Tag: Posidonia

US Ambassador to Greece Daniel Bennett Smith noted that piracy at sea was a crime of global concern The persistent and growing scourge of piracy on the high seas - a problem that is costing billions of US dollars every year - was the focus of the first-ever seminar on available anti-piracy services and technology, hosted by the US embassy in Greece on Tuesday at the Posidonia international shipping exhibition, which is again taking place in Athens on June 4-8.In opening remarks, US Ambassador to Greece Daniel Bennett Smith noted that piracy at sea was a crime of global concern and that counter-piracy patrols - though supported by the United States - were not in themselves sufficient to guarantee ship safety.He pointed out that pirates - from their originally ad hoc, disorganised beginnings - are now using increasingly advanced methods and venturing further and further offshore in what is now becoming a highly developed, transnational criminal enterprise.While referring to cooperative efforts with other nations to investigate and prosecute these crimes and, especially, as he said "follow the money trail" that led to those financing the pirates, he noted they were too often simply let go when caught due to states' ...

Views on ballast water management INTERTANKO's Senior Manager Environment, Tim Wilkins, gave the well-attended Posidonia technical conference the Association's view on ballast water management (BWM). He emphasised in particular that the process of finding and choosing BWM equipment has been left largely to the shipowner, and that more information and assistance is needed from equipment vendors.Of prime importance is ensuring that equipment actually meets the physical requirements of where the ship will be trading - factors include heat, salinity, turbidity, and biochemical parameters.Then he highlighted the effect of BWM equipment on corrosion and coatings, the failure of some filters to do the job, the challenge of shipyard capacity and experience, the problems of scaling systems up so that they still function, and last but by no means least, the regulatory challenges involving type approval and how they cross over (or fail to cross over) with verification of compliance. Type approval does not ensure compliance once installed, he stressed, encouraging shipowners to ease the confusion on this issue by sharing their experiences.INTERTANKO's Technical Director Dragos Rauta covered alternative options for owners over ECA compliance in 2015. The ultimate 0.1% and 0.5% goals are unlikely to be achieved in the long run ...

But serious obstacles could threaten future growth, says European Cruise Council Senior representatives of the European Cruise Council (ECC) told the Posidonia Forum, meeting in Athens today, that the growth of the cruise sector in Greece is being maintained, despite the difficult economic climate. ECC Chairman, Manfredi Lefebvre D'Ovidio and Chairman of the ECC Port Sub-Committee, Neil Palomba, both warned of significant potential obstacles and challenges that could seriously threaten the steady growth of the sector, but added that incentives could help the cruise industry play a key role in the economic recovery of the country.The ECC Chairman told the Forum that Greece is "a key cruise destination in Europe", with some 4.7 million passengers arriving at Greek ports, 17% of the total European market, ranking third in Europe, only behind Italy and Spain. Passenger expenditure in Greece is some 470 million and direct cruise industry expenditure - passenger and cruise purchases, shipbuilding, employee compensation, cruise line purchases amounts to 14 billion across Europe, and close to 600mn in Greece.ECC Chairman, Manfredi Lefebvre D'Ovidio said: "These impressive figures clearly show the social and economic importance of the cruise sector both to Europe generally and to Greece in particular. However, there ...

From 4 to 8 June, Greece

Posidonia 2012 , 4-8 June, Greece As persistent high oil prices and the burden of increased regulatory compliance have rendered energy management strategy development crucial for fleet owners worldwide, the shipping industry is on the verge of a new frontier where novel concepts and sophisticated approaches to ship design and performance verification methods emerge.The world's major ship building nations agree that a combination of a stubborn global recession and high fuel prices which affect global trade and impact newbuilding orders require innovative thinking, creative strategies and investments in R&D to create the foundations for a new generation of shipping infrastructure which will be more resilient to fluctuating heavy fuel prices and more adaptable to alternative forms of energy."Market conditions are not very good at the moment and there doesn't seem to be a quick-fix solution to the challenges facing the global shipping sector," said Oh-Yoon Kwon, General Manager of the International Cooperation Department for the Korean Shipbuilders' Association (KOSHIPA), which is represented at this year's Posidonia exhibition with eight of its nine members. First-time Posidonia exhibitor Dae Sun is one of Korea's ship yards which has felt the pinch from the reduced number of newbuilding orders from Greek shipowners.Greek or ...

