African governments and businesses are important partners of European shipping companies and the region has become one of the most promising global growth markets.

The “blue” economy offers a lot of opportunities, and close cooperation between EU and African institutions and stakeholders is vital. European shipping companies have traditionally had a good, longstanding cooperation with African partners and they have enabled Africa to be connected to world trade. For African stakeholders, projects with the European counterparts offer employment, prosperity and market development.

ECSA will organise an event on 29 November in the European Parliament hosted by MEP Hilde Vautmans. The logistics challenges and opportunities in Africa will be discussed with an impressive number of speakers and panelists. In this event, we will discuss how to ensure mutually benefiting cooperation in the region.

“African governments and businesses are important partners of European shipping companies and close cooperation between EU and African institutions and stakeholders is vital. In view of the EU-Africa summit in 2017, the review of the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement (Cotonou agreement) in 2020, and other strategic discussions we think it is timely to exchange with EU policy makers about common opportunities”, commented ECSA Secretary General Patrick Verhoeven.

Speakers at the event include the United Nations Committee on Trade and Development, representatives of the European Commission and the European External Action Service, Members of the European Parliament and several shipping companies.

ecsa

For the 16th year in a row, NAVIGATOR SHIPPING CONSULTANTS organized its annual esteemed event, “The Shipping Decision Makers Forum”. The Forum was held on Friday, 4 November 2016 at Divani Apollon Palace and was attended by 500 personalities of the Greek Shipping Community.

Mrs. Danae Bezantakou, Managing Director of NAVIGATOR SHIPPING CONSULTANTS, welcomed the participants, presented the company and highlighted that we should all stop making crisis a brand and focus on the opportunities it brings.

Capt. Dimitris Bezantakos, President of NAVIGATOR SHIPPING CONSULTANTS, welcomed the forum’s delegates and introduced them to this year’s topics of discussion. Through his address, Capt. Dimitris Bezantakos, invited us all to stop being pessimistic and urged each one of us, from our own area of expertise and position in the industry, to put in the effort to maintain Hellenic Shipping strong and when compared to its global counterparts, first in capacity, first in number of vessels, first in S&P, first in the Tanker market, first in the Bulkers market and first in the value of its fleet.
Mrs. Eva Kaili, Member of the European Parliament and Mr. Mitiadis Varvitsiotis, Former Minister of the Hellenic Ministry of Shipping and the Aegean, gave the opening addresses of the Forum.
Piraeus was the Honoured Place of focus in the NAVIGATOR FORUM 2016 and the Councillor for local economic growth & entrepreneurship of Piraeus Municipality, Mr. Petros Kokkalis referred to the port’s high significance, from its vast maritime history to the set plans of its transformation into the largest port of the Mediterranean Sea. As the unique Platinum sponsor of the forum, the Managing Director of MacGregor Greece Ltd., Mrs. Athena Kanellatou, had the opportunity to present the company and the solutions MacGregor offers to a wide range of maritime transports.

The first panel: “Ports as an Economic Aspect & Market Analysis” was moderated by Mr. George Xiradakis, Managing Director – XRTC Business Consultants Ltd and President – THE PROPELLER CLUB (Port of Piraeus). In the panel participated Mrs. Katerina Stathopoulou, Executive Director - INVESTMENTS & FINANCE, Mrs. Vera Alexandropoulou, Legal Department – Piraeus Port Authority Mr. Javier López, Commercial Manager - Algeciras Port Authority and Mr. Apostolos Kamarinakis, Civil Engineer - Rtd. VADM HELLENIC COAST GUARD & Former CEO HELLENIC PORT DEVELOPMENT CENTER.

Mrs. Vera Alexandropoulou gave an informative presentation on Piraeus port’s current activities and its many business development prospects emerging from its privatization and scheduled future investments. In addition, she made a strong point on how the Greek and Mediterranean macro recovery will provide impetus to trade flows from Piraeus port.

During the panel’s discussion the importance of having, both internal and external, port competition was highlighted with regards to its contribution to the growth of a port. The panelists emphasized the need for hinterland when an increase in trade flow results in positive spillovers for the local, national and international economy. Finally, significant notice was given to the importance of a given port’s geostrategic position by Mrs. Vera Alexandropoulou and Mr. Javier Lopez.

