September was best month so far for American Hellenic

After 15 months of successful operations and faster than expected growth, American Hellenic Hull’s Board of Directors analyzed the company’s standing during its meeting of 11th October that took place in the Four Seasons Hotel, Limassol, Cyprus, under the chairmanship of Vincent Solarino. The Board also focused on forthcoming business challenges and the pending rating of the company by AM Best.

AHHIC’s managers reported that the company now has more than 2,000 vessels insured, a fleet that stands 33\% above projections, and that premium income has increased by 39\% over the past four months. The loss ratio currently stands at 56.17\%.

September was the best month in the company’s young history in terms of insurance profitability. Buoyed by these encouraging figures, AHHIC now begins its scheduled annual roadshow in the Far East.

The managers informed the Board of Directors that the company for the first time will be able to submit its third-quarter results to the Superintendent of Insurance fully via the Asseco SII Engine. All necessary technical tests were successfully completed by the actuarial, IT and accounting teams during summer.

 

AMERICAN HELLENIC HULL INSURANCE COMPANY LTD.

American Hellenic Hull is a private marine insurance company, which covers hull and machinery risks. It is 100\% owned and financially backed by the American P&I Club and exclusively managed by Hellenic Hull Management. The company is registered in Limassol, Cyprus and has affiliated offices in Piraeus, New York, Houston, London, Shanghai and Hong Kong. Its operations commenced on 1st July 2016. American Hellenic Hull is the first marine insurance company licensed in Cyprus under the requirements of the Solvency II regime. The Solvency II Capital Requirement establishes the amount of capital to be held by an insurance entity in order to ensure that ruin occurs no more often than once in every 200 cases or, alternatively, that the company will still be in a position, with a probability of more than 99.5\% to meet its obligations to policy holders and beneficiaries for the following 12 months. American Hellenic has successfully passed additional financial and operational stress tests, ensuring that it has sufficient capital to meet projected obligations for 36 months, thus providing a high level of protection to policy holders.

SOLVENCY II

Solvency II is the new framework for EU insurance legislation regulating a single EU insurance market with the overriding aim of enhancing consumer protection. The third-generation Insurance Directives established an ‘EU passport’ or single license for insurers to operate in all member states. Solvency II marks a fundamental review of the rules for the European insurance industry and establishes new EU-wide capital requirements and risk management standards. Solvency II aims to achieve consistency across the European insurance market in aspects such as balance sheets and regulatory supervision. It also introduces stronger standards of governance, accountability and transparency for insurers as well as risk-based assessments of an insurance entity’s capital adequacy.

Nakilat organised the 22nd Qatar Project Shipping Forum (QPSF) in London from 17th - 18th October 2017.

The bi-annual Forum gathered Nakilat’s joint venture partners, ship operators and charterers to discuss numerous matters concerning the Nakilat fleet as well as the general shipping and maritime industry. This semi-annual Forum brings together many owners of leading international shipping companies along with ship charterers such as Qatargas and RasGas.

Initiated and established by Nakilat since 2006, QPSF continues to be a significant platform for the company to meet with its partners, share knowledge and exchange thoughts on a wide range of topics such as safety and environment, capability development, technological advancements, ship performance and others related to shipping operations. The two-day forum provided an excellent opportunity for participants to deliberate on issues of common interests, especially in navigating the challenging market environment today and upcoming regulatory requirements, with a focus on industry coordinated efforts to increase operational efficiencies without compromising safety and quality of the shipping and maritime services.

The forum is an important avenue for the sustained growth of the company as it strengthens the synergy between Nakilat and its partners. With Nakilat’s expanding role in ship management, it is a valuable avenue allowing participants to gain tremendous insights from the exchange of expertise and ideas, which then facilitates operations in a safe, reliable and efficient manner. This is aligned with the company’s strong commitment towards the continuation of its global growth, in line Nakilat’s vision to be a global leader and provider of choice for energy transportation and maritime services.

