Newsletter, June 2012

Newsletter, June 2012
V. 13 | 28
Newsletter, June 2012
Editorial
V.13 | 28
Antonios Stamos Faraklas
President of the International Propeller Club of the United States,
International Port of Piraeus
As Greece is going through one of the toughest periods in its modern history, and
in the midst of an economically, socially and politically unstable environment, it
is preparing for hosting this year’s “Posidonia”, the biggest and most prestigious
international maritime event.
At the time of writing, Greece may be up for a second round of election, where the
people will be called to decide which party, or policy, is the most able to bring the
Nation out of its historic problems. The new government, whichever that may be,
will have a very difficult task putting the country back in order.
For Greece to realize its potential, the Greeks have to realize that it has it. We need
vision, and a will to take the bold steps required to achieve the goals which will
bring long term stability and growth to the country. From a shipping perspective,
this means not only maintaining the country’s present role as a leader in the global
shipping industry, but to take it to even higher levels, helping the country restore
its pride as it moves further into the 21st century. We therefore hope that the new
government will put high up in its agenda of revitalizing Greece, the positive steps
required to support Greek deep sea and coastal shipping, steps which the Industry
has long promoted.
At the top of the state priorities, through the reinstatement of the Ministry of
Mercantile Marine, should be to provide motives and actively encourage the youth
into a maritime or seagoing career, supporting the upgrading of the country’s
maritime education and training, while at the same time providing a safe and
user-friendly environment for shipowners to register more vessels with the Greek
flag. Implementing a constructive and planned policy towards the Greek shipping
industry, would contribute to the long term revitalization of the Greek economy,
offering thousands of jobs in the Greek controlled fleet and substantially increasing
the inflow of income in the real economy.
While freight markets continue to suffer and the short to mid-term prospects are
uncertain in most of the individual sectors, the industry itself is constantly improving
the quality of its service, offering the international community and the environment
safe and quality shipping.
Indeed, to ensure long term sustainability in this highly risky and competitive
environment, a shipping organization needs to be not only cost but also quality
minded.
We hope that from its end, the State will do what it takes to safeguard the industry,
in effect supporting one of the country’s strongest economic pillars.
I look forward to a successful and fruitful “Posidonia 2012”.
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2012 AMVER AWARDS CEREMONY
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 25TH-ATHENS, ATHENAEUM INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL
The Board of Governors of the International Propeller Club of the United States, International Port of Piraeus,
in cooperation with the U.S. Coast Guard, are pleased to invite you to a dinner on the occasion of the presentation
of the AMVER Awards
Date:
Thursday, October 25th, 2012
Venue:
Intercontinental Hotel
Dress Code
Officers:
Uniform 8
Gentlemen:
Business Suit
Ladies:
Cocktail Outfit
Please contact: Tel.210-4290237, Fax. 210-4290974
[email protected]
www.propellerclub.gr
BRAVERY AWARDS
The Board of Governors of The International Propeller Club of the United States, International Port
of Piraeus, contemplates establishing Bravery Awards (Heroes Hall) annually along the lines of the
International Maritime Organization (IMO) and other Institutions.
Readers are invited to provide their input (ideas & proposals) for due consideration by the Bravery
Awards Committee constituted for this purpose.
Interested parties please contact the secretariat of The Propeller Club:
87, Akti Miaouli, 185 38 Piraeus
Tel: 210 4290237, Fax: 210 4290974
Email: [email protected]
3
Newsletter, June 2012
V.13 | 28
Η Ελλάδα είναι «δεμένη» με το ευρώ
Άρθρο του: Kου.Νικόλαου Α. Βερνίκου
Πρόεδρου Διεθνούς Εμπορικού Επιμελητηρίου-Ελλάδος
Μέλος του International Propeller Club of the United States, International Port of Piraeus
Το τελευταίο διάστημα επανέρχεται σε τακτικά χρονικά διαστήματα η συζήτηση γύρω από το αν
θα συνέφερε την Ελλάδα να παραμείνει στο Ευρώ,
ή αν θα ήταν καλύτερο να επιστρέψει στο εθνικό
της νόμισμα, αποκτώντας ελευθερία νομισματικής
πολιτικής, έξω από το σκληρό κοινό νόμισμα [και
μακριά από τη διελκυστίνδα Δολαρίου - Ευρώ και
Γιέν – Γουάν].
Κατά την άποψή μου μία τέτοια επιλογή δεν θα
έδινε λύση στο πρόβλημά μας, καθώς πολύ απλά,
αν αυτή τη στιγμή αισθανόμαστε ότι ως χώρα και
ως οικονομία βρισκόμαστε σε πολύ κακή κατάσταση, μία επιστροφή σε νέα δραχμή, ή οποιοδήποτε άλλο νόμισμα, πολύ απλά θα μας έβαζε ακόμα
βαθύτερα στον λάκκο της οικονομικής δυσπραγίας
και της πολιτικής ανυποληψίας. Θα γινόμασταν ένα
τραγικό παράδειγμα χώρας προς αποφυγή, ανίκανης να ακολουθήσει τις δεσμεύσεις της, ενώ παράλληλα μία τέτοια εξέλιξη θα μείωνε το βιοτικό μας
επίπεδο κατά τουλάχιστον 40% σε σχέση με αυτό
που ζούμε σήμερα. Ποιος επενδυτής θα ερχόταν
σε μία τέτοια χώρα;
Την ίδια στιγμή, ως αποτυχημένη θα εμφανιζόταν
και η Ευρώπη, καθώς θα έστελνε παγκοσμίως το
μήνυμα, ότι δεν κατάφερε να βγάλει από την ύφεση και να βοηθήσει μία μικρή χώρα που αποτελεί
μόλις το 2% του ΑΕΠ της ευρωζώνης. Το πρόβλημα
το αντιμετωπίζει ήδη η Ευρώπη, με την κρίση χρέους να προχωρά ως ντόμινο και να έχει ήδη φτάσει
στην Ιταλία και το Βέλγιο. Πόσο μάλλον αν αρχίσουν οι αποχωρήσεις μελών από την ευρωζώνη…
Τα επιχειρήματα
Όσοι είναι υπέρ της επαναφοράς στη δραχμή
παρουσιάζουν κυρίως δύο επιχειρήματα:
* Την δυνατότητα της χώρας να τυπώνει το δικό
της νόμισμα και
* Την δυνατότητα η χώρα να υποτιμά το νόμισμα
αυτό ώστε να βελτιώνεται η ανταγωνιστικότητα των
προϊόντων στο εξωτερικό και ο τουρισμός.
Ξεχνάνε όμως κάποια πράγματα που η χώρα μας
τα έχει ζήσει κατά την περίοδο της Δραχμής:
* Επιτόκια δανεισμού που έφταναν για το δημόσιο στο 20%, το οποίο στη συνέχεια οι Τράπεζες
το μετακυλούσαν στις επιχειρήσεις επιβάλλοντάς
δάνεια που πλησίαζαν το 30% και
* Την αδυναμία πραγματικής βελτίωσης της οικονομίας μας λόγω του κακού κράτους, της γρα-
4
φειοκρατίας, της κακοδιαχείρισης της έλλειψης
προγραμματισμού και της αναξιοκρατίας, τα οποία
παρά την βελτίωση των τιμών μας, διατηρούσαν
την οικονομία μας στις τελευταίες θέσεις της ανταγωνιστικότητας, θέσεις που άλλωστε διατηρούμε
και σήμερα. Άλλωστε οι υποτιμήσεις στην πραγματικότητα έχουν μόνο βραχυπρόθεσμα θετικά αποτελέσματα, τα οποία πολύ γρήγορα χάνονται μέσα
στον φαύλο κύκλο του πληθωρισμού, τον φόβο για
νέα υποτίμηση και την έξοδο των κεφαλαίων από
τη χώρα, μια και όλοι θα προσπαθούν να μετατρέψουν την αποταμιευσή τους σε ξένο νόμισμα.
Θεωρώ λοιπόν ότι και μόνο η συζήτηση για την
επιστροφή στη δραχμή είναι καταστροφική για την
πατρίδα για τους εξής λόγους:
1. Όσο συζητούμε για το ποιο νόμισμα θα έπρεπε να έχουμε, δεν θα έρθει κανείς να επενδύσει. Η
αβεβαιότητα είναι το νούμερο ένα απωθητικό των
επενδυτών.
2. Η νέα δραχμή θα θεωρείται από την αρχή
ένα νομισματικό σκουπίδι σε όλες τις αγορές του
κόσμου.
3. Το νέο μας νόμισμα θα είναι τόσο υποτιμημένο
που θα έχει τα αντίθετα αποτελέσματα στην ανταγωνιστικότητά μας, καθώς θα καταβαραθρώσει
την οικονομική δραστηριότητα στο εσωτερικό, κάτι
που φυσικά θα επηρεάσει και τις εξαγωγές.
4. Η κατάρρευση μισθών και εισοδημάτων, κινητών και ακίνητων αξιών -που έχει ήδη αρχίσει- θα
συνεχιζόταν, αυτή τη φορά όμως με γεωμετρική
πτώση.