Mrs. Danae Bezantakou presented the Before-and-After video of the 1st Young Executives Shipping Forum that took place during the Posidonia Exhibition 2016.

The discussion of the 2016 “Foreign Ambassadors panel”, was titled “Ports in an International Perspective”. The discussion was moderated by Mr. François Lafond, President of Blue Networks and Opportunities (Paris) with the participation of H.E. Luigi Marras, Ambassador of Italy in Greece, H.E. Younghip Ahn, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea in Greece and H.E. Frank Geerkens, Port Ambassador of Antwerp Port Authority in Belgium. The issues were proposed to the Ambassadors which shaped the presentations and the discussion that followed. The first obvious element was the key role ports play as gateways for the increasing maritime transport despite the current gloomy situation. The second element focused on a port’s importance and its direct link in the economic development of areas, territories and regions. How private and public authorities should invest and coordinate their financial involvement? Considering the potential impacts on the jobs and on the economic growth, what management bodies and administrative structures should lead these long term investment in the port regions in close cooperation with the national government? How will these investments, private, state or local aids, be used and under what conditions? The recent report from the European Court of Auditors, released in September 2016, on “Maritime transport in the EU: in troubled waters – much ineffective and unsustainable investment” was mentioned by the moderator in the discussion. The third aspect of the discussion focused on the security dimension of the ports. Increasing trade activities also means -potentialy- more trafficking, counterfeiting products, frauds and possible illegal migrations. What specific controls have to be carried out by the authorities and under which processes, were some of the keypoints that were dscussed during the panel.

A year after his passing and in memory of Capt. Alekos Stellatos , we commemorated his life by viewing a video montage of his life onboard.

The 3rd panel: “Smart & Green maritime Technology: Where we are now, and what's next?” was moderated by Mrs. Helena Athoussaki, Head of Maritime Sustainability Centre - PwC and comprised of Mr. George Christopoulos, Vice Admiral of Hellenic Navy (Rtd) Marine Operations LAROS – Prisma Electronics, Mr. Khalid Talukder, Chief Revenue Officer – TRAMONEX, DIABOS’ Cash Management Partner, Mr. Konstantinos Stampedakis, General Director – ERMA FIRST ESK Engineering Solutions S.A, Mr. Frank Paleokrassas, Corporate Manager - Fleet Performance – BERNHARD SCHULTE SHIPMANAGEMENT (HELLAS) SPLLC.

The technical panel addressed the opportunities and challenges arising in shipping from applying smart and green technology. The panel also commented with high skepticism on the latest developments in environmental regulations as to whether their actual implementation can be done on a timely and effective manner. All the panellists stressed the importance of having smart technology embedded in shipping operations and examined how the smart green shipping model can improve operational efficiency, safety, personnel and logistics. The dialogue continued with the audience’s participation questioning the crew capability to handle the use of further on board technology. The panel then emphasized that the technology should be mainly handled from on shore personnel. The panel recognized that the main threat of having smart shipping is the mentality of the shipping sector. The discussion became quite heated when a panelist stressed that the journey towards a greater digitalization era has already started and the shipping industry must act quickly in order to be sustainable, keeping in mind that big international companies failed because they could not adapt quickly to advances on existing technology (Kodak, Nokia etc). Finally they all agreed that big data and analytics will play a critical role in shaping the future of shipping.

After the completion of the three panel sessions, in the conclusive part of Navigator 2016, Mrs. Danae Bezantakou announced the lucky delegates that won Travel Gifts offered by airline companies and well- known hotels for the Forum’s annual Lottery.

We thank everyone that helped this Forum to take place and we are looking forward to welcoming you in the 17th NAVIGATOR 2017 – The Shipping Decision Makers Forum.

Please find hereunder relevant important links: 

• List of registrations: https://we.tl/oi1gPTVJIO
• NAVIGATOR Forum Press Release both in English & in Greek: http://conference.navigatorltd.gr/old/2016/index.html
• Forum’s photos: https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipMacV68FbeoJglVbm5WEa5cWpQBOGfbu7Q2fiS_ustdockLranWy8fmlRzgxypAmg?key=UVpGMklxZ1ZZTUVYRGdiNFh0VG4zNnNMMm1Dcnl3
• Forum’s videos: http://conference.navigatorltd.gr/old/2016/index.html

You can give us your opinion regarding the 16^th  Navigator Forum by filling the feedback form latest by 29^th November 2016 by following the link http://conference.navigatorltd.gr/old/2016/feedback_form.html

DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ:DRYS), an international owner of drybulk carriers and offshore support vessels, announced today that it has reached agreement with one of its lenders to settle its outstanding loan obligations.

