The challenges and opportunities arising from the objectives set for low carbon emissions from ships, are the focus of the event held on Thursday, November 30, from BlueGrowth and the classification society DNV GL, at the Piraeus Marine Club.

This year, DNV GL has released the report entitled "Low Carbon Shipping Towards 2050: Challenges and Opportunities", which was highly recognized. Based in the Paris Convention on Climate Change in 2015, shipping is expected to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases and DNV GL is ready to assist industry in the transition to a future with low-carbon emissions.

In this context, the UN's objectives for sustainable development, the challenges for the operation of low sulfur and carbon-bearing ships and the transition to 2050 in terms of availability of technology, barriers along potential opportunities were discussed.

European shipowners organised a seminar on EU funding this week in Brussels. A discussion took place between the Commission and shipping companies aiming at identifying any challenges shipowners face in the EU funding application process.

“Together with the Commission we want to solve the mismatch between the oversubscription of the Motorways of the Sea (MoS) and the fact that the MoS envelope is not entirely spent, but we also want to improve the visibility of the funding for the shipowners”, commented ECSA’s Secretary General Martin Dorsman on the event.

“During the discussions, the following key-messages from the shipowners came across: The Commission should make sure that small and bigger shipping companies would have the same opportunity to receive funding, it should increase communication with the industry in order to pinpoint the real needs, the award criteria of relevance, maturity, quality and impact should always be kept in mind and the selection criteria should be made more transparent”, he concluded.

A wide range of stakeholders participated and shared information on the programmes and best practices including shipping companies, DG MOVE, the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA) and the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME).

ecsa.eu

On Wednesday, November 22, 2017, Piraeus Marine Club held one more of the well-established Working Luncheon, in which issues of prominence are discussed, this time with honored guest speakers, British Minister of State Lord Callanan, Deputy Head of Department for BREXIT (DexEU) and British Ambassador to Greece Her Excellency Ms Kate Smith CMG.

Lord Callahan, in his speech, referred to BREXIT’s current developments and to the prospects and possibilities for Hellenic Merchant Shipping to intervene and assist in this process.

Members had the opportunity to ask the distinguished speakers questions and deepen on their subjects, causing debates that lasted until the afternoon. 

President of Piraeus Marine Club, Mrs Irene S. Daifas, together with the Vice President of Piraeus Marine Club, Mr. George Alexandratos, welcome the British Minister of State Lord Callanan & the British Ambassador to Greece H.E. Ms Kate Smith CMG.

British Minister Lord Callanan during his speech at Piraeus Marine Club.

President of Piraeus Marine Club Ms. Irene S. Daifas with the British Minister Lord Callanan, the British Ambassador in Greece H.E. Ms Kate Smith CMG & the Vice President of Piraeus Marine Club, Mr.George Alexandratos, at the main table.

General point of view of the working lunch speech.

Interorient Shipmanagement

 

Interorient Shipmanagement was founded in 1979 and today prides itself as being one of the leaders in quality ship management in the shipping industry with a long and successful history. The company’s infrastructure of ship management and manning agencies worldwide maintains the highest degree of operational and safety integrity over a managed fleet of more than 100 vessels with over 3,000 employees onboard and ashore. The company places great emphasis on its employees, its human capital, and enjoys a high degree of employee retention and loyalty both in its branch offices and amongst its seafarers.

support by voting via the following link:  www.inbawards.com

Samos Steamship Co. with vast experience in the shipping industry, chooses SetelHellas SeeMBox-V© Open Digital Platform bringing them to the forefront of the digital era and continues its strategic commitment to promote environmentally responsible shipping, safety and efficiency through management excellence and continuous improvement.

find attached the case study

Beijing - Oct LNG imports rise 95.7 pct y-o-y to 3.57 mln tonnes, 2nd highest since December’s 3.73 mln tonnes. China bringing in more spot cargoes this winter .