5. Το τραπεζικό σύστημα θα κατέρρεε, καθώς
όλοι θα τραβούσαν τα χρήματά τους από τις τράπεζες. Παράλληλα θα εξαφανιζόταν η εμπορική πίστη, καθώς οι συναλλαγές θα γίνονταν με ρευστό,
με όλα τα επακόλουθα και τους περιορισμούς που
θα έφερνε κάτι τέτοιο.
6. Μέχρις ότου δημιουργηθούν ελληνικές μονάδες
παραγωγής κάθε είδους προϊόντος, τα καταστήματα
θα είναι άδεια, λόγω αδυναμίας εισαγωγών.
7. Οι πολιτικοί μας όταν θα βρίσκονται στην Κυβέρνηση θα τυπώνουν λεφτά για να αγοράζουν
ψήφους, μια και αυτό έμαθαν να κάνουν μέχρι
τώρα με δανικά.
8. Τέλος το χρέος δεν θα το γλυτώναμε. Θα εξακολουθούσε να μας βαραίνει και να αποτιμάται
σε ευρώ. Αυτό σημαίνει ότι -αν υιοθετήσουμε τις
δραχμές- θα έπρεπε να το πληρώσουμε με την τρέχουσα αξία των δραχμών, η οποία αποκλείεται να
είναι 340,75 ανά ευρώ όπως όταν μπήκαμε στην
ευρωζώνη. Όπως εξηγούν σε ένα άρθρο τους στην
Καθημερινή οι οικονομολόγοι Γ. Ιωαννίδης και Χ.
Πισσαρίδης,(Νόμπελ Οικονομικών) η νέα δραχμή
το πιθανότερο είναι να είναι υποτιμημένη κατά
70%. Με έναν απλό υπολογισμό δηλαδή μπορεί
ένα ευρώ να φτάσει τις 580 δραχμές. Αυτό σημαίνει ότι αν σήμερα έχουμε 350 δισ. ευρώ χρέος,
αυτό δεν θα αποτιμηθεί σε 119 τρισ. δραχμές αλλά
σε πάνω από 200 τρισ. δραχμές.
Όπως εξηγούν οι δύο οικονομολόγοι, «με μία
υπέρμετρα υποτιμημένη δραχμή, ακόμη και αν η
Ελλάδα δώσει στους πιστωτές της μόλις 35 σεντς
για κάθε δολάριο που χρωστάει (όπως έκανε η Αργεντινή) το χρέος της θα παραμείνει (σε πραγματικούς όρους) στα ίδια επίπεδα που είναι σήμερα.»
Τί πρέπει να γίνει
Το βασικότερο βήμα που θα πρέπει να γίνει στην
Ευρώπη (πάντα με την Ελλάδα στους κόλπους της)
θα είναι να προχωρήσουμε από την νομισματική
ένωση στην δημοσιονομική. Να υπάρξει δηλαδή
ακόμη μεγαλύτερη σύνδεση των κρατών και η δυνατότητα βελτίωσης της ανταγωνιστικότητας των
χωρών με την μεταφορά πόρων για την ανάπτυξη
της ευρωζώνης όπου αυτό είναι απαραίτητο.
Επίσης, η Ευρώπη θα πρέπει να γίνει πιο ευέλικτη
αντιδρώντας ταχύτερα στις κινήσεις των αγορών.
Να τυπώσει χρήμα για να ενισχύσει τον EFSF, να
αποσύρει και να διαγράψει τα ομόλογα που έχει
στην κατοχή της η ΕΚΤ που φτάνουν στα 50 δισ.
ευρώ και φυσικά να προχωρήσει ταχύτατα με το
ελληνικό PSI. Αν γίνουν όλα αυτά, το πιθανότερο
είναι ότι οι αγορές θα ηρεμήσουν.
Αυτά βέβαια είναι εκείνα που πρέπει να γίνουν
σε ευρωπαϊκό επίπεδο, διότι εντός συνόρων εμείς
το μόνο που μπορούμε να κάνουμε είναι να συνεχίσουμε τις μεταρρυθμίσεις που αρνούμαστε να
κάνουμε 30 χρόνια τώρα και όχι να αναζητούμε
νέους τρόπους για να τις αποφύγουμε όπως είναι
η επιστροφή στη δραχμή, μία κίνηση η οποία απλά
θα μας δώσει άλλη μία γωνίτσα στο χαλί για να
κρύψουμε από κάτω τα προβλήματά μας, τα οποία
φυσικά και θα τα δούμε λίγο αργότερα να ορθώνονται και πάλι μπροστά μας. Και αυτή τη φορά
μεγαλύτερα από ποτέ.
V e s s e l
A c c i d e n t s
The last accident of Cruise Vessel “Costa Concordia” that put on risk 4000
men, women and children stirred up my mind and bothered me as to what
is going on.
The last years we have several big accidents which have created big damages. Those accidents though seam to be unique cases each one they have
high degree of similarities and have established similar nasty circumstances
and big damages.
One accident was a Tanker vessel named “Prestige” that developed a crack.
After much hard effort she was put to a port of refuge. The Port and Municipality Authorities without letting the vessel be repaired to a safe permanent
stage or to a safe temporary degree, put her back out of the port. Other ports
too refused to allow her to get into those ports but let her to continue being at
sea with heavy weather until she parted to two parts causing a lot of damage
to offshore environment in Southern East part of Atlantic.
Another accident is a container vessel named “Bunga Teratai Segu”. She run
aground too near the Cairns, Australia, she destroyed a large area of special
coral reefs, then caused pollution that developed to be a big damage too.
Then with almost same scenario a container vessel named “Rena” run
aground too at Astrolabe reef, the assistance deployed to her was not enough
or not the proper one and the vessel after 4 weeks parted and many containers drawn to sea. That incident caused pollution too, the vessel sank and the
damage is big.
As an ex Seaman, it makes me much annoyed and raised the question to
me, what is going on and how it can be stopped or reduced? Thinking of
those four accidents come to my mind quite few more accidents it happens
to know and the last of those incident, is the cruise vessel….. that run aground
at… Italy.
People better than me who spend much time on details, have find out that
85% of Marine accidents and damages are due to human error. That is a true
fact and bravo to those who have declared that. That information has passed
to person’s / authorities, responsible to work on that problem they attended
to deploy ways, methods and means to stop or reduce the problems.
I do not think that the results are satisfactory. The most important is not
what I think but it is what is proven. The accidents are keep going on, people
is suffering few die and huge amounts spent for the after accident effort to
clear and clean up the mess.
As I know after each accident, from the conclusion of the cause of accident,
implied new regulations, are implied new equipment installed on board that
cost many thousands of Dollars - Euros and new methods implied that is
believed those will prevent accidents to happen but I am sorry to say it seem
that those means do not work.
So what are we doing: Shall we continue the same way to suffer loses from
accidents? I do not think so.
Having been sailing with the ships as apprentice, third, second, Chief Engineer, Trouble shooting Engineer, Superintendent Engineer, Marine consultant and ship Owner, I was performing my duties with due diligence on every
rank. I was studying the circumstances and the problems encounter to vessels
and was finding thus to dissolve them Therefore I believe that I have the right
to express my opinion as to how we can avoid or reduced the accidents. My
opinion too is, that the human error is the major cause of accidents.
The accidents do not occur at once, hey start from negligence of those on
board who are responsible to do certain duties and they care half way or not
at all. That is the beginning of the trouble, which by the time develops to a
serious accident and / or a disaster, as it can be when a loaded VLCC having
over 300,000.00 M.T. oil she gets in trouble. The negligence is a result of lack
of proper education and training for the marine risks. As well as the ability to
fight the circumstances that may cause Risks.
The lack of ability to select the right persons who can carry out successfully
the duties they have to perform and for that they are paid much.
The negligence is a result of Lack of discipline. The negligence is the result
of laysure. Many people do not work hard. Seafarers’ duties, jobs professions,
involve hard work, study and to be prepared to meet contingency, it is a
must, because if you do not care about your duties and your colleague does
the same, both of you are going to have problem and may cause serious
accident / damages / losses.
If you have not the guts to be / become a Seafarer do not go you may cause
those accidents as the ones referred above.
I met people on board who were claiming that they were getting tired
by work and the same people in the athletics room had and / have gear for
exercise / body building.
I met people who when joined the vessel they did not study the SOLAS ISM rules and instructions how to prevent accidents but they were spending
hours to organize the stereos and videos for pleasure and Karaoke. Most of
them were never properly dressed to meet an alarming case so they could
assist to fight it.
One solution that can work to reduce the accidents / disaster is companies
to be big (many vessels) to have persons educated by the companies, experts
who could teach the other persons of the companies / crews the right way
and those experts can select the ones who are worthy to be kept to serve the
needs of the company and progress with the company. When employing
outsiders it is dangerous and does not work have to suffer the losses.
