Apostolos Belokas

Apostolos Belokas

Apo is a Maritime Safety, Quality & Environmental Expert, Consultant, Trainer and Project Manager with more than 25 years background in shipping as Technical, Marine, Safety & Training Superintendent and Consultant. He entered the industry back in early 90’s as Engineering Superintendent with a leading ship manager operating a mixed fleet of bulk and oil/chemical tankers. He then shifted to regulatory compliance and QHSE as superintendent and later as a Consultant and Trainer. Apo has successfully completed a wide range of QHSE projects including 250+ management system projects (ISM/ISO 9001-14001-18001/TMSA/MLC), 500 vessel and office audits to various standards and he has trained more than 8,000 people in a wide variety of QHSE subjects. He has also presented and chaired to more than 40 conferences. He holds Mechanical Engineering Bachelor and Master’s specialising in Energy & Environment and Master’s Degree in Maritime Business and Business Administration (MBA), all of them awarded with distinction. Apo is the Managing Director of SQE MARINE, SQE ACADEMY and Managing Director of SAFETY4SEA.

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Shipping 2020 & Beyond: Navigating uncharted waters

We are currently navigating the 4th industrial revolution, the so called Shipping 4.0 which focuses on digitization, environmental leadership and safety excellence. During the course of 2018 we have ween IMO announcing an ambitious strategy toward 2050 emissions reduction by 50%, discussions over the forthcoming 2020 Sulphur Cap implementation and also a heated debate on whether to scrub or not to scrub.

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Risk Assessing the implementation of the NEW STCW

- Despite the fact that the new STCW has been accepted by a diplomatic conference in Manila back in June 2010, unfortunately many industry stakeholders are not aware of the implications of the new requirements and as a result they have not addressed their safeguards properly. What we will do is to assess the implications of the new STCW from the ship manager side. The area that need to be properly addressed are the following: 1. Onboard Familiarization The new STCW has certain provisions for more extensive familiarization. It's not only basic safety. It's safety, security, environment, emergency and equipment specific training. If you go to previous STCW you might have generic equipment training requirements. Now there are specific requirements plus responsibilities for both the seafarer and the ship captain. 2. Ship Specific Familiarisation Many people read the new STCW and cannot find the requirement about the ECDIS type specific training. Believe me it's there. It is B-I/14 regarding Guidance to Companies contains EXTENSIVE responsibilities for master, officers and crew to get familiarization and more effort (liability) to be addressed e.g. in way of : ECDIS Free Fall Life Boats Oil Water Separator & Systems Incinerator Ballast Water Treatment Systems...

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ILO MLC: Truth or Dare?

- ILO Maritime Labour Convention (MLC), the so called "ILO Super Convention" is expected to enter into force on August the 20th as the 4th pillar of Maritime Regulatory Compliance along with SOLAS, MARPOL, STCW. As the clock is ticking towards the deadline let's see if the MLC will deliver the promised land.   Myths about MLC Despite all the good work done MLC by default will NOT necessarily benefit enough as long as every "Shipowner" may select a flag that does not ratify MLC. Since MLC certificate is NOT a trading certificate, there is nothing to change that. Going beyond the "regulatory" nature of MLC, we have to also ask: Has SOLAS, MARPOL or STCW introduction by itself improved the shipping industry without the entire implementation framework (vetting, PSC, etc.)? The answer is definitely NOT! All these regulations exist for many years; - e.g. SOLAS is 100 years old - however accidents do happen and vessels are still being detained. The remarkable difference is the IMPLEMENTATION MONITORING, mainly by PSC, Majors, Vetting Inspectors and Incident/Accident Investigators. This is why a major improvement shift has been observed over the last 20 years. Shipping still remains a SOLAS based industry as...

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Smart Shipping Survey Findings

Apostolos Belokas, Founder & Managing Editor, SAFETY4SEA, presented the results of “the Smart Shipping Survey’’ during 2017 SMART4SEA Conference & Awards. He argued that there is need for the shipping to build cyber awareness momentum to move forward. Regarding autonomous shipping, the survey showed that the majority of the participants believe that it will become a reality for the industry beyond 2030. Mr. Belokas commented that two years ago many would argue that industry is far away from this vision and highlighted that autonomous shipping is now coming fast and it is a one-way street.

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