Stamatis Achillas, Global Product Manager Medium, Low-Speed & Rail, ABB Switzerland Ltd, Turbocharging

Stamatis Achillas joined ABB Turbocharging in 2017 as Head of Product Management for turbochargers on two-stroke marine applications. He has over 15 years of experience within the marine industry in different roles, ranging from design and development engineer to senior project manager. Before joining ABB, he was responsible for the development of state-of-the-art two-stroke and four-stroke marine diesel and dual-fuel engines at WinGD and AVL List.

Stamatis came from a seafaring family and began his career following his father’s footsteps by sailing as an engineer onboard tanker vessels. He holds degrees in Marine Engineering from the Merchant Marine Academy of Macedonia, Greece and in Mechanical & Marine Engineering from Liverpool John Moores University, UK.”

Vasilis Bacolitsas, Director, Sea Pioneer Shipping Corporation 

Vasilis Bacolitsas was born in Athens in 1971, into a shipping family that dates back to 1967,when his father set up his first shipping company together with a partner of his.Vasilis finished high school there in 1988.He graduated from Queen Mary College (London) in 1992 with a BSc in Economics and has since  worked for Sea Pioneer Shipping Corporation(the dry cargo ship management firm).

Vasilis was instrumental in setting up Pioneer Tankers Shipping Corporation in 1995,that began as a 2 product tanker shipping firm and subsequently expanded into a 7 tankers operation that included mainly medium range product tankers and crude oil aframax tankers. 

Vasilis has always been responsible for all commercial aspects of both companies,namely being in charge of all chartering activities and sale and purchase transactions.

Apart from chartering and sale and purchase,Vasilis handles all insurance related matters,whether for the Hull and Machinery policies or for the Protection and Indemnity cover.

Vasilis was a Board member of the American P+I Club for 10 years and is also a regular speaker on P+I related issues at various insurance conferences. He currently sits on the Board(Advisory Council) of the West P+I Club. Vasilis is also a member of the Cayman Islands Shipowners Advisory Council(CISAC) and is also the Chairman of the Hellenic Mediterannean Panel(HMP) of Intertanko..Under his leadership the HMP has added 21 new member companies and around 23 mill dwt of new tonnage over the past 5 years.

Currently the Sea Pioneer Shipping Corporation managed fleet consists of 9 ships, 4 being MR Product Tankers and 5 being Panamax and Kamsarmax Bulk Carriers. 

Pioneer Tankers Shipping Corporation was absorbed by Sea Pioneer Shipping Corporation in 2010.

Apart from Shipping, Vasilis handles all real estate matters for his family, including commercial real estate holdings in the US, residential real estate holdings in Greece and the UK, as well as in Romania. Finally Vasilis has personally invested in more than 12 technology start ups since 1999,mainly in the US, Israel and Greece. 

Stamatis Bourboulis, General Manager, Euronav Ship Management (Hellas) Ltd

Stamatis Bourboulis is the General Manager of Euronav Ship Management (Hellas) Ltd since 2005. He is a member of Euronav Management Board and ESG & Climate Change Committee.

He has graduated from the National Technical University of Athens as a Naval Architect and Marine Engineer and has worked in shipping companies and in chemical, ship building and ship repair industry in Greece. 

He is a member of Intertanko Safety and Technical Committee (ISTEC), LR and DNVGL Greek National Committees and RINA Hellenic Technical Committee.

Dimitrios Fafalios, President / Director, Fafalios Shipping S.A.; Chairman, Intercargo

Dimitrios Fafalios serves as President/Director of Fafalios Shipping S.A. since 2008.

From 1984 to 2008, Mr Fafalios has held various positions in Fafalios Ltd London, including Technical manager, Technical Director with responsibilities for vessel Maintenance, Newbuildings, S&P, and Technical support for Chartering, Insurance, Post-Fixture and other departments. He has worked closely with many of the major classification societies and international shipping organisations for rule development and implementation.

