Most shipowners only find out whether a vessel’s food budget held when the month-end report arrives. A former master backed by Antler wants the office to see catering spend, stock and shortfalls on any day of the month.
Ask a superintendent about fuel burn and the answer is usually live. Ask what it cost to feed the crew last week and the answer often waits for month end. A-GOS, a UAE-based start-up backed by Antler, wants to close that gap.
The company was founded by Master Mariner Oleksandr “Sasha” Pyenov, who spent more than a decade in senior roles at sea. It has onboarded its first paying vessels and completed its initial provision deliveries.
“As master, you sign for the provisions and you answer for the crew’s welfare, but you’re largely working from a spreadsheet, a stock count and the cook’s judgement,” said Pyenov, Founder and CEO of A-GOS. “When the budget went wrong, the office usually found out at month end. By then the money had been spent and the ship was two ports further on.”
The system starts in the galley. Its AI Chef tool plans menus around crew numbers and nationalities, stock on board, expiry dates and the owner’s daily budget per person. Ashore, managers see spending against budget, days of cover, and which vessels may run short before the next port call. Forecasting, requisitions, supplier quotes and invoice checks are being added in stages.
A-GOS cites accounts-payable benchmarks showing that 39% of invoices contain errors, and UNEP figures that put food waste in commercial kitchens at around 20%. Ship managers told the company they catch overruns late, cut oversized requisitions down by hand and have to trust whatever figures the vessel sends ashore. Crew food is also checked under the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 during port state control inspections.
“Nobody we spoke to wanted the cheapest possible provisions,” said Pyenov. “They wanted a crew that eats well, a budget that holds, and to know about a problem while there is still time to do something about it.”
A-GOS works for the owner rather than acting as a broker in the supply chain. Suppliers, data and any rebates stay with the shipowner. Fleets that have digitised their engine rooms and voyage planning may find the galley is the last part of the ship still run on a spreadsheet.
