Tag: Greece

One year probation and a $500 fine The Vessel Master of the M/V Laconia pled guilty to operating a commercial vessel under the influence of alcohol on the Columbia River. Georgios Choulis pled guilty and was sentenced by the Honorable Marco Hernandez to one year probation and a $500 fine. Choulis is also prohibited from sailing in any capacity on waters subject to the jurisdiction of the United States for one year.Choulis was charged by information with negligent operation of a commercial vessel, a class A misdemeanor. Choulis was the only licensed Vessel Master on the M/V Laconia, a 736 foot commercial vessel, sailing under the flag of Malta. M/V Laconia was attempting to cross the Columbia Bar, one of the most dangerous bars in the world, when the Coast Guard and a pilot from the Columbia River Bar Pilots Association boarded the M/V Laconia to assist in crossing the bar. Choulis was not present for the crossing and was instead found sleeping in his berth with a strong odor of alcoholic beverages surrounding him. Coast Guard officials observed an almost empty bottle of scotch and the defendant appeared to be slurring his words. A breathalyzer test indicated Choulis had ...

Carrying more than 2,000 tonnes - no oil spill reported A Greek tanker carrying more than 2,000 tonnes of oil and diesel sank west of Athens on Monday and one person on board was unaccounted for, authorities said, adding that no oil spills had been spotted so far.Officials said the ship, which sank off the Athens region's Elefsina refineries, was carrying 1,800 tonnes of crude oil and 235 tonnes of diesel when it foundered at around 10.30 a.m. (0830 GMT) on Monday.It may have sunk after hitting an old shipwreck, one coastguard official said, adding that there were no signs of any oil spill or pollution so far.Ten members of the 11-strong crew were rescued and the search was continuing for the missing crewmember, believed to be the captain, the coast guard said.Source: Reuters

On 4-8 June 2012 The presence of thousands of participants from some 80 countries, the move to a state-of-the-art venue offering exhibitors excellent facilities and many opportunities to promote their business and the staging for the first time of a series of top level conferences and seminars concurrently with the exhibition, will confirm Posidonia 2012 exhibition as the most important event in the international maritime and business calendar.This year's Posidonia will also be good news for Greece. It will project a positive image of Greece and send a strong message to the world at large that Greece has success stories to celebrate and that the unique achievement of the Greek shipping industry on the world stage and in the field of sea transportation, is one of them.Global shipping is gradually overcoming the gloomy international economic outlook as the organisers of industry flagship event Posidonia 2012 have revealed growth in exhibitor numbers for the next event to take place from 4-8 June 2012 in the state-of-the-art new Metropolitan Expo, located by the new Athens International Airport. The projected increase is buoyed by the stronger participation of traditional shipbuilding nations and engine and equipment exporters, all vying for a bigger slice of ...

At Mylaki port in Greece Safety standards and principles at Mylaki port, Greece in order to prevent any unsafe situation from the moment a vessel arrives until the time of departure

Regarding armed guards onboard The bill to combat piracy in the sea-going ships, adopted at the cabinet meeting yesterday, under Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos.The bill sets out the main lines and procedures for a license to be given in order armed groups to embark on ships and also set outs the rights of seafarers, the use of weapons, bans on Greece and penalties.According to the bill, authorization for the use of armed guards onboard should be given after request of the ship owner. Guards should have the appropriate certification, to be above 21 years old, to have no convictions and not be crew members.In case there is no compliance with the necessary requirements, the decision may be revoked by the chief of the Coast Guard and is valid for six and twelve months, with the charges of a special fee and the right for an extension.The armed group is under the authority of the master, who will have access to arms onboard.The use of weapons and arms may be prohibited if there is an official decision, mandated by the Headquarters of the Coast Guard - Coast Guard Greek or Greek or any other military authority.Any crew member does not ...

On 19-20, February 2012 On Sunday 19 and Monday 20, February 2012, representatives of the 60% of the international fleet assemble in Athens to participate in the World Shipping Congress, an event by the Financial Times Limited. The Congress is the first international Shipping Summit. It will take place at Divani Apollon Palace & Spa, co-organized with Boussias Communications.Presidents of Shipowners' Associations from 3 continents and 9 major Shipping Countries (Greece, Norway, Korea, Finland, Netherlands, Italy, U.S.A., U.K., Denmark), major Greek Shipowners (M. Bodouroglou, I. Dragnis, E. Pistiolis, H. Vafias, etc.), industry experts, researchers and consultants, 4 Greek Government representatives, the Chairman and the General Manager of Piraeus Port Authority S.A., the Secretary General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and 2 major Financial Times editors and correspondents analyse, discuss and forecast the major strategic issues regarding the Shipping Industry at an era of high economic uncertainty and financial fragility.Financial Times acknowledging the significance of Maritime Transportations have appointed to coordinate the Congress Michael Skapinker (Assistant Editor FT newspaper, Columnist, Editor FT Special Reports) and Robert Wright (Financial Times Shipping and Logistics Correspondent).Sunday's Summit session will take place in the afternoon (from 18.00 to 20.30), closed doors. ...

