FORSTER Darling categorises himself as a risk-taker, someone who needs more than the security of working for a big organisation.

It was that kind of thinking that inspired him to make a tough decision earlier this year ? to leave a high-ranking job with excellent prospects at XL Re to set up his own enterprise.

At the age of 31, Mr. Darling is now happily facing up to a future bulging with possibilities as managing director of his brand-new management services company, Fleetwood Global, which will focus on his personal area of expertise, shipping.

"There is a saying that 'he who risks not gains not' ? and I live by that," Mr. Darling said. "I know there is a lot of hard work ahead, but I'm glad I took the decision (to leave XL) and took a chance."

His love of shipping is plain to see from the photographs and scale models of magnificent vessels that adorn his Bermudiana Road office.

Having gained a BSc in small business management from the University of Vermont, Mr. Darling returned to Bermuda in 1994 wondering what to do next. He was steered towards shipping by Per Arneberg, the managing director of Fram Shipping.

Mr. Darling recalled: "He told me the sea was in my blood and said, 'Why don't you try shipping?' He suggested I could go out to sea and work on some ships and I thought that would be a great idea.

"Per has been my greatest supporter and I'm indebted to him for all that he has done for me. I would not be in the position I am today had it not been for his support and guidance."

He became an apprentice with Fram Shipping and his first posting was as a deck hand aboard a North Sea tanker, which picked up crude from the oil fields and delivered to ports across Northern Europe.

After two-and-a-half months of that, he spent two months on a roll-on roll-off vessel on a round-the-world service, working on the bridge, deck and in the engine room. He boarded the ship in Savannah, Georgia and disembarked in Yokohama, Japan.

"I loved being at sea," Mr. Darling said. "I worked with some great people from all over the world."

He then did some work for Fram's dry cargo broking arm in Connecticut, while he was applying for work to several broking firms in Norway.

No offers were forthcoming, so Mr. Darling decided to bolster his shipping knowledge with some hands-on experience of shipbuilding at three different yards in the Ukraine. Just as he was about to leave for Eastern Europe, a job offer arrived from Norway. But his prospective employer was quite happy for him to gain more experience in the Ukraine.

spent six months working in the Kherson and Okeah yards seeing the construction of huge tankers. "It was a fantastic experience," Mr. Darling said. "I was exposed to the business of building a ship right the way from sheets of flat metal.

"The people there took me under their wing. By the end of the six months, I could speak quite a bit of Russian."

In 1996, he left to take up his new job with one of the largest ship broking firms in the world, Lorentzen & Stemco AS, in its office in Oslo, the Norwegian capital. After six months in the company's training programme, he was recruited as a sale and purchase broker.

"I thought I'd spend six months to a year in Norway, but I ended up working there for three years," Mr. Darling said.

"A sales and purchase broker is a bit like a real estate agent for ships. The first deal I brokered was the sale of an $11-million cruise ship to a company in Ecuador, to be used for taking people to the Galapagos Islands.

"I loved the life in Norway. I made a lot of friends and contacts and had a great time there. But after three years I felt I had reached the point where I needed to take the next step.

"I knew there was an 18-month programme at City University in London to study for a master's degree in Shipping, Trade and Finance. So I decided to give it a go.

"I spent many late nights studying hard and thinking, 'Why am I doing this?' There were times when I thought of throwing in the towel. But I passed, with just short of a distinction, and I loved living in London.

"Most of the other students were from Greece, but there were also people from Norway, Germany, other parts of Europe, the Far East and India. It was an amazing mix of people."

So by the year 2000, Mr. Darling had accumulated a remarkable experience of shipping from the grass roots up. His next step was to try for a job in New York, but after being offered one, he was unable to get the necessary green card to allow him to work there.

It was then that he decided to come home to Bermuda, even though he knew the chances of finding a job in shipping were limited. "There are some big shipping companies based in Bermuda ? for example, Frontline, the biggest tanker operator in the world has an office in Bermuda," Mr. Darling said.

"But there is not much work in terms of shipping operations done here. So I applied for interviews for different types of jobs, with banks and investment companies.

"I ended up getting a job with XL Re, working for the company's CEO Henry Keeling. I worked as a business analyst and it was a fantastic experience. I learned a lot and worked with some good people.

"But in the back of my mind, I always had a burning desire to do something in shipping.

"I knew my career potential, as a Bermudian at XL, was huge. I could see my path forward. But I did not want to look back when I was 40 and have regrets about not taking a chance when I could have done it.

"I'm a loyal person and was loyal to XL, so it was a tough decision to make to leave after 18 months there. I knew that the longer I left it, the harder it would be to do and I had to be true to my desires."

he left XL Re in July this year and founded Fleetwood Global, banking on his experience of shipping and the contacts he has made in the business around the world to give him a steady flow of work in the future. He is under no illusions as to how hard he will have to work to earn himself a slice of the shipping pie. But he believes in himself.

"There are other people working in management services already ? I'm not bringing anything new to the business community," Mr. Darling said. "But there is room for me to find my own niche here.

"I will provide management services with a focus on the shipping industry. I will be aiming to promote the Bermuda shipping registry around the world, because I believe this is a good jurisdiction to be based in.

"Since leaving XL, I've been working to set up my infrastructure. I'm not looking to take away anyone else's business. I believe I can generate my own through my contacts.

"With my know-how in shipping, I can also offer something extra, something substantial behind the brass plate.

"I have friends in Norway who are interested in setting up something off-shore. And I am working with one large, ship broking company based in Singapore which wants to use my services. Because of the 12-hour time difference, I could be helpful to them in developing their business in this part of the world.

"That business came through a personal contact, a guy I used to work with in Norway. The shipping community is small, but spread across the world. Everybody knows everybody. Personal relationships will be very important for my business."