About Nakilat

Nakilat is a Qatari LNG transport company providing an essential transportation link in the State of Qatar’s LNG supply chain. Its LNG shipping fleet is the largest in the world, comprising of 63 LNG vessels. Nakilat also owns and manages four large LPG carriers. Nakilat operates the ship repair and construction facilities at Erhama Bin Jaber Al Jalahma Shipyard in Ras Laffan Industrial City via two strategic joint ventures: N-KOM and NDSQ. Nakilat also offers a full range of marine support services to vessels operating in Qatari waters.  www.nakilat.com

Digital Ship is pleased to be returning to Greece for our longest running event, with the 15th Annual Digital Ship Conference & Exhibition in Athens on 1& 2 November and are delighted to announce the speaker line-up for the event.

Industry experts will take to the podium during the conference which will include plenary and interactive panel sessions over the two days, and there will be an exhibition showcasing leading suppliers and vendors to the sector. Five key focus sessions throughout the 2 days will discuss:

Session 1: The Maritime Satcom Summit

Session 2: Building Cyber and Security Resilience – with a Special Focus on GDPR

Session 3: Blockchain in Practice – Creating Trust in the Maritime Supply Chain

Session 4: Developing Big Data Ecosystems

Session 5: Harnessing Maritime’s Digital Future

Confirmed speakers include:

• Katerina Raptaki, IT Manager, Navios

• Electra Panayotopoulos, Partner, HFW

• Gary Pogson, Innovation Owner, Lead Specialist, The Lloyd’s Register Foundation and The Alan Turing Institute

• Panagiotis Papagiannakopoulos, Director, Head of Cybersecurity, Data Protection & Privacy Advisory Services, EY (Ernst & Young Business Advisory Solutions S.A.)

• Dimitris Theodossiou, Managing Director, Danaos

• Nick Lambert, Maritime Domain Expert, NLA Ltd

• Robert O’Dwyer, Editor, Digital Ship

• Gert-Jan Panken, VP Application Sales, Inmarsat

• Jeff Greer, Vice President, Operations, KVH • Bent Erik Bjorkly, General Manager Strategic Initiatives, Kongsberg Maritime AS • Matt Duke, Vice President, Digital Platform, Kongsberg Digital AS

• Dr. Nikitas Nikitakos, Professor, Dept. of Shipping Trade and Transport, University of the Aegean

• Evanthia Kostidi, PhD Candidate, Dept. of Shipping Trade and Transport, University of the Aegean

• Martin Jarrold, Chief, International Programme Development, Co-Chairman, Maritime SatCom Forum, GVF

• Ewan Robinson, Director, Yango Satellite Communications Ltd

The event will include an Exclusive Workshop, Open Roundtables and Networking Functions, including a Gala Dinner on 1 November.

For more information and to register attendance,please visit https://www.athens.thedigitalship.com/

ABOUT DIGITAL SHIP
For 17 years Digital Ship magazine has provided the digital community of the world's maritime industry with the latest news and developments, including satellite communications, software, navigation and electronics, to help keep shipping operating with maximum safety, efficiency and crew comfort.
CONTACT:
Cathy Hodge, Event Director, Digital Ship
+ 44 7956 965 857 |email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | www.thedigitalship.com

 

On Tuesday October 10th the Rector of the University of Cyprus Professor Constantinos Christofides and the Mayor of Larnaka Mr. Andreas Vyras officially announced the new “Faculty of Marine Science and Technology” of the University of Cyprus which will be based in Larnaka.

The press conference took place at the Larnaka Municipal Art Gallery in the Presence of H.E. the Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization Mr. Kitack Lim.

This initiative demonstrates  the will and determination of the Municipality of Larnaka to contribute to the creation and modernization of the necessary infrastructure as well as to human capital development and jobs creation in the Blue Economy sectors, serving the real needs of these sectors so that they become more competitive and grow even more.

Lloyd's Register has supported from the very early stage the efforts of establishing in Cyprus a world class institution that will provide the local but also the international maritime industry with high quality human capital and research capabilities.

During the press conference Nick Brown Marine and Offshore Director of Lloyd’s Register presented to the Mayor of Larnaka and the Rector of the University of Cyprus the LR publication "Maritime Science and Technology", expressing his wish for further cooperation with the new Faculty of the University of Cyprus to the benefit of the maritime industry globally.

A vessel’s hydrodynamic performance is an important factor in its fuel efficiency and life-cycle costs.

Understanding the characteristics that shape performance can result in a competitive advantage during the conceptual design and bidding phase of a newbuilding project, or during the purchasing process and charter party negotiations for vessels in service.

