2020 was more than a challenging year for the shipping industry. Theofilos Xenakoudis, Director, Worldwide Business Operations for the RMI Registry and Managing Director of the Piraeus office, says that the Registry managed to receive its best ever ranking from Port State Control authorities around the world. Of course the pandemic posed a different set of challenges, with crew changes being the most notable Mr. Xenakoudis admitted in an exclusive interview with Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide (www.hellenicshippingnews.com). How has the 2020 year been in terms of the Marshall Islands Registry’s ...

The North P&I Club has been growing in tandem with the Greek-owned fleet, thus establishing itself as one of the leading Clubs among the shipping community. The Club has recently expanded its activities in the Greek market even further, bringing forward more initiatives to engage with its members, as it celebrated 20 years of operations in Greece. Nowadays of course, the Club’s executives have also had to deal with the challenges which COVID brought to the supply chain and the ship owning business. Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide interviewed Mr. Gordon ...

When it comes to addressing risk and threats in the maritime business, RightShip is a leading option for most ship owners. The company recently announced the launch of its new Safety Score, a powerful tool to usher the shipping industry in the new era of dealing with a multitude of threats. Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide (www.hellenicshippingnews.com), interviewed Mr. Martin Crawford-Brunt, CEO, RightShip, on the new characteristics of its new product offering, the evolution of safety in shipping and how best to deal with the new emerging threats. Recently, RightShip announced ...

Working from home during lockdown has awaken many shipping company executives, even the more traditional ones, into recognizing the benefits that technology can bring to the table. Shipping software companies like Hanseaticsoft have been preaching about this for years and have managed to persuade a number of maritime executives about the benefits of digitalization of a number of processes. The company’s CEO, Mr. Alexander Buchmann, in an exclusive interview with Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide (www.hellenicshippingnews.com), offers some valuable insight on how a ship owner can benefit from investing in new ...

Cyprus has undertaken a major endeavor to establish and develop a maritime cluster of companies and services, enabling Blue Growth to be part of a cohesive and flourishing set of initiatives and programmes. In an exclusive interview with Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide (www.hellenicshippingnews.com), Natasa Pilides, Cyprus Shipping Deputy Minister, Petros Achtypis, Founder of Prevention at Sea; and Zacharias Siokouros, CEO of CMMI, provide the details which have transformed the island into a destination for all things relating to shipping and the maritime industry. Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide (HSNW): Blue growth ...

Brexit, IMO 2020 and the Coronavirus are plaguing the shipping industry of late and ECSA (European Community Shipowners’ Associations) is working round the clock in order to offer solutions to its members and advocate the industry’s contribution towards the European economy. In an exclusive interview with Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide (www.hellenicshippingnews.com), Mr. Claes Berglund, President of ECSA, commented on the various open “fronts” that the shipping industry is having to deal with these days. ECSA is expected to have a prominent seat as well at the upcoming European Shipping Week ...

During the past few weeks, debate regarding the best solution to lower shipping emissions has intensified, with one side claiming that slow steaming is a viable option, while the other argues against this. GreenSteam’s Chief Operations Officer, Simon Whitford, ventures into the discussion, arguing, in an exclusive interview with Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide (www.hellenicshippingnews.com), that optimisation of speed, rather than slow steaming offers a better solution towards lowering shipping emissions. Mr. Whitford is a vessel performance and optimisation specialist, and has worked in the maritime and shipping industry for over ...

Private equity owned or backed shipping companies are increasingly venturing in the ships-for-shares deals with listed ship owners. In an exclusive interview with Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide (www.hellenicshippingnews.com) Mr. Daniel Saunders, a London partner with law firm Watson Farley & Williams (www.wfw.com/) explains the growing popularity behind this trend and the reasoning behind it. Lately, we’ve been witnessing a growing interest for ships-for-shares deals? Is this the case from your standpoint as well?  Yes.  We’re definitely seeing it more.  What’s the reasoning behind this trend? Which the pros/cons for each ...

Digitalization in shipping isn’t just a gimmick. It’s real, it’s here and is constantly evolving, helping ship owners cut costs, or improve efficiency among others. In an exclusive interview with Hellenic Shipping News (www.hellenicshippingnews.com), Mr. George Teriakidis, DNV GL’s Regional Business Development Manager outlines the various advantages and where digitalization can be applied. According to Mr. Teriakidis, “Greek shipping companies are taking the first shy steps. We believe that Greek owners are ready to embrace latest technological innovations, where there is a solid business case”. Digitalization is about to be ...

The dry bulk market looks to be on a tight rope as it balances its way out of the doldrums. Overcapacity will still linger on as 2018 is about to enter the foray. In an exclusive interview with Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide (www.hellenicshippingnews.com), BIMCO’s Chief Shipping Analyst Peter Sand says that demolition levels are set to fall, compared to 2017, as rates are improving, while trade levels aren’t expected to return to the height of the current fourth quarter, before the third quarter of 2018. The second half of the ...

Britannia P&I Club is firmly establishing its presence in the Greek shipping market for P&I Clubs. This was made even more evident with the recent establishment of a local office in the Greek market, expected to open its doors in 2018, with the aim of providing a claims handling service, alongside the obvious fact of acting as Britannia’s public face in Greece. In an interview with Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide (www.hellenicshippingnews.com), Dale Hammond, Director, FD&D and claims director for the Club’s Greek membership says that the renewed focus on the ...

New technologies like cloud-based solutions, blockchain, the Internet of Things and the Digitization of business are slowly taking shape and are bound to transform the “modus operandi” of the shipping industry. In its everlasting quest of chasing margins and boosting competitiveness and efficiency, new digital tools are beginning to change old business models throughout the maritime industry. As such, new business opportunites arise. Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide (www.hellenicshippingnews.com) held an exclusive interview with Mr. George M. Marinakis, CEO of Setel Hellas, to discuss the shifting landscape. Shipowners, Operators and industry ...

INTERCARGO, the International Association of Dry Cargo Shipowners is growing at a rapid pace, as it seeks to raise its voice on various issues surrounding the future of the shipping industry, like emissions, port reception facilities and the implementation of the Ballast Water Treatment Convention. The association recently held its Technical and Executive Committees in Athens and Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide (www.hellenicshippingnews.com) hosts an exclusive interview with Dr. Kostas G. Gkonis, the Secretary General of INTERCARGO. According to Dr. Gkonis, the industry is voicing its concerns – now turned reality ...

Identifying Cargo Fire and Explosion Hazards under the IMSBC Code” can often be the difference between life and death, or between a destroyed ship or not. As such, Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide (www.hellenicshippingnews.com) sought after the helpful views from one of the shipping industry’s leading experts on the matter, Brookes Bell Group, in an exclusive interview with Dr. Martin Jonas, a partner and consulting scientist with the group. Could you please provide some background on the IMSBC Code? The International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes (IMSBC) Code seeks to facilitate the ...

There’s a lot of talk these days about the digitalization of the shipping industry. The Greek ship owning community is looking to take advantage of this trend and keep pioneering the industry. As such, Hanseatisoft, one of the leading companies in that respect and hot of the heels of its partnership with Llody’s Register is in the process of establishing its office in Greece. In an exclusive interview, Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide (www.hellenicshippingnews.com) talked with the company’s CEO, Mr. Alexander Buchmann, regarding his future plans. Lloyd’s Register recently agreed a ...