Beijing - China’s imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in October nearly doubled from the same month a year ago to the second highest on record, according to customs data, as companies boosted imports of the fuel ahead of the winter heating season. LNG imports rose 95.7 percent from a year earlier to 3.57 million tonnes, second only to a record 3.73 million tonnes in December, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Thursday. T he Chinese government’s aggressive campaign to heat millions of homes in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region with natural gas instead of coal this winter has spurred the demand for the fuel and may cause a supply shortage. Wen Wang, a natural gas consultant with Wood Mackenzie, estimated China’s LNG imports to rise 40 percent year-on-year to 20 million tonnes this winter, as companies bring in more spot cargoes on top of supplies under term contracts. The surge in demand is luring spot cargoes from places such as Norway and Nigeria that are not traditional LNG sources for China. Shipping data on Thomson Reuters Eikon shows a 151,000-cubic-metre cargo from Nigeria is due to arrive in China early December, the third from the West African exporter this year.

“The higher-than-usual demand throughout 2017 resulted in higher offtake in contracted volumes through September... This means lower contracted offtake is left for the winter, and higher demand for spot,” said Wang. The customs data showed that China’s imports for the first 10 months of the year climbed 47.9 percent from the same time a year ago to 29.09 million tonnes. In the trade of refined oil products, China exported 1.21 million tonnes of diesel last month, down 10.8 percent from a year earlier and higher than September’s 1.18 million tonnes. Exports of gasoline rose 11.4 percent from a year ago to 970,000 tonnes last month. Chinese state oil refiners received in late October a total of 5 million tonnes of fuel export quotas, with diesel accounting for 60 percent of the quotas. This was an additional batch of quotas to cope with a growing fuel surplus as new refineries started.

http://www.themeditelegraph.com

WISTA Hellas Annual Forum 2017

“Shipping New Horizons: Trends & Challenges”
Athenaeum InterContinental Hotel
Monday, 27 November, 2017

2nd Panel: How ship owners cope with the industry challenges ahead?

Sadan Kaptanoglu, Shipping Manager, Kaptanoglu Shipping

Vassilis Mantzavinos, General Manager Greece UniCredit Bank AG

Milena Pappas, Commercial Director, Star Bulk Carriers Corp.

Aristides J. Pittas, CEO, Chairman of the Board of EUROSEAS LTD.

Valentios “Eddie” Valentis, Chairman and CEO, Pyxis Tankers

Lila Μ. Vergou, Chief Operating Officer,

Vergos Marine Management S.A.

Moderator: John N. Cotzias, President of Hellenic Shipbrokers

Association, Projects Finance, Xclusiv Shipbrokers Inc.

Celestyal Cruises is delighted to announce the appointment of Leslie Peden as President, North America and Wan Wang as Sales Executive, China.

Leslie Peden

Peden will be responsible for driving business growth and promoting Celestyal Cruises in North America, and Wang has been tasked with enhancing the company’s presence and brand in China.

Peden is a highly-experienced, time-honored travel professional with 30+ years of success in cruising, tour operations, air and rail travel, including a proven track record serving in senior management and executive roles for such acclaimed cruise companies as Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Virgin Holidays Cruises and Island Cruises.

Wan Wang

A British national, Peden held full P&L responsibility for Virgin Holidays Cruises and the integration of this business unit into the wider Virgin Travel Group. Among his many accomplishments while at Virgin, he developed and executed Virgin Holidays Cruises’ first fully-integrated marketing campaign with the launch of a new dedicated cruise brochure, press creative and the business entity’s first-ever national TV, digital and social media campaign.

“We are excited to bring Mr. Peden on board. He is an industry standout and an innovator who brings decades of travel expertise, with an emphasis on cruising,” says Kyriakos Anastassiadis, CEO of Celestyal Cruises. “We expect he will bring immeasurable enthusiasm to his role and we look forward to him achieving tremendous success in North America.”

Kyriakos Anastassiadis

Wang comes to Celestyal Cruises with over a decade of maritime experience. For the past nine years she was the Secretary to the Chief Representative in the Shanghai office of Anangel Maritime Service, Inc. Prior to that, Wang was a core member of the New Building Project at Newfront Shipping Management Inc.

“Ms. Wang’s outstanding interpersonal and presentation skills will be a tremendous asset to Celestyal Cruises in what will become a crucial marketplace for us,” says Anastassiadis. “We expect her to build powerful, long-lasting partnerships throughout China to stimulate and support our growth in this crucial market. We wish her immeasurable success.”

www.celestyalcruises.com

 

About Celestyal Cruises

Celestyal Cruises is the only home-porting cruise operator in Greece and the preeminent cruise line serving the Greek Islands and circumnavigating the island of Cuba, year-round. The company operates five mid-sized vessels; each one being cosy enough to provide genuine and highly-personalized services. The foundation of the company’s philosophy is the ‘destination.’ Every cruise focuses on true cultural immersion, offering authentic, lifetime experiences both on board and onshore wherever its vessels sail.

