Hartmann Gas Carriers Germany moves crew management to the cloud — and raises the bar for European shipping

European shipping is accelerating its digital pivot. Hartmann Gas Carriers Germany, part of the Leer-based Hartmann Group, has migrated crew management to e-CMS, a cloud platform from Sealogic, a leading provider of Marine Software for the maritime industry. The rollout now covers the fleet and forms a cornerstone of the group’s broader IT transformation.

Hartmann is one of Europe’s leading gas-tanker operators, managing vessels that carry ammonia, ethylene/ethane and LPG. For companies operating at this complexity, centralizing seafarer data, certifications and rotations is not just an efficiency play; it touches safety, compliance and financial performance.

From Spreadsheets to a Unified Cloud Crew Platform

e-CMS functions as a single system of record for crew processes: planning and rotations, contracts, document validity tracking, payroll and reporting, plus secure “shore ↔ ship” communications. By replacing spreadsheets and email chains with workflows and alerts, the platform reduces the risk of costly human error—missed certificate expiries, last-minute crew changes, or payroll miscalculations.

With e-cms the exchange between HGC-Crewing Department, the Agencies and the Seamen has been changed to highest in-time level communication and administration, which grants open and reliable short-term and medium term planning, high crew-satisfaction and corresponding excellent commitments for all involved parties.

The implementation followed a classic roadmap. First came a process and data audit to surface duplications and gaps. Then, migration of seafarer profiles and access roles to the cloud, along with integrations into HR and accounting. Training cycles for crewing teams and officers were paired with a staged fleet rollout. The outcome: cleaner data, faster coordination between office and vessel, and a measurable cut in administrative overhead.

Operational, Financial and Sustainability Benefits

The business case is straightforward. Automation trims manual effort by monitoring STCW certificates, medicals and visas and flagging deadlines. Real-time availability and competency views bring discipline to rotation planning, reducing last-minute swaps and travel waste. Centralized audit trails and role-based access simplify inspections by flags, class societies and charterers. Financially, unified pay rules and rate catalogs streamline payroll while lowering the total cost of ownership of a fragmented IT stack.

Technically, the cloud architecture enables secure access from anywhere and supports encryption and fine-grained permissions. Configurability matters: operators can tailor contract templates, approval routes and data fields without bespoke code. Open interfaces ease connections to accounting, HR and communications tools, keeping the platform aligned with established workflows rather than forcing disruptive change.

There is also a sustainability angle. Hartmann’s fleet renewal includes dual-fuel vessels, part of a broader push to cut emissions. Digitizing crewing complements that effort: fewer paper processes, fewer delays caused by documentation, and more reliable planning all translate into fewer inefficient voyages and unnecessary fuel burn.

For the European market, the signal is clear. First, cloud has moved from “optional” to “expected” in crewing. High-profile adoptions by operators of Hartmann’s scale lower the perceived risk for more conservative players. Second, better data and process control reduce operational risk—something investors and lenders increasingly price in. Third, automating key control points curbs the human-factor mistakes that are particularly costly in gas shipping, where competency requirements are stringent.

The broader lesson: this is not merely a software swap. By moving crew operations onto a single cloud backbone, Hartmann has re-wired how decisions are made and monitored. The result is faster processes, smoother stakeholder interaction and fewer expensive errors—a template for European shipping’s next chapter.

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