Mr Fafalios has been elected Chairman of Intercargo since January 2019 having been Chairman of its Technical Committee since 2009 and one of the first members of the Technical Committee since 1999.

Mr Fafalios holds senior positions on ABS, DNV-GL, HCS, ICS, INTERCARGO, LR, NK and UGS committees. Mr Fafalios has attended IMO on behalf of the Hellenic Republic.

Mr Fafalios received his B.S.c in Naval Architecture and Ship Building Newcastle upon Tyne University in 1980 and M.S.c in Ocean Systems Management from MIT in 1982.

Basil Galanomatis, Executive Director, OCEANKING New Ship Sales Inc

Basil Galanomatis is the Executive Director of Oceanking New Ship Sales Inc., the Newbuilding Contracting branch of Oceanking Group.

He has graduated from the National Technical University of Athens as a Naval Architect & Marine Engineer and started his career in 1980 as certified Seagoing Third Engineer.

He served shipping and shipbuilding industry in the areas of ship design, cost estimation, newbuilding and ship repairs as supervisor, commercial manager and newbuilding contracting senior broker.

Haris Giantzikis,Technical Manager, Arcadia Shipmanagement Co Ltd

Charalampos (Haris) Giantzikis holds a High National Diploma (HND) in naval architecture, a Bachelor’s and a Master’s Degree in mechanical engineering from City University of New York.

He launched his career in 1979 as assistant superintendent engineer at A. Halcoussis.He worked as superintendent engineer at Tsakos Shipping, Piraeus (1987-1991) and as senior superintendent engineer at Seven Seas Maritime in London (1991-2001). He was fleet manager at Marmaras  Navigation (2001-2002) and technical manager at Tsakos Shipping (2002-2005).From 2005 to date he holds the position of technical manager at Arcadia Shipmanagement.

He is member of ABS European Technical Committee, Bureau Veritas Hellenic Marine Technical Committee, DNV GL Greek Technical Committee, Lloyd’s Register Hellenic Technical Committee, Class NK Greek Technical Committee and is a member of the MARTECMA council.

Christos C. Hadjigeorgiou, Managing Director, Almi Marine Management SA 

Christos Hadjigeorgiou is the Managing Director of Almi Marine Management SA, since 2014.

He holds an M.Sc and B.Sc in Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering from The University of Glasgow.

He worked in Ship Building and Repair Shipyards and Ship management Companies before joining Almi Marine in 1998 as the Technical Manager 

He is a member of ClassNK and Lloyd’s Register Greek Technical Committees.

Stavros Hatzigrigoris, Chairman, MARTECMA

Stavros Hatzigrigoris is a Marine Consultant. He held the position of Managing Director of Maran Tankers Management between 1992 and 2014 and in addition he was the Managing Director of Maran Gas Maritime between 2003 and 2020. 

Stavros joined Anangel Shipping Enterprises S.A. in 1981 as a Fleet Manager a position which he held until his appointment to Managing Director of Maran Tankers Management. 

Stavros holds a B.Sc. in Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering from University College London as well as an M.Sc. in Marine Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens. He has studied Management of Ship Operations in the University of Strathclyde. 

He is a member of numerous national and international shipping bodies and committees. He is a fellow of the Institute of Marine Engineers and has been an International Vice President of SNAME between 2008 and 2010. He is the Chairman of the DNV GL Technical Committee in Greece and has been an active member of the ABS Technical Committee and the Greek technical committees of DNV, LRS, KR and CRS. He is also the Chairman of the Marine Technical Managers Association in Greece.

John Kokarakis, Technology & Business Development Director HBSA Zone,  Bureau Veritas

Dr Kokarakis a 1979 graduate of National Technical University of Athens, holds PhD (1986) and Masters degrees in Naval Architecture (1983) and Mechanical Engineering (1984) from the University of Michigan.