Corporate Responsibility

Celestyal Cruises is deeply committed to sustainability and ethical business practices. The company actively supports the local communities in the destinations it visits, particularly in the field of education. Since 2015, more than 1,200 students on the Greek islands of Milos, Patmos and Ios have enjoyed a ‘journey to knowledge’, by attending specialized educational programs, initiated by Celestyal Cruises. Additionally, Celestyal Cruises supports cultural NGOs; while promoting youth entrepreneurship, marine student development and child welfare.

ISO Certification 

The entire spectrum of Celestyal Cruises’ ship management, including technical, hotel and crew management, and offices, are certified in accordance with ISO 9001/14001 standards. The certifying authority is DNV-GL, which is by widely recognized as the biggest and most respected rating agency in the marine industry.

Awards & recognition

In 2017, Celestyal Cruises received four Cruisers’ Choice Awards from Cruise Critic, the world’s largest online cruise community, being voted ‘Best’ in the mid-sized category, for ‘Embarkation’, ‘Entertainment’, ‘Shore Excursions’ and ‘Value’. At the Greek Tourism Awards 2017, the company won five awards, as an indication of its dynamic presence in the cruise sector, as well as its great value offered. More specifically, the company won the gold award in the following categories: ‘Tourism Season Expanding Initiatives-Greek Tourism Product Enrichment’, ‘Guest Service Excellence’, ‘Gastronomic Tourism’ and ‘Corporate Identity-Corporate Reputation Management- Branding’; while also receiving a silver award in the ‘Integrated Marketing Campaign’ category. Connect with Celestyal Cruises: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn

 

NanoPhos’ founder, Dr. Ioannis Arampatzis received “Technical Achievement Award”, during the 2017 Lloyd’s List Greek Shipping Awards.

Friday, November 24th, 2017: In the uniquely organized yearly ceremony of Lloyd’s List Greek Shipping Awards 2017, among the presence of highly appreciated representatives of the shipping industry, NanoPhos was awarded the “Technical Achievement Award 2017”.

The 14th year of the Greek Shipping Awards and gala presentation dinner was held at the Athenaeum Intercontinental in Athens and was attended by many of the leading figures in the maritime industry.

NanoPhos Marine, a Greek “smart” coatings manufacturing company, has successfully introduced into the shipping market advanced coatings, harnessing the power of nanotechnology. In addition, NanoPhos Marine has not only managed to develop and manufacture nanotechnology driven innovative coatings, but has also translated all the scientific research and technological achievements into cost-effective, efficient, energy-saving and easily applicable products, combining the power of technology and science with business competitiveness and high commercial value.

This award depicts NanoPhos’ technical achievements over the years. The company’s scientific team has devoted years of meticulous research and thorough laboratory experiments, to develop a complete, nanotechnology-engineered product portfolio of anti-corrosive, thermal insulating, antifouling or other products, in order to provide “intelligent” solutions to common problems of the marine field.

Dr. Ioannis Arampatzis commented: “It is an honour that recognises the technical achievements of NanoPhos over the years. We are very proud for what we have accomplished. Some years ago, when we spread the word of robotic coatings that can change their properties according to external stimuli, self-healing and thermal insulating paints, copper-free antifouling systems with roughness less than 40 microns, nano-pillows for abrasion resistance, fuel-efficiency, eco/green character – nobody could believe that a Greek company can stand against multi-billion turnover multinational competitors. Today, our coatings sail in the seven seas selected by major ship-owners. All, NanoPhos products are purely Greek. They are developed, produced in Greece and exported all over the world. A team of brilliant researchers is applying science in real life, solving existing problems. In Greece, we still have the brightest ideas and brightest minds. We customize, adapt, innovate, perform, valorise the coatings industry. We deliver what others cannot.”

