When a master calls the routing desk during a storm, something has usually changed. The forecast has shifted, the window to act is shrinking, or an option that looked safe a few hours earlier no longer holds. The decision made in that window determines whether the vessel stays safe, burns extra fuel on a detour, or misses its commercial commitments.

In this episode of The Wayfinder Podcast, host Nick Arthur talks with Captain Anupam Kaushik, Principal Fleet Operations Partner at Sofar Ocean. Before joining Sofar Ocean, Captain Anupam spent 20 years at sea. He now works in routing and voyage optimization, advising masters and operators.

Captain Anupam explains how the routing team weighs safety, vessel limitations, and charter requirements in the first minutes of a call, and how they plan for each marine weather forecast update before it arrives. He walks through a real case from Typhoon Dolphin, where the team compared passing ahead of the storm, taking a long deviation, and holding position. Holding position until the typhoon made landfall over China kept the vessel safe and avoided the extra fuel of a detour. He also covers how routing decisions hold up against claims, and why seasonal planning should happen before a vessel sails.

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