Under the terms of the agreement, the lending bank has agreed to a write-off of approximately 50\% of the outstanding principal and interest due. The Company has repaid approximately $8.2 million of principal and will have to pay an additional amount of $2.0 million over the next 9 months against a full and final settlement of all of its obligations under the credit documents.

About DryShips Inc.
The Company is an owner of drybulk carriers and offshore support vessels that operate worldwide.  The Company owns a fleet of 14 Panamax drybulk carriers with a combined deadweight tonnage of approximately 1.0 million tons, and 6 offshore supply vessels, comprising 2 platform supply and 4 oil spill recovery vessels.

The Company’s common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market where it trades under the symbol “DRYS.”

 

LAROS, Remote Monitoring system, innovative technology was present at the Sea Trade Maritime exhibition in Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, Dubai, UAE 31 October - 2 November 2016

PRISMA ELECTRONICS S.A. people and their GCC partners had the opportunity to meet with the leading Oil and Gas, and Shipping companies from all over the world. Also, they had the chance to demonstrate the effectiveness of LAROS technology on monitoring critical assets such as a vessels’ performance or any type of industrial machinery. The innovation of LAROS architecture and technology was welcomed with enthusiasm by the world’s most demanding engineers, as LAROS is the only platform that provides all answers needed by Technical & Operation Departments of such organizations. The acceptance and recognition of LAROS technology was exceptional and it can be characterized as one of the most promising technologies for what is coming in the future of Oil and Gas global market.

 

Prisma Electronics SA participated in Greener Shipping Summit 2016 “What about Tomorrow” that was organized by NEWSFRONT Naftiliaki under the auspices of MARTECMA.

The Summit had three thematic units: a) Innovation about New technologies on ships and surveying, Novel design and manufacturing, and Smart ships, b) Bunkers, Lubricants, Chemicals in regards to Environmental issues, Maintenance issue, and technology / production, and c) Performance. The attendance was very high and the delegates had the chance to exchange with each other and get familiar with new concepts and regulations like MRV.

The Marine Operations Director of LAROS Mr George Christopoulos who was one of the main speakers of the summit, presented the innovative solution of  LAROS telemetry system. During his presentation he developed for the first time on the analysis of Maritime Big Data introducing LAROS DAS-Data Analysis System. «The forecasting estimates the future behaviours and values», he said giving emphasis on the fact that with LAROS  the shipping companies achieve correct planning of future action.

As Mr Christopoulos mentioned, proper maintenance can be achieved through prognosis, making profit for the shipping companies. 

 

IMO’s MEPC 70 may have developed a “roadmap” for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions but it is becoming evident the roadmap's directions are far from clear.

Indeed, the road ahead for shipping is very challenging as was evidenced after an eight-hour debate on greener shipping in Athens 15 November.

“We have heard a lot about changes that are going to cost and shipping should not be held responsible for covering this cost, governments need to help,” said Haris Giantzikis, technical manager of Greece’s Arcadia Shipmanagement, as the day was winding up.

Availability of low sulphur fuel to meet looming regulations was raised early in proceedings. Panos Zachariadis, technical director Atlantic Bulk Carriers, and a long-time member of the Greek delegation to IMO, predicted the sulphur cap will be put back because of the supply issue. Adrian Pask, BP Marine Fuels, said the refining industry is still seeking clarification on deadlines, but believes "there is enough time for refineries". "It will not be easy, but we have started to prepare," he said.

Another fact made very evident is that shipping is in the digital age. “Big data” is now a part of shipping and while the industry may only just beginning to spread its wings in the age of big data, technologies are being developed which the industry, often seen as being reluctant, must embrace, despite fear from traditionalists that the seafarer is being made redundant, or at least is losing onboard control. This was a particular concern of floor delegates though presenters countered a computerised future provides greater awareness of safety and efficiency while increasing trading potential and thus earning power.