Marinakis, Ioannidis, Radziwill and Martinos win awards in front of 1,200 at annual shipping gala

- Maran Tankers, Carras (Hellas), Golden Star Ferries, Aspida and Naftika Chronika among others honoured –

SHIPOWNER Evangelos M. Marinakis was named Greek Shipping Personality of the Year for 2017 and veteran Onassis Group personality Pavlos J. Ioannidis was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award in Athens on Friday, November 24 at the 14th annual Lloyd’s List Greek Shipping Awards.

A record attendance of fully 1,200 Greek and international shipping personalities gathered at the Athenaeum InterContinental Hotel for the 2017 event, organised by Lloyd’s List, the international maritime newspaper established in 1734.

They hailed the brightest performers for 2017, including some of the industry’s best-known personalities and companies, and enjoyed an exciting event programme that reflected increasing interest in digitalisation and its impact on the industry’s future.

ClassNK, a longtime supporter of the event, was once again overall lead sponsor of the Greek Shipping Awards.

Greece’s minister of Shipping and Island Policy, Panagiotis Kouroumblis, opened the ceremonies and presented a donation on behalf of the event organisers to ‘Argo’, the charity supporting children with special needs in the families of Greek seafarers.

Guests enjoyed a pre-dinner cocktail reception hosted by the Malta Ship Registry while China Classification Society offered the traditional champagne toast to the health of Greek shipping.

The annual awards recognise achievement and meritorious activity in the Greek shipping industry as well as promote Greece as a maritime centre. Winners are chosen by an independent panel of judges representing a broad cross-section of the Greek shipping industry.

THE 2017 WINNERS

Evangelos M. Marinakis was voted 2017 Greek Shipping Personality of the Year for a year of big deals in shipping that saw investments of about $1 billion across tankers, container shipping and dry bulk. Judges also highlighted the shipowner’s philanthropic activities.

Lloyd’s List’s Greek Shipping Newsmaker of the Year Award went to John Michael Radziwill, chief executive of new dry bulk company GoodBulk. GoodBulk was launched last December on the Norwegian over-the-counter market and has already built up a fleet of 19 vessels including 17 capes, with options to buy another six. The Award is decided by the editorial staff of Lloyd’s List.

Pavlos J. Ioannidis was awarded the Lloyd’s List / Propeller Club Lifetime Achievement Award for an outstanding career notable for wartime heroism and aviation as well as shipping. A close colleague of Aristotelis Onassis, Mr Ioannidis became CEO of the Onassis Foundation shipping business after Onassis’ death and applied aviation training methods and culture to shipping for the first time – not only for the Olympic fleet but, through his positions on the boards of the Union of Greek Shipowners and Helempa, for the wider benefit of Greek shipping.

Ioannis Martinos won the New Generation Shipping Award, open to personalities of no more than 40 years of age. A mechanical and aerospace engineering graduate from Tufts and MIT, Mr Martinos established his own company, Signal Maritime, in 2014 and has not shied away from testing new ideas. Signal has become an innovative leader in using and developing new data tools for the industry, including a revolutionary new app for navigating the tanker spot market.

Capt. Fu Chengqiu was elected International Personality of the Year, the only award open exclusively to non-Greeks. Capt. Fu, who started his career with COSCO 40 years ago as a 3rd officer on a vessel, has been managing director of the Piraeus Port Authority since 2016 when COSCO acquired majority ownership of the port. Prior to that he was in charge of Piraeus Container Terminal.

The recipient of the Dry Cargo Company of the Year Award for 2017 was Carras (Hellas), one of Greece’s oldest-established shipping companies.  Long associated with shipping legend John M. Carras who led the company from the 1930s until he passed away, Carras (Hellas) has renewed its fleet with seven high-quality eco-newbuilding bulkers since 2016. The judges cited the company as embodying Greek shipping’s finest traditions.

As Tanker Company of the Year the panel chose one of the industry’s largest names – Maran Tankers Management, the tanker arm of the Angelicoussis Shipping Group. During 2017, Maran ordered seven VLCCs bringing the number on order to 11 on top of 39 tankers on the water. It also sealed a number of important charters with oil companies, including seven to be employed long-term by Chevron.

The judges chose Golden Star Ferries as Passenger Line of the Year for its commitment to its service between Rafina and the Cyclades islands at a difficult time for coastal services, and its expansion with the purchase of two more vessels, including the luxurious conversion of ‘Superferry’ in 2016 and its first high-speed ferry ‘Superrunner’ earlier this year.

