The people behind the data: meet the experts powering LR OneOcean

When critical decisions rely on technology, trust begins with the people who built it. At LR OneOcean, that means drawing from deep maritime expertise.

When your safety depends on the system working, you want to know that the people who designed it understand what you need at critical moments. In a world increasingly driven by automation and AI, it's easy to forget that behind every line of code, every optimised voyage and every smart compliance tool, is a team of dedicated individuals.

And their knowledge and experience matter. That’s why behind LR OneOcean’s world-class maritime software solutions lie a diverse team of industry experts – people whose knowledge, passion, and lived experience are the true engine of the service.

This is a story not of systems, but of the humans who build and power them. Meet some of the people whose experience, passion, and precision provide the intelligence behind the technology and data.

Barry Hooper, VP of Product & Technology for OneOcean's Perform business, doesn’t just build maritime software – he imagines it through the eyes of someone who’s lived it. With a decade at sea, working up to Chief Mate, including time in oil, gas, and scientific research, Barry knows first-hand the stresses and stakes of working on a ship. “By the age of 27,” he says, “I had lived only 22 years on land.”

One of his motivations is a powerful memory from his time at sea.

“We had a message that contact had been lost with a vessel in our area. By the time we got to the location, it was too late. The lookout spotted a life raft, which was empty.

We raised a distress signal and rescue ships were sent out, but 22 sailors died as their virtually new ship sank in a matter of minutes. I know how critical safety is and the consequences of getting it wrong. The biggest differentiator with us is that safety element.”

Today, Barry leads product development, supported by a diverse team of experts and maritime professionals. They include master mariners, naval architects, AI/Machine Learning (ML) engineers, software developers and data scientists.

The team builds products that provide actionable insights through integrated workflows, delivering real value to users.

One such example is voyage optimisation. OneOcean’s Ship Performance Modelling team leverages AI and machine learning to build vessel-specific performance models which combine with weather and other data to deliver routing scenarios based on specified objectives.

But the key factor? Human judgment.

“We’ve been implementing versions of AI/ML since the 2000s,” he explains. “And our depth of knowledge and experience – of what not to do – is just as valuable.”

“You can’t feed someone’s worries into an AI model,” Barry continues. “It underpins all the solutions, which is why human in-the-loop validation and verification is a core part of OneOcean’s performance solutions.”

It’s particularly true of the 24/7 Shoreside Routing service, which involves real master mariners – 28 of them, rotating in shifts – who call captains directly, not just email. “A lot of the time, vessels do not act on advice if it isn’t clear enough. That’s why we always provide the reasoning, explained by people who have been there, done that.”

And the culture of the team matters. “Most of the team have been there for years: it’s very much a family feeling. Very open, friendly, engaged and they are there to help.”

“But there is also of course a high level of seriousness. Becoming a Master Mariner is the pinnacle of seafaring and takes decades of study, exams, and experience.”

That’s true of Mark Barnes, Ports Manager, who leads the team that compiles OneOcean’s port data. He qualified as a master mariner and spent 18 years at sea, including as Chief Officer. He also has a trophy cabinet of national and European sailing championships. This is a person whose life has been on the ocean. It means Mark brings more than technical knowledge – he brings real judgement. His team draws their data from all the standard sources but also places others don’t access.

“We dig deeper,” he says. “We piece together what others don’t even know to ask.”

His experience at sea shapes how port data is both compiled and delivered to the end user – not just as a reference, but as a practical, situational tool that makes entry and exit smoother and safer.

“Working in the parcel chemical/product market we were constantly being diverted to load and discharge cargoes around the world, particularly the Far East as untapped capabilities were starting to be realised. We were going to places most people had not heard of. Knowledge was a premium and we relied heavily on local agents. Occasionally the information available was wrong and we had some close scrapes.”

“We know what information matters because we’ve needed it ourselves.”

That drives his determination to ensure that “we have the most comprehensive port information in both global coverage and depth in detail available.”

Judith Guy, Regulatory Manager who heads the compliance team for Regs4ships, didn’t begin her career in shipping – she came from local government and editorial leadership. That outsider’s perspective meant she realised the importance of clarity.

“My approach is to make maritime regulation understandable, navigable, and still legally sound,” she says.

Her team monitors 28 flag states daily, linking state regulations with international mandates in seamless, deeply researched databases. They access and review each document and ensure it’s presented effectively. The result: legal clarity that professionals can use.

The history function, along with the associated documents, ensures that whatever you need can be easily found.

“The team makes sure that every document added to the database has other accurate and relevant regulations appended to it which in turn makes it easier for our customers.”

“You can find all of the legal documentation you need in one place,” Judith says.

Tony Gawn, OneOcean’s Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Manager, might have become a fast-jet pilot, but a career detour brought him to the first undergraduate GIS degree in Europe and eventually to mapping the oceans. His GIS & cartographic work forms the backbone of systems like EnviroManager, determining where regulations apply at sea. The stakes are high: a misaligned boundary shape could mean millions in fines for incorrect discharges. “I’m a perfectionist,” Tony admits. “And with complex shapes, that helps.”

He learned his trade with a global engineering firm, where accuracy was critical. But for the past 15 years he’s studied the oceans, becoming part of a firm that produced detailed shipping maps. That business was acquired by OneOcean, which brought Tony into his current role.

Fast changing regulations make his work on boundary shapes ever more challenging. “The more time goes on, the more complicated it’s getting,” he says. “You often have to think of it like complex jigsaws.”

His work blends art and science – choosing the right colours, the line thicknesses, the precision of boundary points. With satellite internet now giving ships better real-time data, Tony is constantly refining the shapes. “We’re always improving,” he says. “There’s no finish line.”

Across all departments – from GIS to compliance, ports to performance – the underlying theme is connection. Data is not created in silos; it’s part of an integrated ecosystem where every team collaborates. As Tony puts it: “Everything is interconnected.”

This approach gives OneOcean an edge: full control over data generation and governance. Rather than relying on external sources with unknown provenance, the internal teams build, refine, and maintain many datasets with purpose and integrity.

These are professionals who have stood on bridge decks in storms, chased down obscure port regulations, and hand-crafted maps with surgical accuracy. They are perfectionists, collaborators, and most of all – stewards of trust in a high-stakes, ever-evolving world.

Because when the safety of a crew, the success of a voyage, and the sustainability of the seas are on the line – it’s not just data. It’s personal.