Today, we have several different options for assessing hydrodynamic performance. Empirical benchmarking, by searching databases for vessels with similar principle parameters, can be a quick and inexpensive way to assess a design. But the results will only reflect general trends rather than give accurate predictions and are of limited use for unusual, innovative designs. Model tests provide a much more detailed assessment of the hydrodynamic performance of a vessel. But with a typical lead time of about ten weeks, they can take too long for projects in the initial design and tender phase as well as be very costly. Additionally, while results from the same facility can be consistent across designs, comparing the results of different facilities can be challenging.

Speed power curves in web-based report

As computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation technology has matured, it has become a viable alternative to traditional model basin tests, also because it reduces lead time and costs. However, the computer resources and expert know-how to design and carry out such tests are still not widespread. At the same time, the varying assumptions and simulation parameters used by yards and design offices make reliable comparison and benchmarking nearly impossible.

Choosing the most efficient design option for newbuilding or retrofit projects
The new Virtual Trial application from DNV GL removes the need for expert support by streamlining and automating the CFD simulation process. Users can upload individual vessel hull forms, run simulations with pre-set parameters and then easily compare their results against the results of similar vessels. Whether for a newbuilding or retrofit project, Virtual Trial reduces the barriers to full-scale CFD simulation testing and comparative benchmarking.

Virtual trials can be launched in complete anonymity, from anywhere, at any time, by simply uploading the hull geometry file and defining the operating profile. Then, without the need for any CFD-specific input, users can conduct fully automated, full-scale RANSE (Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations) VoF (Volume of Fluid) CFD simulations on the resistance and propulsion of their vessel. The results are available within one week, in a Web-based report showing the CFD results and hull lines in 3D to enable users to gain more insight into the flow details.

Typical use cases

3D viewer to investigate flow details

A typical use case might be design offices and shipyards wanting to analyze and benchmark different hull options during the conceptual design phase. During the later design phase, they could track the influence of design changes on the vessel’s hydrodynamic performance, ensuring that contractual requirements are still achievable.

The standardized CFD setup also lets shipyards and designers see where they could improve their designs by comparing them against anonymized state-of-the-art designs from the Virtual Trial database.

Using Virtual Trial on My DNV GL will also let ship owners compare design proposals from different yards or design offices during the bidding process. Competing designs can be uploaded to Virtual Trial by the designers themselves, to ensure that the hull lines stay confidential. The ship owner can then be granted access to the results, providing him or her with a consistent and impartial assessment of the designs at a fraction of the cost and lead time of model tests.

For vessels in service, Virtual Trial results could act as a performance certificate to show potential charterers that the vessel has undergone a transparent efficiency assessment. Even with advanced performance monitoring solutions, it can be difficult to predict the performance or the fuel consumption for a different operating profile. But with the Virtual Trial app, the owner could simulate the intended operating parameters and provide a tailored performance assessment to the potential charterer within a week.

Standardized report format
Virtual Trial’s standardized report format could also become an industry-accepted reference for comparison and benchmarking. Ship designs can be compared against each other within a set frame of reference, even if the projects are submitted from different parties, making performance predictions more transparent and reliable. Virtual Trial lets customers take control of their data, benefit from industry-wide benchmarking capabilities, and enhance their market competitiveness.

DNV GL

 

On Monday 9th of October, during the ceremony of the Seatrade Maritime Awards for Middle East, Indian Subcontinent & Africa, which was held in Dubai, at the Madinat Conference Centre in Madinat Jumeirah, ASPIDA won the Corporate Social Responsibility award. Candidates shortlisted for the award included Aries Group of Companies, DP World UAE Region, Drydocks World Dubai and Krishnapatnam Port Co Ltd.

ASPIDA’s most important principle is its commitment to the society. Over the last year we have supported a wide range of causes, including: Sailor’s Society, an Olympic-winning heptathlon athlete and a dressage Greek champion. But our most important contribution has been towards Emergency Response Centre International (ERCI), a Greek nonprofit that was formed to address the refugee crisis in Greece.

ERCI provides emergency response and humanitarian aid in times of crisis. Formed as a response to the Syrian refugee crisis, ERCI has helped more than 50,000 refugees and migrants fleeing conflict reach safety to date, by providing Search and Rescue operations in the Aegean sea, Education to refugee minors and Medical Care to displaced populations, in Greece.