Masters Shipping won the Shipbroker of the Year Award. Masters recently celebrated its 50th year. It was the first company worldwide to declare itself a specialist passenger ship broker. Over its history it has been instrumental in more than 1,000 deals and has provided crucial support to the nation’s cruise and ferry lines. The company is still going strong with an impressive roster of new transactions in the last two years.

The Shipping Financier of the Year Award went to Christina Margelou. As head of shipping for Eurobank, Ms Margelou has led the bank to become an active lender with a current portfolio of about $1.4 billion. But she and her team are taking a traditional relationship approach and Ms Marelou emphasises that the bank likes to be selective and keep things simple.

Leading marine coatings developer NanoPhos Marine was awarded the Technical Achievement Award. Exploiting the advantages of nanotechnology, the Lavrion-based company has introduced a pioneering range of efficient, environmentally-friendly and cost-effective coatings for ships.

Naftika Chronika was recipient of this year’s prestigious Piraeus International Centre Award. The leading Greek shipping publication, established in 1931, has been a constant, trusted reference point for the industry and generously circulates copies free to universities and marine academies each month. Judges also praised the publishers’ new initiative, isalos.net, a platform launched to promote wider knowledge and understanding of the shipping sector.

Panos Zachariadis, technical director of Atlantic Bulk Carriers, won the Award for Safety or Environmental Protection. He has been part of the Greek delegation to IMO since 2004 and has left a wide imprint on the industry, providing influential input in many of the major global ship safety and efficiency debates ever since.

The Seafarer of the Year Award was won by Captain Iakovos Papageorgiou Daniil. Capt. Daniil, a Master of 15 years’ experience, rescued a shipwrecked crew of eight in the Indian Ocean in June 2016 when in command of the Diana Containerships-owned vessel ‘Hamburg’ en route to Singapore. Capt Daniil diverted his vessel and successfully found the men’s life-raft 300 miles off the coast of Oman in a region where merchant ships are at risk from pirates.

The Maria Tsakos TCM Training Centre was winner of the 2017 Education or Training Award. It has offered more than 800 courses with more than 4,000 attendees since being established four years ago. The centre was singled out by judges for an innovative curriculum and high-quality instructors and equipment.

The Ship of the Year Award went to the ‘Georgios Averof’, the Hellenic Navy’s most historic ship and the oldest operational steel warship in the world.

The Lloyd’s List Intelligence Big Data Award was presented to Aspida which impressed the Lloyd’s List Intelligence assessment panel with its Vessel Security Information and Event Management (VSIEM) platform. VSIEM has been developed to provide a variety of benefits to enhance maritime cyber security.

The Awards are supported by prominent bodies in Greek shipping, including the Union of Greek Shipowners, the Hellenic Chamber of Shipping and the Greek Shipping Co-operation Committee. Supporting organisations also include The Hellenic Shortsea Shipowners Association, the Hellenic Marine Environment Protection Association - Helmepa, the Hellenic Shipbrokers’ Association, the Association of Greek Passenger Shipping Companies, the Propeller Club, International Port of Piraeus, WISTA Hellas, the Association of Banking & Financial Executives of Hellenic Shipping, and the Piraeus Association for Maritime Arbitration.

Lloyd’s List Greek Shipping Awards 2017

WINNERS AT-A-GLANCE

Dry Cargo Company of the Year

Carras (Hellas)

Tanker Company of the Year

Maran Tankers Management

Passenger Line of the Year

Golden Star Ferries

Shipbroker of the Year

Masters Shipping

Shipping Financier of the Year

Christina Margelou

Technical Achievement Award

NanoPhos Marine

Achievement in Safety or Environmental Protection

Panos Zachariadis

Piraeus International Centre Award

Naftika Chronika

International Personality of the Year

Captain Fu Chengqiu

Seafarer of the Year

Capt. Iakovos Daniil

Achievement in Education or Training

Maria Tsakos TCM Training Centre

Ship of the Year

 “Georgios Averof"

Next Generation Shipping Award

Ioannis Martinos

Lloyd’s List Intelligence Big Data Award

Aspida

Lloyd’s List/Propeller Club Lifetime Achievement Award

Pavlos J. Ioannidis

Greek Shipping Newsmaker of the Year

John Michael Radziwill

Greek Shipping Personality of the Year

Evangelos M. Marinakis

The 2017 Winners.