He worked for over ten years as a consultant undertaking technical problems worldwide. His specialization was in the area of technical investigation of marine accidents. In his capacity as a forensic engineer he participated in the technical investigation of the Exxon Valdez grounding, the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, the drillship Sea-Crest capsize, the Piper Alpha fire and explosion, the Aleutian Enterprise foundering in Alaska as well as many other accidents of less notoriety.

The last twenty years he works in Greece, in the area of classification. He is today the Technical Director of Bureau Veritas in the Hellenic and Black Sea & Zone, responsible for the smooth technical operation in the Zone as well as in the harmonic cooperation with the BV offices worldwide to the benefit of the BV clients.

He is a member of SNAME since 1976 and a Fellow of the Society. He served in various capacities, being currently the Chairman of the Greek Section since 2014.

Panos Kourkountis, Technical Director, Sea Traders SA

Panos Kourkountis is the Technical Director of Sea Traders SA. He studied Naval Architecture and Mechanical Engineering in the National Technical University of Athens. Since 1994 he worked as Superintendent, Site manager of new building projects, Technical Manager and Technical Director of Andriaki Shipping Co. Ltd. In January 2018 he joined Procopiou Group of companies as Technical Director of Sea Traders SA.

He is vice president of Marine Technical Managers Association (MARTECMA), and member of Hellenic Technical Chamber (TEE), ABS Europe Technical Committee, Lloyd’s Register Hellenic Technical Committee, DNV Greek Technical Committee, RINA Technical Committee, Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers SNAME, Naval Architects Association of Greece, Mechanical Engineers’ Association of Greece, Hellenic Institute of Marine Technology (ELINT).

Panagiotis C. Laskaridis, CEO, Laskaridis Shipping Company Ltd; Lavinia Corporation

Born in Athens in 1947.

Graduated from the German School of Athens in 1965.

Graduated from the Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany, in 1970 with a M.Sc in Mechanical Engineering (Diplom - Ingenieur).

Graduated from the King’s College of London in 1971 with a Master of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering.

Graduated from the University College of London in 1972 with a Diplome in Naval Architecture (Department of Naval Architecture of the English Navy).

Graduated from the University College of London in 1972 with a Master of Shipping Science (Department of Naval Architecture of the English Navy).

• Honorary Doctor of the Department of Economics at the University of Piraeus

• Honorary Real Admiral, Hellenic Navy

• Fellow, Institute of Marine Engineering (UK)

• Fellow, Institute of Mechanical Engineers (UK)

• Fellow, Royal Institution of Naval Architects (UK)

• Fellow, SNAME (Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers) (USA)

Served in the Hellenic Navy between 1972 and 1975.
Established Laskaridis Shipping Company Ltd and Lavinia Corporation in 1977 and serves as CEO until today.

Member of the below organizations:
Former Chairman of the European Community Shipowners’ Association (ECSA); Former Chairman and at present a Member of the Board of Directors of the United Kingdom Freight Demurrage and Defence Association; Chairman of the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation; Member of the Board of Directors, the Union of Greek Shipowners; Deputy Chairman of the Hellenic Maritime Museum; Member of the Technical Chamber of Greece; Member of the Board of Directors of the Hellenic War Risk Maritime Association (The Hellenic Club); Member of the Greek Committee of Bureau Veritas (French Class Society); Member of the Greek Committee of Lloyds Register of Ships (British Class Society); Member of the Greek Committee of NKK – Tokyo (Japanese Class Society); Member of the Greek Committee of DNV (Norwegian Class Society); Member of the Greek Committee of RINA (Italian Class Society); Member of the Greek Committee of CCS (Chinese Class Society); Honorary member of the Union of Coast Guard Officers

Decorations:
– Grand Commander of the Order of Honor of the Hellenic Republic
– Cross of Merit and Honor First Class 
– Highest Cross of Merit and Honor
 

John Platsidakis, Honorary Chairman, INTERCARGO

John Platsidakis holds a Bachelor Degree in Mathematics from the University of Thessaloniki (1974), a Master’s Degree in Operational Research from the London School of Economics (1976) and a Master’s Degree in Economics and Econometrics from the University of Southampton (1977).