Panos G. Moraitis, CEO of ASPIDA Corp. commented on the award: “I have always believed that giving back to the community is essential. In 2016 and 2017 our main focus at ASPIDA has been to support striving athletes, one of whom represented Greece in Rio’s 2016 Olympics. However, our biggest contribution has been towards the Refugee Crisis in Greece, where ASPIDA supported the founding and SAR
operations of Emergency Response Centre International (ERCI), a Greek nonprofit organisation that has helped more than 47,000 refugees to date reach safety. Why? Because the call of humanity beckons us to do our part.”

ASPIDA is a risk management organisation that provides fast and efficient solutions to complex situations and high risk environments. Maritime & Energy Security, Cyber Security, Land Security, Search and Rescue (SAR), Refugee Response, Specialised Training and Underwater Services are just a few of ASPIDA’s capabilities.

photo from Left to Right: Mr. Grant Elrick, Global Sales Director, Seatrade UBM EMEA Mr. Moraitis, CEO of ASPIDA & Founder of ERCI Mr. Abdulkareem Al Masabi, Executive Vice President – Ports, Abu Dhabi Ports Mrs. Vanessa Stephens, Managing Director Seatrade Middle East & Global Events Director, Seatrade UBM EMEA

The Chief Executive Officer of DEPA Mr. Theodoros Kitsakos and the Managing Director of Gastrade S.A. Mr. Konstantinos Spyropoulos signed today (12/10) in Athens a Cooperation Agreement for the participation of DEPA to the Project of European Common Interest (PCI) «LNG Terminal in Northern Greece» which is being developed by GASTRADE in the area of Alexandroupolis, Greece.

Chief Executive Officer of DEPA Mr. Theodoros Kitsakos

The Agreement includes the next steps for the participation of DEPA to the share capital of GASTRADE and a list of common efforts of the Parties for the further commercial development of the Project.

The Project will secure new natural gas quantities for the supply of the Greek and the regional SE European markets, offering new sources and routes of natural gas supply, promoting competition to the benefit of the end consumers, enhancing the security of supply in Greece and the Balkan markets and improving the reliability and flexibility of the Greek National Natural Gas Transmission System and of the regional and trans-European gas networks.

Background

Over the past two years, DEPA and GASTRADE have conducted a series of constructive meetings in order to push forward their cooperation with regards to the Project, both at National and European levels, and to create the optimal setup for its development, construction and operation.

On 09.02.2017, GASLOG Ltd, via a 100\% owned affiliate, acquired 20\% stake in the share capital of GASTRADE.

GASLOG Ltd (NYSE: GLOG) is one of the largest international owners, operators and managers of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) carriers. GASLOG owns, operates and manages a fleet of 27 LNG carriers.

DEPA, with its long standing presence in the Greek natural gas market, is a modern and competitive group with dynamic presence in the energy sector. DEPA promotes the development of strategic infrastructure for the supply of natural gas from diverse sources and routes at competitive price, with an objective to establish its leading role in the markets of the wider South East European region.

GASTRADE S.A. is a Greek Utility Company which studies, designs, develops, operates and exploits natural gas infrastructures. GASTRADE develops the project of an Independent Natural Gas System (INGS) «LNG Terminal in Northern Greece» in Alexandroupolis for which all necessary licenses, in order for its construction to commence, have been obtained.

 

Genco Shipping CEO John Wobensmith weighs in on the Baltic Dry Index and talks about shipping. He speaks on "Bloomberg Markets." (Source: Bloomberg)

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2017-10-10/baltic-dry-index-showing-signs-worst-might-be-over-video

MAN Diesel & Turbo will support ten engine conversions to LNG with up to €2m to improve environmental efficiency.

The pledge was made by chief sales officer Wayne Jones at the UN-supported Our Ocean conference in Malta on 5-6 October. It is in line with the engine designer’s view of LNG as a replacement for heavy fuel oil, as part of shipping’s transition to ‘electricity-based synthetic fuels’ in order to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. The company formulated its position following the Paris Agreement on Climate Change last year.