 

 

Aristides Dalakas regional manager of East Mediterranean and Northern Black Sea for Event Sponsor ClassNK, opened the event with a few words to the international audience.

The Honourable Dr. Iain Borg, Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects, addressed guests at the Welcome Reception sponsored by Malta Ship Registry.

The Minister of Shipping & Island Policy, Panagiotis Kouroumblis, greeted the audience with a brief Welcome Address.

Jiping Chen of China Classification Society made the Champagne Toast to the health of the Greek shipping industry.

Tatiana Vourecas-Petalas accepting the Dry Cargo Company of the Year Award for Carras (Hellas) S.A. from Matthew More of sponsor Marichem Marigases. Carras (Hellas) can trace its origins to the end of the 19th century and is one of the oldest established shipping concerns in Greece. Its history was dominated by the legendary John M. Carras who led the company from the 1930s until he passed away. His successors continue the family tradition today. The panel enthusiastically embraced the chance to recognise a company that honours Greek shipping’s finest traditions while renewing its fleet with seven high-quality eco-newbuilding bulkers since 2016.

Paillette Palaiologou of sponsor Bureau Veritas presenting the Tanker Company of the Year Award to Dr. Maria Angelicoussis for Maran Tankers Management. Maran Tankers as most people know is the tanker arm of the Angelicoussis Shipping Group. The panel could not ignore the company’s impressive investment and commercial activities during the last year. Maran ordered seven VLCCs at Daewoo earlier in 2017, bringing the number on order to 11 on top of an existing fleet of 39 tankers on the water. Seven of the new VLCCs go on long term bareboat charter to Chevron, while another three new VLCCs were longterm chartered this year to another oil major. While this proves the owner’s exceptional commercial clout, nominations also praised Maran for its training and environmental initiatives.

Raffaele Palumbo of sponsor Palumbo Shipyards (centre) presenting the Passenger Line of the Year Award to George Stefanou and Dimitris Stefanou of Golden Star Ferries. Golden Star Ferries launched its service on the Rafina-Andros-Tinos-Mykonos route in 2011, at a difficult time for Greece’s coastal ferry business. But in the last six years it has proved its quality and commitment as a company. Our judges noted that in the last two years Golden Star has gone to another level and become a leading provider of transportation to and from the Cyclades islands, always from the port of Rafina. It has expanded its fleet to three vessels with the acquisition and luxurious conversion of ‘Superferry’ in 2016 and, this year, the purchase of ‘Superrunner’, its first high-speed ferry.

Dennis Vernardakis of Masters’ Shipping (centre) accepting the Shipbroker of the Year Award from Capt. Panagiotis Tsakos and Panagiotis Tsakos Junior of sponsor The Tsakos Group. Masters Shipping recently celebrated its 50th year. It was the first company worldwide to declare itself a specialist passenger ship broker. Early on, it primarily catered for the needs of Epirotiki Lines, selling, purchasing and chartering cruise ships. Later it entered the fledgling Greek ferry market. Over its history, Masters has been instrumental in more than 1,000 deals including many landmark.

Despina Panayiotou-Theodosiou of sponsor Tototheo Maritime presenting the Shipping Financier of the Year Award to Christina Margelou of Eurobank. As head of shipping for Eurobank, Christina Margelou has been the key manager in making the bank a significant and growing player in the financing of Greek owners. Keeping it simple, but looking for longer term relationships, Eurobank this year has grown its portfolio to $1.4 billion and Ms Margelou and her team are active today looking at all classes of shipowner – from the leading names to small and medium-sized owners they consider the backbone of the industry.

Dr. Ioannis Arabatzis founder & managing director of NanoPhos Marine accepting the Technical Achievement Award from Ioannis Chiotopoulos of sponsor DNV GL. Lavrion-based NanoPhos Marine is awarded as a market-leading developer of marine coatings. Exploiting the unique advantages of nanotechnology, the company has introduced a pioneering range of efficient, environmentally friendly and cost-effective coating solutions for ships - and is at work to develop even more advanced products. This year the company also joined the Green Award scheme to encourage ‘green’ shipping companies.

