form of LLMs will have a major impact on our industry. AI is evolving super fast and trying to build that capability as a single provider is futile. Leveraging those models securely with reliable data will play a vital role in supporting our clients to make better decisions, faster.
That is where Wayfinder can help most: by improving the foundation for every routing, speed, and ETA decision. Better inputs, better outcomes.
APAC first - the region operates a major share of the world's tonnage and is increasingly the centre of gravity for both fleet operations and commercial decision-making. Beyond that, there's a clear opportunity to expand from owners and operators into the charterer side, where forecast accuracy translates directly into commercial gains on laytime, demurrage, and contract performance.
Longer term, I see Wayfinder’s data becoming more deeply embedded across voyage and port workflows, so the same forecast intelligence informs every decision from chartering through arrival.
I look forward to working with our (future) clients in the region, just reach out if you want to know more about Sofar Ocean and how we can help your company.