Dimitris Theodossiou, md of Danaos Management Consultants, was adamant crew must be encouraged to provide the onboard data to their owners as it not only proves to the charterer they are dealing with an efficient ship, it makes the operation of the ship more efficient overall, and certainly rings alarm bells when it comes to maintenance. The classification men pointed out there is a wealth of data that can be collected and there "are tools which can sort out this data".

Cyber security and who is actually in charge of cyber security was an issue. Torbjorn Moller, MAN Diesel & Turbo, pointed out "owners own the data collected and control exactly what the data is used for". He said IACS is looking at the issue of cyber security, and it is in the interest of all to collaborate. Giantzikis said, "much like when it comes to your home you are responsible for security, the company is responsible for cyber security".

Shipowner George Tsavliris stressed IMO is in charge of changes in the industry. "Shipping is over-regulated and unilateral decisions and political agendas must be avoided. IMO has the knowledge, experience, realistic standards and goals to take us forward," said Tsavliris. He was among those wondering if there were sufficient funds in the industry to make the changes being demanded. He also pointed out shipping is not mentioned in the final Paris Agreement text, and that the overall target for emissions has been changed.

Then, there is the “Trump card” said Tsavliris. He said the US president-elect has made a number of statements which indicate the US may abandon the Paris Agreement on climate exchange altogether.

David Glass
Greece Correspondent, Seatrade Maritime

DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ:DRYS) (the “Company”), an international owner of drybulk carriers and offshore support vessels, announced today that the Company has entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement with Kalani Investments Limited, an entity organized in the British Virgin Islands (“Kalani”) and that is not affiliated with the Company,

for the sale of 20,000 newly designated Series E-1 Convertible Preferred Shares, preferred warrants to purchase 30,000 Series E-1 Convertible Preferred Shares, preferred warrants to purchase 50,000 newly designated Series E-2 Convertible Preferred Shares, prepaid warrants to initially purchase an aggregate of 372,874 common shares (with the number of common shares issuable subject to adjustment as described therein), and 100 common shares. Kalani is entitled to receive 10,000 common shares but is electing to receive 100 common shares and the prepaid warrant will be immediately exercisable for 9,900 common shares. 

The securities will be issued to Kalani through a registered direct offering pursuant to a Form F-3 registration statement the Company currently has on file with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (“SEC”). 

The gross proceeds from the sale of the securities will be approximately $20 million.  The Company may further receive up to an aggregate of $80 million if all of the preferred warrants are exercised, for total proceeds of $100 million. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the sale of the offered securities for general corporate purposes and/or to repay indebtedness under one or more of our existing credit facilities and/or to repay indebtedness incurred under the Revolving Facility with Sifnos Shareholders Inc., an entity controlled by our Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. George Economou, although the Company has no present agreements to do so.

Our common shares are listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol "DRYS." Currently the Company has 1,137,712 shares (including treasury stock) issued and oustanding. On November 15, 2016, the last reported sale price of our common stock was $73.00 per share. The Series E-1 Convertible Preferred Shares, Series E-2 Convertible Preferred Shares, Series E-1 Preferred Warrants, Series E-2 Preferred Warrants, Series F-1 Common Warrant and Series F-2 Common Warrant will not be listed on any national securities exchange. There is no established public trading market for the Series E-1 Convertible Preferred Shares, Series E- 2 Convertible Preferred Shares, Series E-1 Preferred Warrants, Series E-2 Preferred Warrants, Series F-1 Common Warrant or Series F-2 Common Warrant, and the Company does not expect a market to develop.  The Company expects to issue the shares to Kalani on or about November 21, 2016.

Apart from the transaction described in this press release, the Company is not aware of any other news that would result in the increased trading activity of its stock or a fluctuation of its stock price.

The following summary of the terms of the securities in this offering does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by the transaction documents filed on a Foreign Report on Form 6-k concurrently herewith.