Article by: Mr. Evangelos Zouppas
Marine Consultant
Drassis Shipping Co. SA
Member of the International Propeller Club of the United States,
International Port of Piraeus
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Newsletter, June 2012
V.13 | 28
The Salvor’s Viewpoint
Environmental / Liability Salvage
Concern for the environment has seen the
role of the salvor transformed over the past
30 years, and there is every likelihood this
trend will continue. Salvage contractors remain the best line of defence in combating
environmental pollution created by oil spills
and other marine casualties. It is one of the
salvor’s main roles to keep pollutants in the
ship or safely remove them and thereby
prevent an emergency turning into a pollution catastrophe. They operate under increasing public scrutiny brought about as
a result of extensive media coverage and a
policy of zero tolerance adopted by government authorities.
Nowadays, salvors must meet the ever
higher and unyielding expectations of both
the public and the politicians, when carrying out salvage operations. The growing
concern of coastal states, keen to protect
and preserve the marine environment, has
also led to greater government interference
in dealing with marine casualties and salvage operations. Today there is hardly a
salvage event that is not driven by the environment – look only at the recent examples
of “DEEPWATER HORIZON” in US Gulf
(2010), “RENA” in New Zealand (2011)
and most recently “COSTA CONCORDIA”
in Italy (2012). In this way the major focus
of salvage activity has shifted with pollution
abatement now frequently taking priority
over property salvage. This often creates a
conflict of interest between “competing”
property insurers and liability insurers. The
cost of salvage seems modest when compared to the eye watering costs that a major
spill will incur.
On the other hand, the increased magnitude of casualties with an environmental
“dimension”, often results in greater work
load and higher risk together with lower
salved value. This results in an increased expense for salvage services, not recoverable
in line with the traditional “no cure –no
pay” salvage principle, where a salvor was
not successful. The level of income earned
6
by professional salvors is insufficient to encourage further and continuing investment
by salvors. Many international salvors, in
order to compete commercially and meet
the environmental demands placed upon
them, have invested heavily in maintaining
24/7 preparedness to attend to salvage operations - globally. Only a handful of cases offer salvors the opportunity to recoup
their costs or return on investment. The decreased workload has also resulted in there
being fewer salvors and large-scale consolidation in the marine salvage industry.
and the International Salvage Union
(ISU) propose that Environmental/Liability Awards (which recognize the environmental benefit conferred by salvors) could
be achieved primarily by amending the
relevant provisions of the 1989 Salvage
Convention. Salvors have expressed their
concern in recent years to shipowners and
marine insurers and believe that (with appropriate modifications) it is possible to
achieve a fairer mechanism to reward salvors for protecting the environment and
averting liabilities.
Salvors are not given sufficient financial
incentives to undertake mega salvage operations, where environmental concerns
are at stake, in view of the civil and criminal
penalties to which they are being increasingly exposed. Furthermore, this creeping
criminalisation has the further consequence
of destroying “no-blame” cultures, discourages openness and erodes seafarer’s
morale; indeed it deters salvors in circumstances where they are needed most. The
International Salvage Union (ISU) has been
concerned for a number of years that its
members are not always fairly rewarded for
the benefit they confer in protecting the environment.
It is important to point out that salvors do
not expect to be paid unless there is “added
value” conferred and they fully expect the
Special Reward to be commensurate with
that benefit. Salvors do not expect to receive
“unearned” income and are content to leave
the appropriate level of extra remuneration
to the discretion of the salvage Tribunal.
Following the publication of the new
edition of Lloyd’s Open Form (LOF 2011)
contract, and the accompanying standard
arbitration clauses, the changes made to
the contract make it fit for use in the modern shipping environment. However the
present system (under the 1989 Salvage
Convention), and the commercial arrangements under Lloyd’s Form 2011, and
(where applicable) the Special Compensation P&I Club Clause (SCOPIC 2011), do
not provide proper recognition of the salvor’s efforts in carrying out their obligations.
Special “environmental/liability” salvage
awards should recognize the environmental/financial benefit conferred by salvors.
The Comite Maritime International (CMI)
Reviving the concept of environmental (and liability) salvage would necessitate unraveling the complex compromises
agreed in the salvage convention - unless it
is achieved by a “small” change to the existing wording of Article 14. Although, one
can well understand the liability insurers’ reluctance to change the current status quo,
the improvement proposed will ultimately
be as much to their benefit as to everyone else. There will be a fairer distribution
of what is awarded between shipowners,
cargo interests, property insurers and liability insurers. More importantly, the shipping
industry and the public will be more secure,
because services provided by emergency
contractors will be properly rewarded for
what is actually done. Finally salvors will
be encouraged, both to remain in business
and to invest for the future.
Article by: Mr. Nicolas A. Tsavliris
Principal, Tsavliris Salvage Group
Member of the International Propeller Club
of the United States,
International Port of Piraeus
COLLEGE YEAR IN GREECE
College Year in Athens is proudly celebrating its 50th Anniversary in 2012. Founded
in 1962, CYA was the first study-abroad program in Greece for English-speaking undergraduates. Founder Ismene Phylactopoulou
(1907-1983) arrived in Greece from Smyrna
as a refugee in 1922. A graduate of Wellesley College, Massachusetts, she recognized
Greece’s tremendous historical and cultural
importance to liberal arts studies as well as
its potential draw for the developing study
abroad movement. A woman of great energy and resolve, she set about creating a
serious academic program that would open
the hearts and minds of college-age North
American students to Greece while maintaining a genuine concern for each student’s
educational and personal growth.
Beginning with a pioneering first class of
five, CYA quickly grew in size and recognition and currently serves about five hundred students from the United States every
year from top-tier colleges and universities.
The program of studies originally focused
on the contributions of Archaic and Classical Greece to Western Civilization. Over
time the historical range has expanded to
include courses from prehistoric to modern
times. Appreciating that a full understanding of ancient and contemporary Greece
must include the role of the country within
the greater geopolitical region, CYA has
broadened its curriculum to include Balkan,
East Mediterranean, and Middle East studies as well as Athens-based service-learning
programs, volunteer work, and internships.
To best serve university students and to
stay abreast of the dynamic world of study
abroad CYA is an active member of NAFSA:
Association of International Educators; EAIE:
European Association for International Education; and is a charter member of FORUM:
Forum on Education Abroad.
In view of the fast and often dramatic developments in the world, and especially
considering the political and economic
juncture in which Greece finds itself, a semester abroad in Greece at this time can
be an enormously valuable experience for
North American college students. Seeing
one’s world from the perspective of a geographically small European country can be
very enlightening. For CYA students study
abroad in Greece is a life-changing experience, one that increases their awareness
and perception in the best possible way.
CYA’s mission is to offer each student an
academically rigorous program of studies
combined with the vibrant experience of
day-to-day contact with people, monuments, and the landscapes of Greece, taking advantage of its uniquely varied past
and its rapidly changing present. CYA is
dedicated to fostering in its students an
engagement with Greece that encourages
personal discovery, growth, and cross-cultural sensitivity. Today CYA students have
the opportunity to experience the thrill
of living in the center of socioeconomic
events that may alter the very essence
of the European Union, and may affect
finances worldwide. These are the interesting times we live in, and our students
have a front-row seat to the unfolding of
events that are going to shape the future
of Greece and Europe.
College Year in Athens’ ultimate goal is for
participants to return home academically inspired, intellectually stimulated, and with a
passionate commitment to the furtherance
of international and intercultural understanding. In the past half century CYA has
turned out about seven thousand alumni,
many of whom were so touched by Greece
and their experience here that they went on
to become active academics on subjects related to Greece and things Greek. The mission of College Year in Athens is best fulfilled
when its students, after their time at CYA,
feel as citizens of the world.
Article by: Mr. Alexis Phylactopoulos
President
College Year in Athens/DIKEMES
Member of the International Propeller Club
of the United States,
7
Newsletter, June 2012
V.13 | 28
BALLAST WATER
TREATMENT SYSTEMS
AN INTRODUCTION
Ballast water contains organisms ( bacteria, viruses etc). When ballast water is discharged from ships, organisms may survive
and thrive in their new environment. This
may result in ecological damage. Public
health is also a concern and economic consequences.
In 2004, the Member Nations of the IMO
adopted the International Convention for
the Control and Management of Ship’s Ballast Water and Sediments.
Read the full text :
http://www.bsh.de/de/Meeresdaten/
Umweltschutz/Ballastwasser/Konvention_
en.pdf
This Convention will enter into force 12
months after a total of 30 states representing 35% of the world’s shipping tonnage,
has ratified it. So far (April 2012) 33 states
representing about 26.46% of the world
tonnage have ratified the convention.
The convention will require all ships to implement a Ballast Water Management Plan.
All ships will have to carry a Ballast Water
Record book and to filter/clean /disinfect
or exchange (until Reg. B-3 is applicable)
ballast water so that when it is discharged
it does not contaminate the new environment.
