BV 23rd Hellenic & Black Sea Committee

Ongoing dialogue with leaders of the Greek shipping industry to address Sustainability, Decarbonisation, Performance and People in Shipping

Bureau Veritas, a world leader in testing, inspection and certification, hosted its 23^rd Hellenic and Black Sea Zone Committee.

The 23^rd Hellenic and Black Sea Committee of Bureau Veritas hosted by the Vice President of South East Europe, Black Sea and Adriatic Zone, Mrs. Paillette Palaiologou, was held on the 30th of September 2022 under the Chairmanship of Mr. George Procopiou and the presence of the Bureau Veritas Top Management, Mr. Didier Michaud-Daniel, CEO Bureau Veritas, Mrs Hinda Gharbi, COO of Bureau Veritas Group and Mr. Matthieu De Tugny, President Marine & Offshore Division.

The Committee meeting is a forum for BV to discuss industry challenges and latest developments. It plays an important role of an ongoing dialogue with the industry to address technical, operational and regulatory challenges. Leading personalities of the Greek Shipping Industry gathered at Grand Resort Lagonissi for yet another year for this reason.

Mr George Procopiou, Chairman of the Committee, welcomed the participants and presented the agenda of the day, introducing Mrs Semiramis Paliou, CEO of Diana Shipping Services as a new member. The activities and latest initiatives of Bureau Veritas Group were presented to the audience by Mr. Didier Michaud-Daniel and Mrs Hinda Gharbi, describing the Group’s activities and the benefits of breadth of activity across BV’s operations – Building & Infrastructure, Certification, Agrifood & Commodities, Consumer Products and Industry.

Mr Matthieu de Tugny looked at shipping’s big picture and changing landscape, focusing on BV expertise and tecnhcal excellence while Mr Laurent Leblanc, Senior Vice President Technical & Operations focused on Technology Advances in Shipping.

This year Mr Jan Dieleman, President of Cargill Ocean Transportation was a guest. Mr. Dieleman took part in a conversation addressing sustainability from a charterer’s perspective. He discussed decarbonization, performance and people in shipping. Fresh from the Global Maritime Forum in New York – which he chairs, and receiving a Capital Link Sustainability award the previous day in Athens, Mr. Dieleman shared his energy and enthusiasm for a more sustainable maritime industry.  He focused on the importance of short term goals, collaboration – ‘engage with your stakeholders’, the need for transparency, data – and having an open mind to embracing new ideas and change.  

The second part of the Committee commenced with Dr John Kokarakis, Technology & Business Development Director, who ventured to tackle the Shakespearian question “To build or not to build” that owners are facing in an environment of still evolving decarbonization regulations and emerging alternative fuel technologies.   

Mr Vassilis Dimoulas, Technology & Innovation Manager discussed two non-fuel related energy efficiency technologies, the power of wind and the power of data as well as their possible combination, while Mr Bill Stamatopoulos shared key insights about bunker fuels in the future with a particular focus on biofuels.

Finally, Mrs Eleni Letoni, Communications Sales & Marketing Coordinator, presented the long-lasting bonds between the Greeks and the Sea that expand through the last 5.000 years.

The meeting concluded with the traditional heated discussion between the members on topics of evolving interest, and the social time during the lunch. 

BV is committed to have an open dialogue across the industry through its committee meetings across the world.