Turkey's Gemak Shipyard is thwarting recession with the diversification into specialist ship repair Speaking to Shipping World & Shipbuilder at the Posidonia exhibition in Athens this week, Everen Usakli, regional manager for the Tuzla-based shipyard, said that demand for shiprepair work at Turkish shipyards is increasing with more than 40% of bookings arriving from international shipowners. 'Turkey is fast becoming a major shiprepair hub,' he said.The Gemak Shipyard, which since 1985 has built up a solid reputation for newbuildings, having built some 57 vessels, is currently converting two 5000dwt general cargo sister s into CO2 carriers. The five-month projects will also see the yard construct specialist CO2 containment tanks.However, whilst newbuilding orders are scarce, it is the specialist repair of dredgers that the shipyard intends to carve a niche.The 16 895dwt trailing suction hopper James Cook has just left the yard following a tranche of work that included 250t of steel renewal. Another Jan De Nul-owned dredger, Kaishuu, and the DEME-owned Pear River are others to have undergone similar works.Earlier this year, Gemak Shipyard extended its graving dock to 300m in length to attract shipowners of Suezmax sized tonnage.Source: IMAREST

GL at Posidonia 2012 Allseas Marine S.A. was presented with Maritime Labour Statements of Compliance by Germanischer Lloyd (GL) for the vessels "Calm Seas", "Kind Seas" and "Pearl Seas". The certificates were presented to Michael Bodouroglou, Managing Director of the Allseas Marine by Oliver Darley, Vice President and Global Head of Systems Certification at GL and Athanasios Reisopoulos, Vice President, GL Area Office Southern Europe, at GL's booth at the Posidonia 2012 exhibition in Greece. Through the presentation of these certificates GL's confirms that the working and living conditions of the crew on these cargo ships meet the requirements of the incoming Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC 2006).GL carried out inspections on board the three vessels between March and May 2012, the "Declaration of Maritime Labour Compliance" (DMLC) was also checked by Germanischer Lloyd. During the survey, GL inspectors made sure that all required documents were present on board, interviewed crew members, and examined the accommodations areas, galley, store rooms and medical care facilities of the individual vessels."Obtaining a Statement of Compliance in advance of the entry into force of the MLC, 2006 reflects the commitment of Allseas to ensuring that the seafarers working on board their vessels enjoy decent ...

Posidonia 2012 , 4-8 June Posidonia, the world's largest shipping fair, was set to open its doors later Monday amid growing concerns about the global economy and worries about host country Greece's uncertain future.The five-day event, now in its fifth decade, includes 1,870 exhibitors from 87 countries, a new record, and was expected to attract 17,000 visitors, showing that Greece "remains open for business," said organiser Theodore Vokos.The Chinese shipbuilding industry was once again fielding the strongest contingent of exhibitors, one of 21 countries from Africa, Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia including Japan and South Korea with national pavilions.Held every two years, one of the main talking points at the conference was expected to be prospects for the global economy, with volumes of goods shipped around the oceans of the world a key indicator.Worse-than-expected US jobs data on Friday reignited worries about the strength of the recovery in world's largest economy, the eurozone remains in crisis and indicators from China and India have also disappointed.The Greek shipping industry, the biggest in the world by tonnage, already saw profits slump by 8.6 percent last year, according to the Union of Greek Shipowners -- and not because of the crisis ...

Posidonia 2012 , 4-8 June A comprehensive conference programme, a new venue and an enhanced networking and recreational calendar are the highlights of the Posidonia 2012 week which sets sail this Friday with its trademark Posidonia Cup Yacht race. The world's premier maritime event is also set to create a new record in terms of exhibitors and visitors as it enters its fifth decade, confirming that Greece is open for business.Posidonia exhibition opens on June 4 at Metropolitan Expo Centre, which is equipped to provide enhanced services and an overall better experience to the estimated 1,870 exhibitors from 87 countries and 17,000 visitors expected to go through its gates during the five day event. The modern, state-of-the-art venue boasts a floor space of 60,000 square metres that includes dedicated conference facilities which will host a busy schedule of meetings and seminars in what is Posidonia's most comprehensive conference programme ever"Our exhibitors and visitors will have the opportunity to attend a wide array of seminars on important maritime topics ranging from shipbuilding to piracy and from environmental policies to new technologies, all within the comfortable confines of Metropolitan Expo's facilities", said Theodore Vokos, Project Director of Posidonia Exhibitions organisers of the ...

Lloyds Register at Posidonia With the focus on rising fuel prices, Lloyd's Register provides an effective energy management approach that will help owners identify suitable options and opportunities when choosing technologies, operational parameters and fuel typesIncreasing energy prices, the patchwork of emissions regulation and question marks over untested technology, are all giving shipowners a headache when it comes to making investment decisions. This is true for both retro-fit and newbuild solutions."Clearly, the market is confused by some of the messages out there", comments Katharine Palmer, Lloyd's Register's Environmental Manager. "Obviously, market conditions are not encouraging significant newbuild activity right now but owners are thinking about how they make their fleets more efficient and when they do order new tonnage, they want to be confident in their investment decisions. What is suitable for a Baltic ferry operator is likely to be very different to the requirements of Greek bulk carrier owner."At Posidonia next week Lloyd's Register will be running a series of free mini-seminars throughout the week, on its exhibition stand at the event. These mini-seminars will look at the issues owners need to consider when evaluating investment decisions. For details of timings and a print off of the seminar details, ...