Leading Greek Shipowners meet to engage and share approaches to the challenges and opportunities facing shipping and the health of the oceans

Bureau Veritas (BV), a world leader in testing, inspection and certification, has hosted its 25^th Hellenic and Black Sea Committee. This year’s Committee gathered together leaders of the Greek shipping industry and was hosted by Paillette Palaiologou, Vice President of Southeast Europe, Black Sea and Adriatic Zone at BV Marine & Offshore, under the Chairmanship of George Procopiou and in the presence of Matthieu de Tugny, President of BV Marine & Offshore.

The annual Committee meeting is a forum for BV to share and discuss industry challenges as well as the latest technical developments. It plays an important role in the ongoing dialogue with the industry to address technical, operational and regulatory challenges.

George Procopiou, Chairman of the Committee, welcomed the participants, followed by Matthieu de Tugny, who presented BV’s activities and latest initiatives. He detailed BV Group’s activities and shared the benefits of the breadth of activity across BV’s operations – Building & Infrastructure, Certification, Agrifood & Commodities, Consumer Products and Industry. He also spoke about the ever-changing and demanding shipping industry landscape, focusing on BV’s expertise and technical excellence.

Dr John Kokarakis, Technical Director of SEEBA Zone at BV Marine & Offshore, gave a thorough presentation on the regulatory framework of the EU and IMO, complemented by examples of their effects on vessel running costs. He was followed by Benjamin Lechaptois, Head of Future Shipping Team at BV

Marine & Offshore, who addressed the question as to whether the IMO GHG targets can be met and how.

The second part of the Committee commenced with Ghigo Ravano, Executive Chairman of Ifchor Galbraiths, who made an insightful presentation on the current situation of the market and on the macro picture in the age of uncertainty. George-Paul Perantzakis, Fleet & Technical Director of Naftomar, spoke about the future trade and seaborne movement of ammonia, examining related opportunities and challenges.

A very interesting section about plastics in the oceans followed, with Vassilis Dimoulas, Technology & Innovation Director of SEEBA Zone, presenting the threats to marine and human life as a consequence of ocean plastic. Consequently, Suzanna Laskaridis, Director of Laskaridis Group, introduced the committee to the group’s Blue Cycle project, which focuses on collecting plastic from the ocean and putting it to good use through recycling.

Finally, Eleni Letoni, Communications Sales & Marketing Coordinator at BV Marine & Offshore, gave a timely presentation about the history of the Olympic Games in association with Greece and France.

BV is committed to maintaining an open dialogue throughout the industry through its committee meetings held across the world.

Paillette Palaiologou commented: “This forum is always an important opportunity for us to share BV developments with our committee members and, even more importantly, to listen to their views and insights into the opportunities and challenges of modern shipping. I would like to thank them again for their commitment and for supporting us with their time, expertise and energy.”