Maritime cooperation between China and Greece at a critical juncture The global shipping industry faces a grim outlook amidst the European debt crisis, an oversupply of vessels and low freight rates, compelling industry heavyweights China and Greece to strengthen seaborne cooperation.With world trade down, fewer ships are on the waters and rising fuel costs are eating into operators' profit margins. A glut of ships sits on the market because ship owners ordered huge numbers of vessels during the mid-2000s economic boom.Shipping carries 90 percent of global trade and is one of the first industries hit when economic conditions sour.The severity of the situation places maritime cooperation between China and Greece at a critical juncture.Greece is a major player in the international shipping industry, with nearly 4,000 ships - 8 percent of all vessels sailing - and 15 percent of the world's total moving capacity. Greek ship owners control 25 percent of the world tanker fleet. Shipping accounts for 6 percent of Greece's GDP and generates 75 percent of the Mediterranean country's estimated 400,000 jobs tied to maritime activities, according to George Gratsos, president of the Piraeus-based Hellenic Chamber of Shipping.China, meanwhile, leads the world in shipbuilding and in 2010 its ...

Costamare reaffirms pledge as salvage effort enters costlier phase Costamare, the Greek shipping company that owns the wrecked Rena, reassured New Zealanders that it will continue to fund the salvage operation as it moves into a more difficult, costly phase now that the container ship has broken up.The recovery and clean-up mission stepped up several notches in the recent days when the vessel, which has been grounded on a reef in the Bay of Plenty off the Port of Tauranga since Oct. 5, snapped in two in high swells over the weekend.The stern section sank on Tuesday, taking with it 400 containers which will now need to be salvaged by teams of specialist saturation divers at a daily cost of $150,000.Costamare issued a media release saying the company and its insurers will continue to fund the salvage operation, "including the recovery and processing of containers washed overboard." It said it is working with the salvors, insurers and Maritime New Zealand to formulate a plan dealing with both sections of the wreck."These plans are to be discussed with government authorities and other experts in the field, to ensure minimum damage to the environment and disruption to the lives of those living ...

International measures for shipping emissions are needed Christian Breinholt, Deputy Director General of the Danish Maritime Authority was a guest speaker at the meeting. He made the case for the Danish proposal for a greenhouse gas convention introducing Market Based Measures for shipping.Looking for support from Greek owners he presented the mechanics and philosophy of the International Green House Gas Fund - a market based measure to address IMO's 'equal treatment' requirements with the UNFCCC's 'common but differentiated responsibilities' approach. It will take years to develop an international convention he said so we need to start now. 'From our perspective, we need a single, dedicated, mechanism for the global industry'. Mr. Breinholt said that the Danish proposal is becoming widely supported within the industry.One of Mr. Breinholt's comments, using Lloyd's Register research, was that without some form of market based measures, in the context of anticipated growth in trade even with massive energy efficiency improvements, shipping will be unable to reduce its total greenhouse gas emissions. Mr. Breinholt was persuasive and his comments were listened to with great interest by the committee.Lloyd's Register provided updates on shipbuilding activity world-wide, insight into efficient ship designs, as well as technical and operational ...

Selection and Installation of Ballast Water Management Systems for Tankers INTERTANKO's Ballast Water Treatment Technology Guide launched earlier this week in Athens. Twenty member companies were represented at the launch which involved a seminar and Q&A session on ballast water treatment technology and compliance, moderated by INTERTANKO Senior Manager - Environment, Tim Wilkins.INTERTANKO's Guide to the Selection and Installation of Ballast Water Management Systems for Tankers has been developed to assist tanker owners during the selection, assessment and installation of Ballast Water Management (BWM) systems for existing and newbuilding tankers. It has been developed using experience and guidance from INTERTANKO Members on the Environmental Committee and INTERTANKO's Safety, Technical and Environmental Committee (ISTEC). It is therefore the product of research by several separate tanker operating companies and their technical teams who have been through the process of considering which BWM systems are appropriate for the tankers within their fleet.One of the key elements in tackling the problem of proper selection and installation of BWM systems on board tankers is the gathering of information. INTERTANKO Members identified early on that neither the information from the BWM manufacturers, nor that from the classification societies as technical bodies, was sufficient to base a ...