Jones said: “MAN Diesel & Turbo believes that it is time for what we call a ‘Maritime Energy Transition’ to find clean solutions for seaborne trade and transportation. We hope to play our part in moving the world’s fleet towards the clean technology our industry and our oceans deserve.”

Several other organisations and countries made pledges during the environmentalist event. For example, the European Union announced that it will commit €2.85 million to marine pollution prevention and preparedness projects and €2.5 million to marine pollution exercises to support and complement cross-border cooperation efforts.

Sweden announced the allocation of €15.6 million (SEK150 million) for at least the next three years for the Eco Bonus initiative to support less harmful shipping with the aim of shifting freight from land to sea.

http://www.motorship.com/

All pledges made during the event can be found here.

It gives us great pleasure to announce that NAVIGATOR SHIPPING CONSULTANTS will proudly host the 17th NAVIGATOR 2017 - The Shipping Decision Makers Forum at HELLAS LIBERTY, (Floating Museum, Gate E2), Piraeus Port, from 09:30hrs to 16:00hrs.

Having established an open dialogue regarding key issues concerning Shipping since 2001, NAVIGATOR Forum, one of the most widely - recognized shipping events, is being held annually and every year attracts more than 400 prominent personalities of the Greek and International Shipping Community.

Aiming at contributing to the continuation of the Greek Shipping History & tradition, this annual meeting could only take place in Piraeus and specifically at HELLAS LIBERTY, the only surviving Liberty ship appearing in its commercial form that is strongly linked to the post-war reconstruction and evolution of Greek Shipping. Therefore, part of the sponsorships revenue will be allocated for its maintenance.

With the support of the internationally recognized Maritime Organizations, BIMCO, FEPROT, & ESPO, our sponsors’ contribution, the support of the entire Maritime Press and the experience of accredited speakers, the "17th NAVIGATOR 2017 - The Shipping Decision Makers Forum” this year aims to stress the importance of ports & supply chain in the shipping industry, focusing on the Sustainable Innovation and how it is challenging tradition in order to create new opportunities. A short presentation regarding Lesvos will also take place, as it is the honored island for this year’s Forum.

George Xiradakis, Managing Director of XRTC BUSINESS CONSULTANTS LTD. & President of The Propeller (the Port of Piraeus) and Helena Athoussaki, Head of Maritime Sustainability Centre – PwC, will be the moderators of the Forum for one more year.

The Minister of Shipping and Island Policy, Panagiotis Kouroumplis, has been invited to address the welcoming remarks.

Confirmed Speakers of 17th Navigator Forum are: H.E. Geoffrey Pyatt, Ambassador of the United States of America to Greece, Vassilis Korkidis, President - PIRAEUS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY (PCCI) & President - HELLENIC CONFEDERATION OF COMMERCE & ENTREPRENEURSHIP (ESEE), Prof. Fani Sakellariadou, Head of Department of Maritime Studies – University of Piraeus, Athena Kanellatou,  Managing Director – MACGREGOR GREECE, Kostis Achladitis, Managing Director – Golden Cargo, Mary Pothitos, Marine Insurance & Claims Handling Consultant, PARALEGAL MARITIME SERVICES, Sotiris Raptis, Senior Policy Advisor for Environment and Safety, EcoPorts Coordinator – ESPO, Capt. Gabriel Haldezos, Master Mariner, Diploma in Shipping – Shipping Expert, Dr. Kostas A. Damianidis, Architect,  PhD on History of Shipbuilding, Michael Mantzafos, President - HELLENIC INSTITUTE OF MARINE, Jeff Horst, Commercial Director - FOSS MARITIME, Yoong Hui Chia, CEO – ASCENZ SOLUTIONS, Michael Lund, Deputy Secretary General – BIMCO, Dimitrios Mattheou, Managing Director - ARCADIA SHIPMANAGEMENT & Chairman – Green Award Foundation and Hugo Du Mez, Advisor Business Intelligence - Dry Bulk – Port of Rotterdam,

Register online on http://conference.navigatorltd.gr/old/2017/index.html

Capt. Dimitris Bezantakos, President and Danae Bezantakou, CEO of NAVIGATOR SHIPPING CONSULTANTS are looking forward to welcoming you in the 17th NAVIGATOR 2017 – The Shipping Decision Makers Forum.