SEDIMENT REGULATIONS - References to
the requirements for management of ballast tank sediments are made in several locations throughout the text of the Convention. See article 5 on page 5 of the above
mentioned site. Regulation B-1 ( see page
17 of the convention) covers Ballast Water Management Plans, and includes requirement 3 that states : each ship’s plan
shall “detail the procedures for the disposal
of Sediments: 1) at sea; and 2) to shore”.
Regulation B-5 states that “All ships shall
remove and dispose of sediments from
spaces designated to carry Ballast Water in
accordance with the provisions of the ship’s
Ballast Water Management Plan.” And that
“ships should be designed and constructed
with a view to minimize the uptake and unnecessary entrapment of Sediments, facilitate removal of Sediments, and provide safe
access to allow for Sediment removal and
sampling, taking into account guidelines
developed by the Organization. There are
no discharge standards for Sediment, and
no Guidelines for testing equipment to address it. Therefore it appears the method of
complying with Regulation B-5 is left up to
the operator and the Ballast Water Management Plan. Sediment can be disposed at sea
or ashore.
Regulation B-3
Regulation B-3 of the Convention (page
18) describes the schedule for the implementation of the Convention.
It can be found on page 18 of the above
mentioned site
This regulation was revised with IMO Resolution A.1005(25) /04.12.2007
http://www.imo.org/OurWork/Environment/BallastWaterManagement/Documents/1005.pdf
And with MEPC.188(60)/24.03.2010
http://www.imo.org/blast/blastDataHelper.
asp?data_id=28813&filename=188(60).pdf
What that means in words is that :
• all ships after 2016 will have to comply.
(even ships whose ballast tank capacity
does not exceed 1500 m3 )
• If the convention enters into force earlier, ship newbuildings larger than 15000
dwt will have to comply with immediate
effect. (ships with ballast tank capacity exceeding 5000 m3)
• Existing Ships with ballast capacity of
between 1500 and 5000 m3 will have to
comply after 2014
Regulation D-2
Regulation D-2 of the Convention ( page
22) describes the discharge (or treatment)
standards for ballast water.
i.e. deballasted water should not contain
more than 10 plankton organisms per M3
which are greater than 50 micrometres in
size. Furthermore, deballasted water should
contain limited numbers of microbes affecting human health.
The new VGP includes specific BWT technology review and approval criteria. Listed
below are some important details:
· Effective December 19, 2013, in accordance with VGP Section 2.2.3.5.1.1: “Vessel owner/operators utilizing a ballast water
treatment system (BWTS) must use a system which has been shown to be effective
by testing in accordance with the EPA-ETV
protocol for the verification of ballast water
treatment technology conducted by an independent third party laboratory, test facility or test organization.”
· The new VGP lists five BWT technologies
that have been accepted by the U.S. Government as having demonstrated the ability
to meet the IMO D-2 discharge standard in
accordance with EPA’s review criteria.
samples from the ballast water tanks. The
samples are to be tested, results issued and
if the ballast water satisfies the requirements then it can be released into the new
eco system.
See also IMO G2 Guidelines
It has been noted that one major shipping company has adopted a system that
employs a combination of Filters, UV lamps
and Ozone injection
Another major shipping company selected a system that employs a combination of
filters and chlorination technology (like for
the swimming pools)
The space that is required to accommodate the BWT system is comparable to the
space required by the auxiliary diesel generators, just to give an order of magnitude.
Therefore in retrofitting existing vessels it
will be necessary to consider deck space if
the engine room is compact.
Method Advantages
Disadvantages
Filtration of the ballast water
Self cleaning
Pressure drop
Easy installation
Flow rate reduction
Easy maintenance
Sediments reduce efficiency
Ultra Violet Light radiation of the water
Easy installation
Sediments reduce efficiency
High power consumption
Electrolysis
On board dissinfection
Corrosion
Hydrogen as by product
Depends on the water salinity
Chemical injection Easy installation
Corrosion
Safety
Ozonation
Independent of salinity
Corrosion
Safety
De – oxygenation
Flexible installation
Inert gas system maintenance
A combination of the above methods This is the regulation that makes the installation of a costly Ballast Water Treatment
Plant on ships, mandatory.
The methods and technologies which can
enable a ship to comply with the Convention:
The equipment that implement these
methods and technologies must have an
approval by a Flag Administration. They
must obtain a type approval certificate. Flag
Administrations assign Classification Societies to carry out this work.
On November 30th 2011, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its draft Vessel General Permit (VGP).
The complete VGP Draft and VGP Factsheet
can be downloaded from the EPA website
at: http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/vessels/vgpermit.cfm.
·Deoxygenation+cavitation
·Filtration+chlorinedioxide
·Filtration+UV
·Filtration+UV+TiO2
·Filtration + electro-chlorination
· The EPA’s Science Advisory Board (SAB)
evaluated all available BWT technologies,
resulting in selection of the five technologies listed above.
USCG has released ‘Standards for Living Organisms in Ship’s Ballast water Discharged in U.S. Waters’ in in March 2012
which supersede
the previous twm regulations. Discharge
standard is identical to IMO.
Practical Aspects
Sampling devices will be required to draw
Article by:
Mr. Yiannis Iacovides
Naval Architect
Member of the International Propeller Club
of the United States, International Port of
Piraeus
9
Newsletter, June 2012
V.13 | 28
2012 NEW YEAR
PITTA CUTTING CEREMONY
The traditional New Year Pitta cutting ceremony was celebrated on Sunday 29th January 2012
at the Grande Bretagne Hotel and more than
180 distinguished guests and members of the
International Propeller Club of the United States,
International Port of Piraeus, were gathered.
The ceremony was honored by the presence of
Minister of Development, Competitiveness and
Shipping, Mr. M. Chrisochoidis and H.E., Ambassador of the United States in Greece, Daniel Bennett Smith.
Secretary General, Mr. Theodoros Kontes, commenced the reception by greeting the attendees
and extending warm wishes for a prosperous
New Year.
Following Mr. Antonios Stamos Faraklas, President of the Propeller Club, welcomed all and
referred to the activities of the Propeller Club
during 2011, emphasizing among other the importance of the Propeller Club scholarship programme and. congratulated the students of their
academic efforts.
Minister of Development, Competitiveness and
Shipping, Mr. M. Chrisochoidis, in his speech
highly stressed the role of Maritime education in
Greece and the importance of its reinforcement
of the shipping in general now days.
Afterwards, Mrs. Despina Foros-Tsirozidis, 2nd
Vice President of the Propeller Club, announced
the presentation of award to Mrs. Marianna Moschou in recognition and appreciation as Secretary
General of the International Propeller Club and of
her untiring contribution to society as President
of ELEPAP.
Mrs. Moschou upon receiving the award noted, ‘Volunteering with professionalism and commitment and eagerness for teamwork nowadays
more than ever before is necessary for Greece.’
She went on by saying that ‘[one gives and takes]
back immense satisfaction and fulfillment’.
His Excellency, Ambassador of the United States
in Greece, Daniel Bennett Smith welcomed the
audience and referred to the custom of traditional vasilopita cutting who along with the Board
of Governors and Past Presidents of the Propeller
Club cut symbolically the New Year Pitta.
Initiating the scholarship awards, Secretary
General, Mr. Kontes, invited the Minister of Development, Competitiveness and Shipping, Mr.
M. Chrisochoidis to award the Propeller Club
10
scholarship to Mrs. Lazari Aikaterini graduate student from the University of the Aegean.
H.E. Ambassador of the United States in Greece,
Daniel Bennett Smith, presented the Propeller
Club scholarship awarded to ‘Fulbright Foundation’ which was received by representative Mrs.
Christina Paraskevopoulou, Financial Administrator, Fulbright Foundation.
Mr. Kontes invited the podium the Deputy
Minister of Development, Competitiveness and
Shipping, Mr. S. A. Georgiadis to award the Propeller Club scholarship to Mr. Asterios Tzartzianis
graduate of Merchant Marine Academy of Aspropyrgos.
Mr. V. Michaloliakos, Mayor of Piraeus, presented the Propeller Club scholarship to Mr. Stamatiou Sokratis, graduate student from the University of Piraeus.
Mr. Kontes invited Mr. Konstantinos Soulis,
Commandant of Hellenic Coast Guard to present
the Propeller Club scholarship to ‘NASOS ABUEL
BASAL’ graduate student of American Community Schools.
Mr. Apostolos Doucas, Regional Vice President
of the International Propeller Club, made the
announcement of the yearly ‘MARIA P.TSAKOS’
scholarship and invited Cpt. Panayiotis Tsakos,
Founder of TSAKOS Group, to make the award.
The receiver of the Scholarship, Mrs. Irini Mylona, graduate student from Livaneion Lyceum
of Kardamyla, Chios, made a short speech thanking her supporters for embracing such initiatives
which contribute to the promotion of education.
Mr. Kontes invited Mr. Markos Foros, Vice
President of the International Propeller Club, USA
Board of Governors and presented the ‘ANTONIS
CHANDRIS’ scholarship to the 1st Winner of essay contest Mrs. Petta Aikaterini.