Theododios Stamatellos of sponsor Lloyd’s Register presenting the Award for Achievement in Safety or Environmental Protection to Panos Zachariadis. Panos Zachariadis is Technical Director of Atlantic Bulk Carriers, but he has left a wide imprint on the industry. He has attended IMO sessions and conferences since 2004 as a member of the Greek delegation. He is credited with an extensive contribution to the IMO's Goal-Based Standards that review and approve classification Common Rules with the intention of more robust and safer ships. He was instrumental in the study that reversed the move to mandatory double hulls for bulk carriers. Currently he is involved in the new IMO environmental regulations. Together with major shipyards he has applied numerous energy saving ideas, some of which have become industry standards.

Dr. Ilias Bissias of Naftika Chronika accepting the Piraeus International Centre Award from John Laderos of sponsor SRH Marine Group. Naftika Chronika has been the leading Greek shipping publication and a constant, trusted and influential point of reference for the industry since 1931. Each month more than 1,000 copies are distributed free to universities and merchant marine academies throughout Greece. This history by itself would have made it a worthy candidate for this Award. But judges also praised the publishers' new initiatives and, in particular, Isalos.net. The platform, launched just last year, has already made a great impact, promoting wider knowledge and understanding of the shipping sector.

Capt. Fu Chengqiu accepting the International Personality of the Year Award from Gerry Ventouris of sponsor Capital Ship Management Corporation. Captain Fu Cheng Qiu was appointed Managing Director of Piraeus Port Authority on August 11th, 2016 after COSCO acquired majority ownership of the governing body of Greece’s top port. As Managing Director of Piraeus Container Terminal (PCT) from 2010, Captain Fu has played a key role in turning Piraeus into one of the fastest-growing container terminals in the world, and an efficient one too, with traffic increased by 12\% in 2016. He is at the helm of a landmark foreign investment in Greece that promises to be one of the keys to economic recovery. Captain Fu joined COSCO in 1976 as a 3rd Officer in a COSCO vessel. In 1983 he became Captain of a COSCO vessel and rose to several top executive positions in the group before coming to Piraeus.

George Tsavliris of sponsor Tsavliris Salvage Group presenting the Seafarer of the Year Award to Capt. Iakovos Daniil of “Hamburg”. Captain Daniil has been a qualified Ship’s Master for 15 years – the last 5 of these serving with Unitized Ocean Transport, the ship manager for Diana Containerships. On June 5th, 2017, he was in command of the 6,500 TEU containership ‘Hamburg’ en route from Suez to Singapore when a call was received from UKMTO Dubai, the primary contact point for vessels for safety and security issues in the Indian Ocean. A small passenger vessel had sunk 300 miles off the coast of Oman, leaving eight crew members adrift in a liferaft. This is an area at high risk of pirate attacks. After checks with UKMTO to verify that the distress call was genuine, Captain Daniil diverted to search for the survivors. Despite the evening darkness, the liferaft was soon located and the eight rescued, cared for aboard the ‘Hamburg’ and successfully disembarked in Singapore.

Capt. Michail Dimakareas of the Maria Tsakos Training Centre accepting the Award for Achievement in Education or Training from Jorge Barakat Pitty, Minister of Maritime Affairs, Panama Maritime Authority. Since establishment 4 years ago, the Maria Tsakos TCM Training Centre has offered more than 800 courses with more than 4,000 attendees from seagoing and shore personnel. The centre's educational excellence stems from experienced instructors, state of the art simulators and an expanding and innovative curriculum going well beyond conventional simulation training courses. In June 2017 the centre was accredited as an approved Dynamic Positioning training centre, the only one in Europe accredited for the full array of DP courses.

Chief of the Hellenic Navy General Staff, Vice Admiral Nikolaos Tsounis HN accepting the Ship of the Year Award for “Georgios Averof” from Taner Umac of sponsor RightShip. The judging panel used its power and wisdom to depart from the normal brief for 'Ship of the Year'. Georgios Averof, built in 1910, is the Hellenic Navy's most historic ship and the oldest operational steel warship in the world. She ruled the North Eastern Aegean during the first Balkan War, keeping the Ottoman Navy out of the Aegean. The vessel’s success helped to liberate Mount Athos and islands such as Chios, Mytilini, Limnos and others. After strategic roles in the First World War, the Smyrna Campaign and World War 2, it has been a floating museum in Palaio Faliro and the cornerstone of the country’s long planned maritime park. This year has been a notable one in her long history. She underwent two months of maintenance and repairs in Skaramanga Shipyard and visited Thessaloniki for the first time since WW2 to take part in October 28 national day celebrations.