He was employed from 1978 until 1987 by Bank of America in ship finance in Athens, Piraeus and London, with the title of Vice President, in 1988 by Marmaras Navigation as Finance Director, and from 01/1989 until 09/2020 by Anangel Maritime Services (renamed Maran Dry Management Inc.) as Managing Director and Director of the Angelicoussis Shipping Group.

He is member of the Board of Directors of the Union of Greek Shipowners, the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of the Hellenic Chamber of Shipping, the Executive Committee (from 2009 until 2015) and the Council of Intertanko, and of the Executive Committee, Vice Chairman and Chairman (from 2013 until end 2018) and, presently Honorary Chairman of Intercargo.

He was founding Member and President of the Society of Greek Alumni of the London School of Economics from 1981 until 2005 and Member of the Advisory Board of the Hellenic Observatory at the European Institute of the London School of Economics from 1997 until 2006.

John has been included in Lloyd’s List 100 Most Influential People in the Shipping Industry in 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017 and received the Lloyd’s List Greek Shipping Award as Personality of the Year 2018. 

Giorgos Plevrakis, Director, Global Sustainability, ABS

Georgios Plevrakis serves as ABS Director for Global Sustainability, based in Athens, Greece. In his current position, Plevrakis is responsible for helping owners and operators develop fuel and operational strategies to meet sustainability goals.

Before joining ABS, Plevrakis worked in a number of roles spanning power generation manufacturing to classification services. Previous roles include serving as Business Development Manager for a Class Society and Head of Power Plants and Turbomachinery and Marine New Buildings Manager for MAN Diesel & Turbo covering Greece, Cyprus and the Balkan Region.

Plevrakis holds a MEng in Mechanical Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens and an MBA from the Athens University of Economics and Business.

Ioanna Procopiou, Managing Director, Prominence Maritime SA

Ioanna Procopiou graduated from Bath University in 2000 with a BEng in Electrical and Electronic Engineering and continued her studies gaining an MSc from City University in Shipping Trade and Finance. In 2018 she became an alumna from Harvard Business School.

In 2003 she joined Dynacom Tankers Management in Glyfada, Greece. In 2010, after heading the Sale and Purchase and Projects activities in Dynacom for 4 years, Ioanna formed Prominence Maritime a company that manages 6 bulk carriers. In addition to the above Ioanna supervises all activities of Sea Traders, which currently manages 34 bulk carriers. She is also actively involved in real estate development, as well as human resources for Dynacom Tankers Management and Sea Traders.

Ioanna is a vice-chairwoman of the North of England P&I association, is on the board of the Union of Greek Shipowners Association and the Cypriot Shipowners Association. 

Dragos Rauta, Technical Director, INTERTANKO

Naval Architect sand Mechanical Engineer, Galati University, Romania and Mechanical Engineer, NTU (Trondheim, Norway) (1989)

Professional activity:

• Ship building
• Ship Design & Research, including towing tank model testing

INTERTANKO - Since September 1990

Position:Technical Director since 2000

Office Oslo (1990 – 2001); Washington D.C: (2002-2004); Oslo since January 2005.

Responsibilities: Coordination of all technical & engineering matters; representing INTERTANKO at the International Maritime Organisation’ relevant Committees and Sub-Committees

Membership:

• Det Norske Veritas  Nordic Committee for Safety at Sea
• NACE Coatings Council 
• US Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME)
• Participant on the US National Research Council/Marine Board Committee on Evaluating Alternative Tanker Designs
• Participant in the US Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME) Ad-Hoc Panels on Tanker Stability, Environmental Performance of Tankers, Structural Design and Response in Collision and Grounding, Protection of Bunker Tanks, etc.

Others:

•  Ex - Chairman of the Advisory Committee to the IACS Quality System Certification Scheme (QSCS)
• Visiting Professor at the Dalian Maritime University (China)

Maria Spyraki, MEP, Nea Demokratia party – European People’s Party (EPP), European Parliament