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WISTA Hellas discussed about “Redefining Shipping, embracing a new approach” Over 200 key players from the Greek and international shipping community came together for the WISTA Hellas 2019 Annual Forum at Athens’ Hilton Hotel on 5th November, which featured a lively panel discussion on how the changing environment of shipping, may affect its future’s operational procedures. “International sanctions are a very sensitive issue that shipping related companies have to comply with,” WISTA Hellas President Angie Hartmann said in her opening address. “Shipping companies should implement and cope with new technological features in their daily operations, too”. Opening remarks via video were made by Ioannis Plakiotakis, Minister of Shipping & Island Policy. Followed by Leonidas-Dimitriades-Eugenides, IMO Ambassador and President of the Eugenides Foundation, who addressed a keynote speech. He stressed the important role women play in the shipping industry. He further highlighted the necessity for shipping companies to comply with the international sanctions, new regulations and expanded technology. “Operating in a World of Sanctions”, moderated by Electra Panayotopoulos, Partner, Holman Fenwick Willan (HFW), was the first of two panel discussions at the forum. The panel was (in alphabetical order): Alfred Hartmann, President of the German Shipowners’ Association; Pia Han Lindberg, Group Compliance Manager, GAC Dubai; Panagiotis Kounoupas, Marine Underwriting Manager, Blue Aigaion Insurance Solutions; Hamish Norton, President, Star Bulk Carriers Corp.; Paillette Palaiologou, Vice President Marine & Offshore HBSA Zone, Bureau Veritas. During the panel discussion several views were presented. All speakers though have agreed that “strong and compliant program has to be in place, in order to cope with the international sanctions’; the challenge that shipping companies have to face is “How to manage the risk that arises from a sanction & make sure that there is no violation of same”; all “have to be detailed, yet flexible”. The second discussion tackled the issue “The Digital Transformation of the Shipping Industry – Adopting to a Digital Culture” under the moderation of Theano Kalapotharakou, Journalist, ELNAVI Shipping Magazine. The panel was (in alphabetical order): Semiramis Assimakopoulou, VP of Sales and Chartering Officer, Signal Maritime; Vassilis Dimoulas, Technology & Innovation Manager for Greece, Cyprus & Malta, Bureau Veritas; Tamara de Gruyter, Vice President Marine, Europe & Africa Area, Wärtsilä; Dr. Anna-Maria Kypraiou, Chemical Engineer, Lecturer in Engineering at Churchill College (University of Cambridge), Marine Energy Efficiency and Optimization Consultant; Dr. Fotis Papageorgiou, General Manager, Metropolitan College, Maritime Academy; Navneet Singh Rainu, Business Head for Digital Control Room, Tototheo Maritime. “Shipping industry cannot easily adopt technology, which is already there from other industries”; “We have to improve the image of our industry, in order to attract more people”; “ various levels of autonomy exist ; we have to alter the jobs, instead of eliminating them”; “the risk comes, when you over rely on technology”. Follow-up dialogues by representatives from major market sectors added further to the success of the event leading to an open and impulsive discussion that kept the audience focused till the very end. Closing the forum, Mrs. Hartmann, on behalf of the BoD of WISTA Hellas, thanked the panelists, sponsors, media supporters, supporting organizations and the audience for a constructive and successful event, and invited everyone to the cocktail reception which lasted well into the evening.
92 NAFS | December 2019
Med Marine Orders MAN 175D for Svitzer Ice-Breaking Tugs MAN Energy Solutions has won the contract to supply the main propulsion engines for two new ice-breaking ASD tugs, to be operated by Svitzer in the Scandanavian region. Each vessel, rated with 60 tonnes of bollard pull, will be powered by 2 × MAN 12V175D MM, IMO Tier II engines, each rated at 2,040 kWm at 1,800 rpm. All four engines will be supplied by MAN Energy Solutions directly from its purpose-built, state-of-the-art production facility in Frederikshavn, Denmark to Turkish-based, Med Marine. The vessels are due to enter service by the end-2020. MAN Energy Solutions reports that – initially – the installed engines will be designated with an IMO Marpol Tier II NOx emissions compliance certificate. However, both vessels’ engine rooms will be designed in such a way that additional MAN-supplied Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) equipment can be installed at a later date, thus raising the vessels compliance to IMO Tier III emissions standard. Key factors that enable this are the compact and modular construction of the MAN Energy Solutions’ SCR components, as well as the MAN175D engine hardware requiring no subsequent modification, making retro-upgrading easily achievable. Another significant factor considered as important to the success of this installation is the overall life-cycle costs of these modern diesel engines. MAN Energy Solutions believes that the MAN 175D is amongst the most fuel-efficient, high-speed engine available for marine propulsion. Coupled with this, the low cost of maintenance during the operational lifetime of the engines makes them a very competitive option for tug owners and operators to consider. Lex Nijsen, Head of Four-Stroke Marine Sales – MAN Energy Solutions, said: “Tugs form a special segment with many hours of standby and sudden demands for high loads. This is another, excellent reference for the 175D that adeptly handles the complexity of harbour operations and their strict environmental requirements.”