Mr. Nikolaos Tsavliris, Former President of the
Propeller Club awarded the ‘SEVASMIA REGKOS’ scholarship, in memory to Mrs. Sevasmia
Regkou, to the 2nd Winner of essay contest, Mr.
Theodorou Dimitrios.
Mr. Athanasios Pallis, General Secretary of Ports
& Port Policy (Ministry of Development, Competitiveness and Shipping) awarded the 3rd Winner
of essay contest to student Mrs. Litou Stavroula.
Mr. Kontes invited Cpt. J. Braunschweig, Senior Defense Official/Defense and Naval Attache,
United States Embassy to present the Propeller
Club scholarship to The American Farm School,
received by the representative Mrs. Lydia Legaki,
Member of the Board of Trustees of the American
Farm School Lastly, Mr. John Kalafatides, Deputy
Treasurer of the Propeller Club, awarded the
Propeller Club scholarship to Mr. Sotirios Poulimenos, graduate Student from the American College of Greece.
The ceremony was followed by the exquisite dancing group of the American College of
Greece and buffet reception.
Among numerous Propeller Club members,
members of the Board of Governors of P.C., Mr
S. Costopoulos, Mr. K. Rokkos, Mr. G. Timagenis,
Mr. D. Zorbalas Mr. Koutentakis, Mr. C. Constantinou, Mr. Th. Vakrinos, Past Presidents of
Propeller Club Capt. Savvas, Capt. Besis, Mr. V.
Katrantzos, Mr. A. Skondras, Mr. Enepekides, Mr.
Tessier, Mr. Tegopoulos, Mr. Neslihanidis, Mr.
Roussos, Past Commandant of Hellenic Coast
Guard RADM Rentzeperis, distinguished members and friends.
Present were also, Mr. N. Margaropoulos,
President, Propeller Club of Thessaloniki, Mr.
Ath. Karkoulias, Director of Studies of Merchant
Marine Academy of Aspropyrgos, Mr. Maniatakis
President of Maniatakeion Foundation, Mrs.Julius
from the American College of Greece, Dr. S. Gialamas President, American Community Schools
along with Dr. S. Hilentzaris, Mr. Mitarakis, CDR
J. Schwartz, Assistant Naval Attache, Mr. Smith,
Press Attache, Mr. D. Ross, Deputy Economic
Counselor, Mrs. Christie Milner, Economic Officer, Mr. K. Konstantopoulos, Economic Specialist,
United States Embassy.
Mr. N. Tsavliris and Mr. Theodorou Dimitrios being awarded
the ‘SEVASVIA REGKOS’ scholarship
‘Η Θαλασσινή Μοίρα του Έλληνα και η Ανάγκη Στροφής στα Ναυτικά Επαγγέλματα’
Είναι γεγονός ότι η στενή σχέση του Έλληνα με την θάλασσα καθώς και η παραδοσιακή στροφή στα ναυτικά επαγγέλματα
χαρακτηρίζουν την ιστορική πορεία του. Ο Ελλαδικός χώρος από γεωφυσική άποψη, υπήρξε σταυροδρόμι λαών, ενώ
η ποικιλομορφία μιας ατελείωτης ακτογραμμής, το πλήθος των νησιών και των νησίδων στο Αιγαίο και οι υπήνεμοι
ορμοί παρέχουν απεριόριστες δυνατότητες πλεύσης. Επίσης αποτελούν ισχυρό κίνητρο για την εξέλιξη της ναυσιπλοίας.
Επειδή η Ελλάδα στο μεγαλύτερο μέρος της είναι ορεινή, οι πιεστικές ανάγκες διακίνησης πρώτων υλών και αγροτικών
προιόντων οδήγησαν στις δοκιμές υπερπόντιων μετακινήσεων.
HE.Ambassador Daniel B. Smith and the President of the
Propeller Club Mr. Antonios Stamos Faraklas
Όμως η περιέργεια, το πάθος της ανακάλυψης, η περιπέτεια και η ασίγαστη νοσταλγία της επιστροφής στη γενέτειρα
χώρα ξεκινώντας απο το μυθικό Οδυσσέα, δημιούργησαν τις προυποθέσεις για την ανάπτυξη ενός ναυτικού βίου των
Ελλήνων. Έτσι η Ελλάδα είναι μια χώρα με μεγάλη ναυτική παράδοση και η ναυτιλία είναι ο σταθερός πυλώνας της
εθνικής μας οικονομίας. Συνεπώς τα ναυτικά επαγγέλματα θα μπορούσαν να λειτουργήσουν ως μια πολύ σημαντική
διέξοδος για τους νέους στο σημερινό πιεστικό καθεστώς της οικονομικής κρίσης μιάς και συνεισφέρουν σημαντικά
στην απασχόληση εργατικού δυναμικού και προσφέρουν στους νέους σταδιοδρομία υψηλών απαιτήσεων και απολαβών.
Αναμφισβήτητα η εμπορική ναυτιλία παίζει το ρόλο του βασικού συντελεστή και της κινητήριας δύναμης της ελληνικής
οικονομίας διαχρονικά. Ανατρέχοντας στην ιστορία διαπιστώνει κανείς ότι οι αποικίες, οι οποίες λειτούργησαν ως
εμπορικοί σταθμοί των αρχαίων ελληνικών πόλεων-κρατών, όπως η Αθήνα και η Κόρινθος συνετέλεσαν στην ακμή της
ελληνικής ναυσιπλοίας απο τον 8ο αι. ΠΧ. Στη συνέχεια η ναυτική υπεροχή της κλασικής Αθήνας καθώς και η στήριξη της
βυζαντινής αυτοκρατορίας στο δίκτυο λιμανιών έιχαν ως συνέπεια την εμπορική κυριαρχία των Ελλήνων στη Μεσόγειο
για αρκετούς αιώνες.
Όμως οι αρχές του Ελληνικού ναυτικού εμπορίου μπορούν να αναχθούν στο 16ο αι. με την άνοδο της ελληνικής
εμπορικής τάξεως και την αύξηση των ελληνικών εμπορικών οίκων. Ωστόσο η κυριαρχία του ελληνικού εμπορικού
ναυτικού σημειώνεται κατα το 18ο αι. με τη συνθήκη Κιουτσούκ-Καιναρτζή (1774), με την παραχώρηση αξιοσημείωτων
προνομίων σε εμπορικά κέντρα, όπως η Σμύρνη και η Χίος, την ύπαρξη πλεονάσματος εξαγώγιμων αγροτικών προιόντων,
τη διαρκώς αυξανόμενη ζητησή τους και τη δυνατότητα επενδύσεων κεφαλαίων σε ναυτιλιακές επιχειρήσεις κάτω από
ευνοικές ανταγωνιστικές συνθήκες.
Στη μετεπαναστατική περίοδο (19ος αι.) η εμπορική ναυτιλία ήταν ο μόνος οικονομικός τομέας που κατόρθωσε γρήγορα
να επανακτήσει τη ζωτικότητα του πχ. μονοπώλησε το σιτεμπόριο της Μαύρης Θάλασσας και διατήρησε δεσπόζουσα θέση
στην ανατολική Μεσόγειο. Επίσης η μετατροπή ιστιοφόρων σε ατμόπλοια (19ος αι.) στη διάρκεια της βιομηχανικής
επανάστασης υπήρξε ορόσημο για το ελληνικό ναυτικό, αφου η ναυσιπλοία έγινε ευκολότερη και γρηγορότερη.
Mrs. Marianna Moschou receiving the award
Cpt P. Tsakos, Mr. A. Doucas, Mr. Th. Kontes and
Mrs. I. Mylona being awarded the ‘MARIA P.TSAKOS’ scholarship
Mr. Markos Foros and Mrs. Petta Aikaterini being awarded
the ‘ ANTONIS CHANDRIS’ scholarship
Από τον 20ο αι. και μέχρι τις μέρες μας η εμπορική ναυτιλία είναι ο σημαντικότερος κλάδος της ελληνικής οικονομίας
και αποτελεί τη μόνη οικονομική δραστηριότητα στην οποία η χώρα μας διαθέτει την πρώτη θέση παγκοσμίως.
Συγκεκριμένα ο ελληνικός εμπορικός στόλος είναι ο μεγαλύτερος στην Ευρωπαική Ένωση και ο Ελληνικής πλοιοκτησίας
στόλος ο μεγαλύτερος στον κόσμο, ενώ μέσω αυτών διακινείται το 90% του Ελληνικού εξαγωγικού εμπορίου.
Η θεαματική ανάπτυξη και αναμφισβήτητη οικονομική ισχύς της ελληνικής ναυτιλίας μπορούν να λειτουργήσουν ως
κίνητρα στροφής των νέων προς τα ναυτιλιακά επαγγέλματα. Εδώ πρέπει να τονιστεί ότι η σταδιοδρομία στη ναυτιλία δεν
περιορίζεται μόνο στα πλοία. Γύρω από αυτά δραστηριοποιούνται και πολλοί άλλοι κλάδοι οικονομικής δραστηριότητας
όπως ναυτιλιακές επιχειρήσεις, ναυπηγήσεις, ασφαλίσεις, χρηματοδοτήσεις, παρεμφερείς Δημόσιοι και ιδιωτικοί
οργανισμοί κ.α.