Series E-1 Convertible Preferred Shares

We are initially issuing 20,000 shares of Series E-1 Convertible Preferred Shares and will have 30,000 additional shares of Series E-1 Convertible Preferred Shares available to be issued pursuant to our Statement of Designations of the Series E-1 Preferred Warrants (as discussed below).  The Series E-1 Convertible Preferred Shares are convertible at any time at the option of the holder into common shares at a fixed conversion price of $30.00 per common share; provided, however, that if the volume weighted average price of the common shares on the Nasdaq Capital Market is below $30.00 (subject to adjustment as described herein), then the holder may convert the Series E-1 Convertible Preferred Shares at an alternate price equal to the higher of (x) 77.5\% of the lowest daily volume weighted average price on any trading day during the 14 consecutive trading day period ending on the trading day immediately prior to the conversion date and (y) $1.50. At any time, the Company may redeem all, but not less than all, of the Series E-1 Convertible Preferred Shares on the terms described in the documents governing the governing documents.

Series E-2 Convertible Preferred Shares

We are not issuing any Series E-2 Convertible Preferred Shares initially, but 50,000 Series E-2 Convertible Preferred Shares are available to be issued upon exercise of our Series E-2 Preferred Warrants (as described below) pursuant to our Statement of Designations with respect thereto.  The Series E-2 Convertible Preferred Shares are convertible at any time at the option of the holder into common shares at a fixed conversion price of $30.00 per common share; provided, however, that if the volume weighted average price of the common shares on the Nasdaq Capital Market is below $30.00 (subject to adjustment as described herein), then the holder may convert the Series E-2 Convertible Preferred Shares at an alternate price equal to the higher of (x) 85\% of the lowest daily volume weighted average price on any trading day during the 21 consecutive trading day period ending on the trading day immediately prior to the conversion date and (y) $1.50. At any time, we may redeem all, but not less than all, of the Series E-2 Convertible Preferred Shares on the terms described in the governing documents.

Series E-1 Preferred Warrants

The Series E-1 Preferred Warrants will be exercisable into up to 30,000 Series E-1 Convertible Preferred Shares at any time at the option of the holder thereof at an exercise price of $1,000 per Series E-1 Convertible Preferred Share, and shall expire two years after the date of issuance of such warrant (the "Series E-1 Preferred Warrants Expiration Date").

Series E-2 Preferred Warrants

The Series E-2 Preferred Warrants will be exercisable into up to 50,000 Series E-2 Convertible Preferred Shares at any time at the option of the holder thereof at an exercise price of $1,000 per Series E-1 Convertible Preferred Share, and shall expire two years after the date of issuance of such warrant (the "Series E-2 Preferred Warrants Expiration Date").

Series F-1 Common Warrants

In connection with the purchase of Series E-1 Convertible Preferred Shares, we have agreed to issue to Kalani additional shares of Common Stock equal to 1.5\% of the quotient of (x) the Aggregate Exercise Price (as defined in the Series E-1 Preferred Warrants) paid to the Company in connection with an exercise of the Series E-1 Preferred Warrants, divided by (y) the Alternate Conversion Price (as defined in the Series E-1 Convertible Preferred Shares Statement of Designations), which Kalani has agreed to accept in the form of a prepaid Series F-1 Common Warrant (the “Additional F-1 Common Shares”).  Initially, the Series F-1 Common Warrant will only be exercisable into 9,900 of our common shares (which together with the 100 common shares issued to Kalani initially, represent the 10,000 shares issuable at a deemed price of $30 per share in connection with the initial issuance of Series E-1 Convertible Preferred Shares).  Upon each exercise of the Series E-1 Preferred Warrant, the related Additional F-1 Convertible Common Shares shall become exercisable thereunder.  No consideration is required to be paid upon any exercise of the Series F-1 Common Warrants. The Series F-1 Common Warrant shall expire (i) if no Series E-1 Preferred Warrants are exercised, on the Series E-1 Preferred Warrants Expiration Date or (ii) if the Series E-1 Preferred Warrants are exercised, in whole or in part, prior to the Series E-1 Preferred Warrants Expiration Date, then two years after the Series E-1 Preferred Warrants Expiration Date.

