Meet Sinisa Andelic, General Manager, Wilhelmsen Ship Management

As General Manager of Wilhelmsen Ship Management Marine Personnel’s Split office in Croatia, Sinisa Andelic leads a team of 12 helping Wilhelmsen find the right seafarers for customers' vessels and support them throughout their careers. Nearly 18 years after first joining the business as a student volunteer, here he give us a peak into his core duties and approach to leadership. 

Matching people to ships 

The Split office Sinisa leads sources recruits senior officers for a wide range of vessels, including LNG carriers, cruise ships and offshore vessels. 

The team reviews and shortlists candidates, assesses their experience and qualifications against vessel and client requirements, checks the necessary certificates and documentation, maintains the pool of available seafarers and constantly liaises with clients about crewing needs. 

“You could translate what we do to any HR department, really,” Sinisa explains. “But for maritime specifically, we recruit and hire people, focus on developing their careers, maintain the seafarer pool and strike a balance between what they would like and what’s actually possible, given the constraints that operators impose.” 

As General Manager, he oversees the team as well as the operational and financial demands of running the office. 

“The whole market is getting more and more streamlined, and we have to be careful and mindful of every dollar we spend to prove ourselves worthy to the clients who are paying for all of this.” 

The Split office is also preparing to introduce a cadet programme, working directly with maritime colleges to bring much-needed students into the industry. 

 

Hands-on from day one 

Sinisa joined Wilhelmsen while studying Maritime Systems and Processes at the University of Split. He originally intended to go to sea, but began volunteering in the office during his final year. 

When the time came to join a vessel as a cadet, he was asked to stay to help with an incoming client. Three months became six, then nine and his planned career at sea gradually vanished in the wake. 

“I really learned on the job,” he says, giving particular credit to Captain Dennis Dude, the first General Manager of the Split office, who helped shape his mindset and approach. 

“He gave me excellent foundations for what it means to lead people both in the office and at sea.” 

In 2013 and 2014, Sinisa also spent more than a year working in Wilhelmsen’s Lysaker office in Norway, building relationships that have lasted well beyond his time there. 

“We got to know each other well on a personal level, developing a bond that has paid off all the way to today.” 

Building an independent team 

Sinisa's team is an almost equal balance of men and women, and he is especially proud of their independence. 

“I genuinely wouldn’t be disappointed if any of them became my boss tomorrow – I’d be happy reporting to them.” 

His own management style centres on trust and shared responsibility. 

“I’m heavily focused on creating a no-blame culture and building one cohesive team rather than islands of talent.” 

He deliberately avoids micromanagement, judging his success partly by whether the office continues to run smoothly when he steps away. 

A passion for competitive sailing  

Away from work, competitive sailing gives Sinisa both a release from the pressures of the job and lessons he brings back to it. He describes getting out on the water as a “hard reset”, requiring complete concentration and sometimes helping him return to a problem with a clearer answer. 

Sailing has also reinforced his belief in persistence and incremental progress. “We all make mistakes; we all fail occasionally – but you brush it off and keep going.” 

It's much the same idea that keeps him motivated after almost two decades with Wilhelmsen. 

“I see the progress. I see that what we do matters. Small wins every day are what really count.”