Με αυτόν τον τρόπο δίνεται στους νέους η ευκαιρία να επιλέξουν μια δημιουργική διέξοδο, ένα επάγγελμα διαφορετικό
από τα συνηθισμένα . Συνδυάζουν την εργασία τους με την θάλασσακαι το ταξίδι, αποκτούν πολύτιμες γνώσεις για άλλους
κόσμους, άλλους πολιτισμούς και χίλια δυο άλλα
‘ πολλών δ’ανθρώπων είδεν άστεα και νόον έγνω’. Διευρύνουν τους
πνευματικούς ορίζοντές τους και γνωρίζουν νέες και αξεπέραστες εμπειρίες και προκλήσεις. Άλλωστε σύμφωνα και με
τον Φάουστ του Γκαίτε ‘ Το νου ο γιαλός τον λευτερώνει/σκέψεις πολλές δεν τις σηκώνει’ . έτσι και οι απασχολούμενοι
στα ναυτικά επαγγέλματα δεν παραμένουν δέσμιοι εθνικιστικών αντιλήψεων αλλά έρχονται σε επαφή με ανθρώπους από
άλλες χώρες και πολιτισμούς. Επικοινωνούν μαζί τους, ανταλάσσουν απόψεις και μέσα στο πνεύμα του κοσμοπολιτισμού
θέτουν τις βάσεις για μια αποτελεσματική και κερδοφόρα συνεργασία μεταξύ των λαών.
Επιπροσθέτως απο την στιγμή που ένας απόφοιτος Λυκείου επιλέξει τη σταδιοδρομία στην ναυτιλία, έχει προοπτικές
για άμεση επαγγελματική αποκατάσταση και στη συνέχεια για επαγγελματική εξέλιξη με ικανοποιητικές οικονομικές
απολαβές, σε ηλικία που οι περισσότεροι νέοι, οι οποίοι ακολουθούν άλλες επαγγελματικές κατευθύνσεις δεν έχουν
ολοκληρώσει ακόμα τις σπουδές τους. Ειδικότερα οι αυριανοί αξιωματικοί που θα κρατήσουν ζωντανό το ελληνικό
ναυτιλιακό θαύμα έχουν την δυνατότητα να πραγματοποιήσουν τις φιλοδοξίες τους και να εξασφαλίσουν άμεσα μια
καριέρα στο μέλλον σε ένα ζωτικό χώρο για την εθνική μας οικονομία.
Επομένως δεδομένης της υψηλής δυστηχώς ανεργίας στα επαγγέλματα ξηράς η ενασχόληση με τα μεγάλης ποικιλίας
ναυτικά επαγγέλματα θα συνέβαλλε καθοριστικά στη μείωση των ποσοστών ανεργίας των νέων. Αξίζει ακόμα να
επισημανθεί ότι ο περιορισμός της ανεργίας θα είχε ως αποτέλεσμα την άμβλυνση της σύγχρονης οικονομικοκοινωνικής
κρίσης που ταλανίζει τους ανθρώπους και τον κρατικό μηχανισμό. Τέλος θα σημειωνόταν πρόοδος και διεύρυνση του
ελληνικού εμπορίου με ανυπολόγιστα οφέλη για την χώρα μας.
‘ Ευτυχισμένος που έκανε το ταξίδι του Οδυσσέα. Ευτυχισμένος αν στο ξεκίνημα ένιωθε γερή την αρματωσιά μιας αγάπης,
απλωμένη μέσα στο κορμί του, σαν τις φλέβες όπυ βουίζει το αίμα’ έγραφε ο Γ. Σεφέρης το 1931 και 32 χρόνια
αργότερα, το 1963 στην ομιλία του στη Στοκχόλμη την ημέρα που τιμήθηκε με το βραβείο Νόμπελ της Λογοτεχνίας
δήλωνε :
‘ Ανήκω σε μια χώρα μικρή. Ένα πέτρινο ακρωτήρι στη Μεσόγειο, που δεν έχει άλλο αγαθό παρά τον αγώνα του λαού, τη
θάλασσα και το φως του ήλιου’.
Ο λαός λοιπόν ο αγώνας του η θάλασσα και ο Οδυσσέας είναι πάντα εδώ μαζί μας και μας δείχνουν το δρόμο...
Πέττα Αικατερίνη
11
Newsletter, June 2012
V.13 | 28
Maritime regulations post “Costa Concordia”
All major casualties have lead to catalyst
changes in shipping. The sinking of the
“Titanic” in 1912 resulted in the Safety of
Life at Sea Convention, the “Herald of Free
Enterprise” disaster in 1987 resulted to the
adoption of both SOLAS amendments and
new standards for ferry stability, the “Exxon
Valdez” oil spill in 1989 led directly to the
US Oil Pollution Act 1990, and the sinking
of “Erika” off the French coast in 1999 provided the impetus for a European Unionwide ban on single-hull tankers.
International Maritime Organization Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu urged a “rapid and full casualty investigation” into the
“Costa Concordia” cruise-ship grounding
off Italy, saying that the IMO will, if necessary, re-examine the regulations on large
passenger ship safety.
Speaking in January 2012 at the opening
of the IMO Sub-Committee on Stability,
Load Lines and Fishing Vessel Safety today,
Mr. Sekimizu said: “Causes of this accident
are still not yet established. We must wait
for the casualty investigation and should
not pre-judge or speculate at this stage”.
“I would like to urge the flag state administration to carry out the casualty
investigation covering all aspects of this
accident and provide the findings to the
IMO under the provisions of SOLAS as
soon as possible,”
“IMO must not take this accident lightly.
We should seriously consider the lessons to
be learnt and, if necessary, re-examine the
regulations on the safety of large passenger
ships in the light of the findings of the casualty investigation.”
“In the centenary year of “Titanic”, we
have once again been reminded of the risks
involved in maritime activities.”
The EU Transport Commissioner Mr. Siim
Kallas set a three-pronged approach to enhancing passenger ship safety, based on:
•promoting industry voluntary measures
•intensifying enforcement and implementation; as well as
•regulatory measures.
The Commission’s work, to revise the current EU passenger ship safety legislation,
has been ongoing since 2010 and is ex-
12
pected to result in a number of proposals
at the end of this year. Furthermore, in the
light of the “Costa Concordia” tragedy, the
Commission considered it appropriate to
review as an element of continuous safety
improvement issues, such as damage stability, orderly evacuation, communication
and training.
The public consultation will end on July
5, 2012, following which a workshop is
planned to summarize the input received.
The Commission’s priorities are:
•updating and/or amending existing EU
legislation and (co)-sponsoring submissions for international standards setting
at the IMO;
•continuing to ensure the enforcement
and implementation of existing rules and
drawing any lessons from best practices;
•and promoting voluntary commitments
by industry.
Actions on setting of rules and standards
should take into account relevant results
from research and technological developments. The Commission’s priorities support
a policy that is safety conscious, immediate in terms of voluntary commitments and
enforcement measures but also measured
in terms of legislative action, and will take
into consideration the circumstances and
the results of the accident investigation following the Costa Concordia casualty.
Future considerations
There are other measures, including legislative, which merit being discussed, but
which require further impact assessment
taking into account, where appropriate, the
results of the “Costa Concordia” accident
investigation.
Hence, the following initiatives could follow at a later stage:
•For passenger ships, including cruise ships,
IMO rules on safe return to port as well
as orderly evacuation and abandonment
of the ship, could be enacted in EU law.
It may also be appropriate to look at how
the IMO guidance for water tight doors on
passenger ships is applied in practice and
consider enactment at EU level.
•Examine further the SOLAS 2009 stability rules for other types of passenger
ships, including cruise vessels.
•Finally, cruise ships and passenger
ships on non-regular services could be
included in the current mandatory survey regime for ro-pax vessels (Directive
1999/35).
Enforcement and implementation
Several aspects and issues arising from
the “Costa Concordia” accident should be
looked at from the point of view of enforcement and implementation of current EU
legislation in and with the Member States.
Member States as flag States and port States
have a responsibility to enforce the robust
regime already in place and the European
Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), as part of
its ongoing tasks, is carrying out inspection
visits to monitor the implementation of a
number of EU maritime safety instruments.
This includes in 2012 the EU regime for the
registration of persons on board (Council
Directive 98/41/EC). The evaluation of such
inspection visits may add elements for further legislative or other response measures.
Voluntary Industry Commitments
The measures announced by the cruise
industry following the “Costa Concordia” accident should be noted as effective
and immediate voluntary improvements.
Considering the Commission’s Maritime
Transport Policy until 2018, which refers
to a re-launching of the Quality Shipping
Campaign, the Commission is encouraging
industry to continue its own review leading to Voluntary Industry Commitments
for Passenger Ship Safety. This could result
in quick application and implementation,
committing the industry but also balancing and maintaining a growth sector. However, for such commitments to work, it is
necessary to ensure they are honoured in
practice and the Commission would therefore not exclude the possibility of legislative
measures should they become necessary.