Series F-2 Common Warrants

In connection with the purchase of Series E-2 Convertible Preferred Shares, we have agreed to issue to Kalani additional shares of Common Stock equal to 1.5\% of the quotient of (x) the Aggregate Exercise Price (as defined in the Series E-2 Preferred Warrants) paid to the Company in connection with an exercise of the Series E-2 Preferred Warrants, divided by (y) the Alternate Conversion Price (as defined in the Series E-2 Convertible Preferred Shares Statement of Designations), which Kalani has agreed to accept in the form of a prepaid Series F-2 Common Warrant (the “Additional F-2 Common Shares”).  Initially, the Series F-2 Common Warrant will not be exercisable into any common shares.  Upon each exercise of the Series E-2 Preferred Warrant, the related Additional F-2 Convertible Common Shares shall become exercisable thereunder.  No consideration is required to be paid upon any exercise of the Series F-2 Common Warrants. The Series F-2 Common Warrant shall expire (i) if no Series E-2 Preferred Warrants are exercised, on the Series E-2 Preferred Warrants Expiration Date or (ii) if the Series E-2 Preferred Warrants are exercised, in whole or in part, prior to the Series E-2 Preferred Warrants Expiration Date, then two years after the Series E-2 Preferred Warrants Expiration Date. 

Number of our Common Shares Issuable in Satisfaction of the
Securities to be Sold in this Offering Based on Various Assumed Market Prices 

Assumed Market Prices	Number of Shares Potentially Issuable*
$30 per share or greater	3,616,667
$25 per share	5,347,457
$20 per share	6,681,822
$15 per share	8,905,762
$10 per share	13,353,643
$5 per share	26,697,287
$1.50 per share (the floor price)	72,143,333

*Assumes full conversion and exercise of all securities to be sold in this offering into common shares (without regard to any limitations on conversion or exercise) on the day immediately after the make whole period expires and assuming a volume weighted average price on each date of determination and on each trading day in any applicable measuring period, as applicable, equal to the Assumed Market Price in the table above.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities. Any offers of securities will be made only by means of a prospectus supplement and accompanying base prospectus. A shelf registration statement on Form F-3 (File No. 333-202821), including a base prospectus, relating to the securities being offered has been filed with the SEC and declared effective. A prospectus supplement relating to the offering is being filed by the Company with the SEC. Copies of the prospectus supplement, together with the accompanying base prospectus, can be obtained at the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov or from DryShips Inc., 109 Kifissias Avenue and Sina Street, 151 24, Marousi, Athens, Greece, Attention: Investor Relations.

About DryShips Inc.

The Company is an owner of drybulk carriers and offshore support vessels that operate worldwide.  The Company owns a fleet of 14 Panamax drybulk carriers with a combined deadweight tonnage of approximately 1.0 million tons, and 6 offshore supply vessels, comprising 2 platform supply and 4 oil spill recovery vessels.

The Company’s common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market where it trades under the symbol “DRYS.”

Real Time Graduates is a non-profit initiative that connects Graduates with the Greek Shipping Cluster. It was inspired by the Internship Programme operating within Laskaridis Shipping Co.Ltd. since several years.

Real Time Graduates is a hub made up of Ship Management Companies, Brokers, Chartering Desks, Classification Societies, Financial & Legal Institutions, Technical Offices and others, working within the Greek Shipping Sector. The scope of the programme is to connect young and talented graduates without work experience, with the maritime industry. Both the Graduates and the Companies benefit from joining Real Time Graduates as graduates join a community where they may find a traineeship position or a work placement and companies have the opportunity to gain access to a pool of qualified individuals all in one place.

Graduates that have a degree in Shipping / Maritime Studies or a degree in a field affiliated with the Shipping Industry, possess no work experience in the Field and are up to 30 years old can participate in the programme for the educational experience of a lifetime. There is no fee for participating in Real Time Graduates neither for the Graduates nor for the Companies.

It is the first free database with CVs specifically targeted for the Shipping Community with studies that include Marine Policy, Maritime Law, Marine Engineering and other. We have graduates from more that 15 Greek and Foreign Universities: University of the Aegean, University of Piraeus, City University, Plymouth University, Southampton University, Athens University of Economics and Business, Newcastle University and National Technical University of Athens among others.

Working to offer more to the registered Graduates in our programme we have initiated The RTG Blog - http://www.investinthefuture.gr/blog - a place where Graduates can get informed about the latest shipping updates and other related news, read interviews with maritime executives about their start in shipping, publicize their work, and find tips on getting prepared in the Maritime sector. In addition, we have launched The RTG Open House, that gives the opportunity to our registered graduates to take part in the company visits we organize to the premises of some of the biggest Shipping Organizations & Companies in Greece. Finally by registering in our programme the Graduates enjoy a 20\% discount in the maritime seminars of some of the greatest organizations, like the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (ICS) and the Hellenic Shipbrokers Association (HSA), that support Real Time Graduates.