Ioannis Martinos accepting the Next Generation Shipping Award from Theofilos Xenakoudis of sponsor IRI/The Marshall Islands Registry Ioannis Martinos was a diligent student, graduating with mechanical and aerospace engineering degrees from Tufts and MIT. He was co-chief executive with brother Nikolas at family shipping company Thenamaris before establishing his own company in 2014 to put his own ideas about running a modern shipping business to the test. As one nomination put it, his company - Signal Maritime – “combines the energy of a startup with resources of a seasoned industry player.” It has become an innovative leader in using and developing new data tools for trading more competitively, including a revolutionary new app for navigating the tanker spot market.

Panos Moraitis of Aspida accepting the Lloyd’s List Intelligence Big Data Award from the Chief of Hellenic Defence General Staff, Admiral Evangelos Apostolakis HN. Aspida impressed the LLI evaluation panel with their VSIEM (Vessel Security Information and Event Management) platform, designed to harness diverse, remote information in the cause of enhancing maritime cyber security. To provide a coherent security overview, VSIEM overcomes sporadic satellite links to secure information, ingested from a wide variety of communication and control systems installed across multiple vessels. LLI praised Aspida’s VSIEM for delivering a wide range of proven benefits - from ongoing threat detection to advice on how to strengthen security and a platform for training and real-time crisis support.

Pavlos J. Ioannidis receiving the Lloyd’s List/Propeller Club Lifetime Achievement Award from Marios Demetriades, Minister of Transport, Communications and Works, Republic of Cyprus. Resistance fighter, pilot, shipmanager, author, lifetime member of the Onassis Foundation, Paul Ioannidis says in his book that he would not have believed a fictional character could realistically pack so much into a lifetime. A close colleague of Aristotelis Onassis, Mr Ioannidis was general manager of Olympic Airways and trained a whole generation of pilots before he became CEO of the Onassis Foundation shipping business after Onassis' death. His main, lasting contribution to Greek shipping was applying aviation training methods and culture to shipping for the first time - not only for the Olympic fleet but sharing this with the Union of Greek Shipowners and Helmepa, both of which he served as director. He is a lifelong member of ABS and has received a number of awards, some of which he has not handed back.

Ian White of sponsor ExxonMobil presenting the Greek Shipping Newsmaker of the Year Award to Carlos Pena, accepting on behalf of John Michael Radziwill. The Newsmaker of the Year Award is decided by Lloyd’s List, not by the panel of judges…. John Michael Radziwill was Lloyd's List's clear choice as Newsmaker of the Year for launching his new company GoodBulk on the Norwegian over-the-counter market last December and for its subsequent expansion. The company is already up to 19 vessels including 17 capes. The latest of these are seven capesizes acquired from CarVal Investors and GoodBulk has options to buy another six. Mr Radziwill, a grandson of John M. Carras, has also emerged as a key player in dry bulk pools via CTM Monaco.

Konstantinos Vasiliou of sponsor Eurobank presenting the Greek Shipping Personality of the Year Award to Evangelos M. Marinakis Judges mentioned Mr Marinakis' philanthropy, including children's causes, Greek culture and humanitarian assistance to refugees. It has also been a year of big deals ashore. But Mr Marinakis wins on purely shipping merit. In the last 10 months his Capital group has invested about $1 billion across the tanker, container and dry bulk sectors. Highlights include acquisition of 5 ex-Hanjin Containerships, 5 modern capesize bulkers, and ordering of up to 8 VLCC Eco newbuildings. In addition Capital has chartered-in four VLCCs on two year time charters. Mr Marinakis continues to be a dynamic deal-maker in the industry and is supportive of Nasdaq-listed Capital Product Tankers, underlining his overwhelming case for being Greek Shipping’s Personality of 2017.

Co-hosts for the 2017 Greek Shipping Awards were Andriana Paraskevopoulou and Nigel Lowry.

The 17 trophies awaiting the winners of the 2017 Greek Shipping Awards.

The Greek Shipping Award trophy