...Martin Carlsson at Stena Teknik who has been appointed the new chairman of the Lighthouse board.

You’ve done quite a bit of work on onboard fire safety, including in a Lighthouse project. That’s valuable experience you bring with you into your new role—but beyond that, who are you?

– I come from a family of fishermen in Träslövsläge, and my first job was as a deckhand at Stena. So shipping is in my DNA. I later studied to become a captain, but then made a sideways move—via a degree in naval architecture—from the sea to the land side of the industry. I worked on the supplier side before joining Stena six years ago.

What is your role at Stena now?

– Really varied. In summary, I’d say marine engineering and business development. Lately, I've been focusing on tankers, with all the exciting opportunities ahead, but my roots are in RoRo/Ropax, so I’m also looking forward to the next thing in that area.
– On LinkedIn, I’ve written “Shipping is the place to be” in the title line instead of an official job title. I truly believe that shipping is the best industry to be in, and when it comes to Lighthouse, I think it’s fantastic that there’s a platform where multiple actors work together for the good of maritime transport.

What’s your view on maritime research and innovation?

– It’s incredibly important, of course. We’re facing massive changes—no one in the industry will escape that. That’s why the smartest thing we can do is pool our resources and tackle the issues together. In my view, it’s not about maintaining the shipping industry as it is or securing Sweden’s export capacity, but about raising ambitions and developing the maritime sector so we can do fantastic business in the future. We need to grow the business area significantly together. It’s not about reacting to external pressures just to survive—it’s about getting bold, and to do that, we need to collaborate across many areas.

How do you think the view on maritime R&I has evolved over the past 20 years?

– Well, I didn’t join Stena until 2019, so I haven’t been in the “collaboration world” that long. Before that, I was with a supplier in the industry, and from that position, collaboration around research and development wasn’t really a focus. That’s a problem. We need the entire cluster with us—it’s not just the shipping companies that need to be on board, we also have to embrace everyone around them. I can draw a parallel to the fire safety field, which I’ve been involved in myself. In that area, shipping companies, researchers, and authorities—through Lighthouse, among others—have worked together with complete openness. That has been very fruitful, and there’s no competition between shipping companies when it comes to safety. Working together makes development work so much more enjoyable.

You’re currently serving as deputy chair of the Lighthouse board until the end of the year, when you’ll take over as chair. How are you preparing for that?

– I’m itching to get started. I’m looking forward to opening up contacts with everyone involved. First and foremost, I’ll make sure to have lunch with Lighthouse’s new operations manager Andreas Bach, who starts after the summer. I’m really looking forward to this!