Through the Real Time Graduates Programme, the companies have the opportunity to work with young, fresh and eager graduates and possibly finding valuable employees for the future through a pool of qualified individuals all in one place and at the same time show the real public profile of social corporate responsibility of the maritime sector in Greece.

The current generation of shipping professionals has the option and the ability to be a part of the creation of the next generation of shipping colleagues.

Please visit our website www.investinthefuture.gr for more information on Real Time Graduates or contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

 

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The Baltic Dry Index, a measure of commodity shipping costs, surged to a two-year high following the election of Donald Trump, who campaigned to invest as much as $1 trillion on infrastructure in the U.S.

The spending would be a boon for owners of vessels ferrying iron ore and other commodities around the world, accelerating the Baltic index’s recovery in the past two weeks. A Trump presidency would see a recovery in infrastructure spending, which would benefit bulk-shipping companies carrying raw materials as well, according to Wu Kan, a Shanghai-based fund manager at Shanshan Finance Co.

source:www.bloomberg.com

IMO MEPC70 results, Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention Ratification, Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV), Common Structural Rules (CSR), Goal Based Standards (GBS) and Ship Recycling were key themes at the combined session of Lloyd’s Register’s Hellenic Technical Committee and Hellenic Technical Environmental Sub-Committee

Lloyd’s Register (LR) Hellenic Technical Committee (HTC) and Environmental Sub-Committee (HTESC) met on Wednesday 2 November 2016 at a combined session on board the floating museum Hellas Liberty in Piraeus.

In his opening comments, George Maglaras, LR Greece & Cyprus Client Care Manager, acknowledged the trust of the Greek Shipping industry to LR and stressed the importance of fruitful meetings among shipping professionals in the current challenging climate.

Sokratis Dimakopoulos, Deputy Managing Director, Tsakos Columbia Shipmanagement SA and LR HTESC Chairman, welcomed the LR Committees members in his turn and underpinned Mr Maglara’s remarks commenting that the current market conditions in combination with a challenging regulatory landscape can lead to a demanding context that the shipping community cannot disregard.

Mr Spyros Skavaras, Design & Construction Studies Director of the Ministry of Shipping & Island Policy and representative of the Greek Administration to the IMO meetings, addressed on the results of MEPC 70. Mr Skavaras focused on the ratification of the BWM Convention and the implementation of the 0,5\% sulphur cap in 2020 and made reference to specific issues that will be further clarified at MEPC 71.

Charalampos Anastasakis, LR Senior Specialist, provided further insight regarding the latest developments and the way ahead following the entry into force of the BWM Convention. Kirikos Faraklas, LRQA - Marine Business Support Centre Technical Manager, addressed the MRV challenges and guided the audience through the current regulatory framework and what is more to come in the future.  

Guest speakers from LR Global Technology Centre (GTC) in Southampton provided their valuable insight on technical subjects currently at the top of the agenda of the shipping industry. Hasan Ocakli, Technical Authority – CSR, LR Marine & Offshore, delivered an update on CSR and IMO GBS.  Jim Heath, Ship Recycling Manager, Statutory Support Group, LR Southampton GTC, provided an update on Ship Recycling Legislation.

The presentations were very well received and induced fruitful and productive discussions.

"A few days after the IMO MEPC 70 meeting the timing was very good for a very successful Technical and Environmental Committee meeting. The participation was large and active and the actions raised can contribute towards shaping the developments in the regulatory landscape”, said Theodosis Stamatellos, LR Regional Marine & Offshore Manager South Europe.

 

About Lloyd’s Register

Lloyd’s Register (LR) is a global engineering, technical and business services organisation wholly owned by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, a UK charity dedicated to research and education in science and engineering. Founded in 1760 as a marine classification society, LR now operates across many industry sectors, with over 9,000 employees in 78 countries.

LR has a long-standing reputation for integrity, impartiality and technical excellence. Our compliance, risk and technical consultancy services give clients confidence that their assets and businesses are safe, sustainable and dependable. Through our global technology centres and research network, LR is at the forefront of understanding the application of new science and technology to future-proof our clients’ businesses.