Keywords:
ship safety, cruise, passengers, regulations
Article by: Nicholas G. Berketis PhD
Insurance Agencies J. Kouroutis & Co. Ltd.
Member of the International Propeller Club
of the United States,
International Port of Piraeus
European New Drug
“Krokodil” a Deadly
Morphine Derivative
is now been marketed
in Europe.
Beware, it is extremely dangerous!!
Krokodil background
U.S. drug experts are now tracking a European black market drug called “krokodil.” This drug is a concoction of Russian drug users/
dealers utilizing US technology to help them manufacture the drug by converting codeine tablets into a semi-synthetic form of morphine.
The drug is called desomorphine which is its active ingredient. Desomorphine is similar to an “Opiate”opiate (analogue), invented in
1932 in the United States. It is a derivative of morphine, and it has sedative and analgesic effects about 8-10 times more potent than morphine and 6 to 10 times more powerful than heroin. It is cheaper vs. heroin, but much more deadly. It is regarded as a suicidal concoction.
Life expectancy of users
“It rots the flesh of users and kills the majority of addicts within a year of their first use and it is spreading across Europe. It originated in
Russia but is now reportedly on sale in Germany, where several deaths have been blamed on its use. Estimates are that about 1.2 million
Russians users are marred by the drug. Described as ‘the drug that eats junkies .It rots from the inside of the point of use , causing such
severe damage to tissue that users suffer from gangrene sores which open all the way to the bone.”
“The skin often turns scaly and green, therefore its street name given to it is krokodil. Shortly, krokodil users experience tissue death and
gangrene in areas of the body where injection sites are located. This means that users exhibit serious tissue decay in their arms, legs, feet,
and hands. In many cases, the damage done by krokodil injection has led to amputations, sepsis, and even death.”
Its manufacture and ingredients
In many European countries, low dose codeine tablets are available to buyers as over-the-counter products. It is easy for “krokodil” makers
to quickly acquire large sums of codeine tablets and to convert them.
“Krokodil” makers or “cookers” use a variety of kitchen cabinet and tool shed chemicals to transform codeine tablets into desomorphine.
To produce krokodil, which has a comparable effect to heroin but is much cheaper to make,: cookers /users mix codeine with gasoline,
paint thinner, iodine, hydrochloric acid , red phosphorous and even diesel. Codeine, a controlled substance in the United States, is used
to treat mild to moderate pain. It is widely available over the counter in Russia.
“These chemicals help create an extremely noxious final product, a contaminated compound that causes near immediate caustic effects
to the skin and organs. Numbed by its euphoria and analgesic effects, krokodil users experience ulcerations and delaminating of the skin
near the site of injections. “Cookers” must dispose of their clothes because of the extremely noxious smell that will not wash or wear off.
In addition to the tissue and skeletal damage caused by the drug, it has proven to be uniquely capable of causing addiction, dependency,
and misery. Many a “krokodil” user has claimed that he/ she became addicted the very second that the drug entered the bloodstream.
My sincere thank you to the below sources for the use of their articles.
Article by: Mr. Demetris Stamatopoulos
Director Chemist - Technical Advisor
Member of the International Propeller Club
of the United States,
International Port of Piraeus
13
Newsletter, June 2012
V.13 | 28
CREATING SUSTAINABLE VALUE
W I T H S H I P M A NAG E M E N T S TA N DA R D S
The ISM regulation over the shipping
activity has evolved in response to marine disasters as a new approach to safety.
Similarly, Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR) evolved as a set of guidelines for a
new, holistic, voluntary approach of the
business mission, due to new social and
environmental parameters, e.g. corruption
and transparency in corporate governance,
social cohesion, labor advancement and climate change.
Corporate citizens of today are expected
to do well, by targeting in doing good. A
corporate strategy that considers citizenship
parameters, e.g. social inclusion and global
warming, gradually becomes an important
factor of sustainable business growth. A
company leader in times of economic crisis could, therefore invest in a new business
approach of doing business in a socially responsible way.
However, is this pattern acceptable by
the shipping industry? Are shipping executives individually sensitized towards all their
stakeholders, proactively and responsibly
changing their business strategy over those
issues? A shipping company, although it
consists of a SME (Small Medium Enterprise) of 10-50 employees ashore although
a highly complicated business, may systemically benefit from the interaction with
Sustainability networks and standardized
management systems.
According to the European Commission’s
renewed strategy 2010-2014 on CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility), European
enterprises should have in place a process
to integrate social, environmental, ethical,
labor rights and consumer concerns into
their business operations and core strategy.
The issue nowadays is how to maximize
the creation of shared value (CSV) for owners/ shareholders, stakeholders and society
at large. “Create Shared Value” (CSV) now,
as the evolution of CSR, calls for a shift from
“values” to “value” (from a morals-driven
to a business-driven approach). AT A CORPORATE LEVEL:
A pioneer shipping company could imple-
14
ment systems of uniform standards, that
advance sustainability, same as those that
all the other sectors & industries successfully
apply. Management standards and models
aim to align corporate leadership and professional skills on commonly approved sustainability principles ( e.g. ISO 14001, ISO
50001, ISO 26000, GRI, AA1000, SA 8000,
SEEMP, EEOI, ISM, TMSA, EFQM, Investors
in People etc). Models provide methodology and assessment criteria over Excellence, Sustainability and Total Quality and
are mutually supportive although, there are
at least (300) related to CSR (most widely
used ones are the ΑΑ1000 & UN GRI). In
2010 the International Integrated Reporting Committee – IIRC started to develop
common standards on the Sustainability
Reporting regarding Economic, HR, Environmental, Energy, and Social indices. In
shipping, classification societies are better
specialized and qualified to guide on, assess and verify sustainability practices and
Excellence performance according to above
standards.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), as a
way of performance management in shipping is still at a primary stage compared
to other industries, since this industry does
not care to follow generally spread management and marketing practices of social
profile. Shipping is a volatile and highly
competitive business sector with unique
Management practices, afloat by nature
with activities of transnational reach. By
implementing standard CSR best practices,
shipping companies could persuasively
prove, e.g. to their customers (charterers)
that they are assessed according to the
same Quality and Excellence Management
standards as the industries ashore.
Businesses that, via models, achieve positive results enjoy extended positive publicity & media coverage, as role models, at
awareness campaigns in international or
national fora. Moreover, they can address
to SRI (Socially Responsible Investing) and
Green Funds and attract institutional investors that represent 40 billion USD that selectively seek for SR (Socially Responsible)
companies. An upgraded and standardized
business culture of ethical and socially responsible patterns, is more familiar and
comprehensible to the internal & external
stakeholders. Moreover, the organization
gradually creates a unique, sophisticated
and distinguished identity easily recognized
by customers and third parties, as a materiality business case.
AT A COLLECTIVE LEVEL:
Corporate Governance according to CSR
guidelines, gives certain credibility that the
company is on the right track to excellence,
led by ethics. Excellent companies have
leaders who are role models of a culture
of Excellence. They implement their mission, vision, policy and strategy, based on
the present and future needs of their stakeholders, because their people are involved,
empowered and cared for. Excellent organizations measure regularly their impact to
society, exchanging information over social
responsibility best practices, and by reporting their sustainability progress; so they
accept social auditing that gives them an
important competitive advantage. An Excellence culture, however, is better enabled,
once an Excellence model, policy and strategy are fully deployed and implemented in
the company.
Therefore as long as the drive to Excellence
is voluntary, there were promotional incentives, such as Awards and Distinctions at
specialized Conferences, to persuade managers to implement a CSR performance. But
shipping should be cautious, during those
difficult times and aware that the “social licence” is not so easy to obtain any more
since stakeholders are seeking now for essential and meaningful involvement in CSR
activities. Furthermore, powerful evidence
of a holistic integration and materiality of
CSR programs requires actual synergies and
interdependence of motivated corporate
staff with NGOs and local community.
Greece is going through one of the most
difficult economic crisis of her history; severe unpopular tax measures are taken that
threaten social cohesion, political order
and peace throughout its national territory.
Moreover, shipping is also facing today a
general worldwide recession. This is a new
economic order and time where corporations seek to transform themselves in order
to become high-impact, with a sustainable
regenerative business model, sound ethical business principles and a positive willingness to engage in social partnerships.
Thus, in a crisis era corporations may engage in some type of partnership with other major players in the social and economic
international scene by joining forces with
individuals, NGOs, labor and environmental protection organizations, transnational
social movements, or multilateral development agencies.
An action of high caliber impact towards
Greece, from the wide maritime community, would be to support multiple, academically elaborated and well structured
joint projects of environmental and social
nature. Maritime Associations could elaborate collective projects and set up a Social Cohesion Fund, under their auspices.
Thus, shipowners would testify that they
truly care and contribute to the Greek society with focused targets, under a concrete
Sustainability Plan. This plan could aim to
be used as an Carbon Emissions Offset proposal to the United Nations, against the
Climate Change tax, possibly imposed on
shipping. According to the UN CDR (Common but Differentiated) rules, any Carbon
tax collected by Greeks ultimately benefits
the developing countries’ green economy.
But is Greece a developed country after all?
It seems unfair when ETS (Emissions Trading Schemes) and their agents promote
voluntary Carbon Offsetting practices,
draining funds from Greece for green projects to unknown offshore sites. BUT:
shipping community. However, all corporate budgets are currently on hold, due to
the general financial crisis. In that climate,
only “Collective” initiatives appear practically possible to materialize, to the common benefit of Greek-owned Shipping’s
social image. At a corporate level, in times
of a downturn, a company may endorse
eco-socio management standards and systems, beyond regulation, targeting to create shared value through business – driven
SR actions, energy efficiency, competitive
effectiveness and sustainable growth.
“There are a lot of disjointed views from
a plethora of maritime lobby groups. However, there is no consolidated industry position that regulators could take under account” according to Fotis Karamitsos, EC’s
Maritime Director (Fairplay, 2.12.2010).
Article by: Mrs. Yanna Pavlopoulou
Lawyer, LL.M. (Georgetown) MSc (Liverpool JMU/Shipping)
Qualified CSR Practitioner, Quality Management Assessor & Sustainability Report
Verifier
Founder & Chief Executive Counsel of
CommonLawgic.org
TO CONCLUDE, a uniform strategy from
a CSR Committee of all the maritime Greek
lobbies could become a catalyst for action.
It could be the vehicle to convince the European Commission over the sensitivity of the
Member of the International Propeller Club
of the United States, International Port of
Piraeus
15
Newsletter, June 2012
V.13 | 28
Engineering Management
in the Post-modern Era
In just a few years, the evolution of technology
achieved what was once fiction: the elimination
of distances, the instant flow of information and
seamless communications around the planet.
The global market depends entirely on the standardisation of products, services and processes,
where perfectly informed customers (corporate
and private) can easily identify quality and make
commercial decisions on the basis of their individual economic benefits without social or geographic constraints. Thus, we hope, the adaptation of ‘global thinking’ is the ticket to success for
every citizen of the planet.
It should not come as a surprise that today,
‘technocrats’ and other members of the ‘knowledge society’ constitute the backbone of the
world’s economy. It is not a coincidence that Bill
Gates as a true child of the post-modern era, created an empire based on knowledge and technology, unlike others before him, whose wealth
came from the control of heavy industries or
natural resources. His role as one of the world’s
greatest benefactor also follows logically, in the
spirit of these new times.
The emerging post-modern or post-capitalist
era brings new concepts but, most importantly,
also new principles and moral values that guide
its operation, combined with the supporting
knowledge basis that governs and regulated its
evolution. Issues such as the protection of the environment, human equality and corporate governance become rules, not options in a game.
During the 1970s, 80s and 90s, the demand
for ‘business administration’ education and for
academic degrees in commercial studies soared,
as they constituted the guaranteed road for the
success of the enlightened graduates and the
organisations that employed them. It is however
interesting to note (in retrospect) that during this
‘second wave period’ the single largest percentage of students attending high profile MBA programmes in Europe and the US were engineers
and holders of applied science degrees. Their
MBA titles reflected entrepreneurship, in other
words, the ability and competence of creating
16
wealth through better administration of natural
and other resources, products and, above all, the
better management of money.
Without any doubt these skills were of great
value at a time when competition had boundaries and customer decisions were directed by the
availability and supply of goods, rather than by
their proper preferences or their ability to impose
their desires and demands on suppliers. Meantime, only a few years before, fellow engineers
restricted their interests in the maximisation and/
or optimisation of industrial production methods, studying what became historically known as
‘management’.
In the new millennium, the focus is shifting
from simply applying current technologies to
the management of the technologies themselves
and the planning of their evolution and progress, through which society will achieve the ultimate goal: a better quality of life for all. Even if
we continue – perhaps for a further short period
of time – to measure personal or public success
in ‘money’, there is an urgent need to comprehend that knowledge and technology is the new
wealth, the new capital, whilst the opposite is
not any more valid: wealth without knowledge
cannot create technology. The acceptance of this
theorem leads to new avenues of intellectual independence and, most importantly, facilitates
future strategic planning and helps in defining
specific objectives in the third wave era.
During the past years there is a clear decline
of R&D productivity. In the US for example, between 1993 and 2004 the increase of R&D expenditure in the Pharmaceutical Industry was
of the order of 250%, while the number of new
products that reached the markets declined by
71% (source FDA).
Have we reached the limits of science? The answer is no; simply put, the management of research has not followed the technological evolution and thus failed to take advantage of the new
engineering tools available to service its needs.
As a response, InnoCentive, a web-based inter-
national net-work of independent researchers
(about 80,000 scientists in some 173 countries)
successfully offers pharmaceutical companies
specialist expertise and solution in strictly focused
bio-science areas, increasing speed and efficiency
of research with yields, in some cases, in excess
of 2,000%, expressed as a relation of cost/result!
Technology thus facilitates research, multiplies
knowledge and contributes directly to the production of new know-how and new technologies, which, in turn, improves global competitiveness and upgrades quality of life. This is the only
true sequence of events.
The need that arises is the creation – through
specialist education – of a new breed of skilled
‘technology managers’, who will take charge and
successfully administer new technologies and
who, in turn, will replace the ‘business administrators’ i.e. those historically assigned with the
task of managing the profits generated from the
sale of the products manufactured from the application of these technologies.
In a way we are reverting to the traditional
objectives of management, with emphasis, this
time, on the management of technical knowledge rather than the production processes or the
products themselves. The title that best suits this
new technology-based profession is Engineering
Management.
Article by:
Dr. Alec D. Coutroubis
University of Greenwich, London.
Dr. Coutroubis is also the Director of the Marine Engineering Management Program
at New York College in Greece in collaboration with the University of Greenwich”
Drucker P.F., Post-capitalist Society, Butterworth-Heinemann, 1993
Toffler, A., The Third Wave, Collins, 1980
M. Raynor, J. Panenta, A Better Way to R&D,
2005, Strategy & Innovation, Harvard Business School Publishing
Lemnos Triathlon, 2012
On the 30th of September 2012, the first international race ‘Lemnos Triathlon’ will take place at the homonymous island of
Greece, Lemnos.
It is an event organized by Lemnos Municipality with the idea to become a traditional one in continuation to the ancient myth
about the first ever multi sport contest, done by Argonauts during their stay at the island on the way to distant Colchis.
The race will be conducted in Olympic distance format (three continuous and sequential endurance events - 1.5 Km swimming,
40 Km cycling, 10Km running).
Article by:
Mrs. Niky Hazlewood
President of the Organizing Committee-Lemnos Triathlon, 2012
Member of the International Propeller Club
of the United States, International Port of Piraeus
Propeller Club charity
The International Propeller Club of the United States, International Port of Piraeus, within its actions of charitable contributions and in collaboration with the Holy Metropolis of Piraeus, supported the everyday feeding program of Aghia Triada,
church in Piraeus, by proving free food to more than 100 homeless or new poor citizens.
Head of the development and coordinator of such an important mission is Pater Daniel, the head priest, along with a
dedicated group of volunteers, many of whom have a maritime
background.
The food was purchased from I. &S. SKLAVENITIS with the
kind help of Mr. Andreas Potamianos, life member of the International Propeller Club.
The Secretary General of the Propeller Club, Mr. Theodore
Kontes, the Governor Mr. Dimitrios Zorbalas and the Propeller
Club member, Mr. Theodore Rentzeperis, worked together for
the realization of such an initiative.
The Propeller Club extends its heartfelt thanks to all Propeller
Club members as the above contribution was covered by the
annual membership payments received!
Sincere thanks to the Archbishop of Piraeus, Seraphim for all
his kind support.
17
FUTURE ACTIVITIES
s!
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Your V
e
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main upda s through our official
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clude
Members w ies’ websites which in omed to forward
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their compa Club, are highly we
er
the Propell ffice.
o
is
th
them at
• IRAN-SYRIAN SANCTIONS (26/27/28, SEPTEMBER 2012
or 2/3/4, OCTOBER 2012)
• TRIP TO ODESSA (22/23/24, SEPTEMBER 2012)
• AMVER AWARDS (25, OCTOBER 2012)
• THANKSGIVING DINNER (22 or 27, NOVEMBER 2012)
• 2nd SHIP OPERATING COST PRESENTATION (NOVEMBER 2012)
• CHARTER DEFAULT (DECEMBER 2012 Not Finalized Yet)
• BUNKERS (JANUARY 2013 Not Finalized Yet)
• INSURANCE /PIRACY (FEBRUARY 2013 Not Finalized Yet)
The International Propeller Club
of the United States,
International Port of Piraeus
87 Akti Miaouli Str. 18538 Piraeus Greece
Tel. 210 4290 237, Fax 210 4290 974
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.propellerclub.gr
Newsletter Vol. 13, No. 28
Owner
Editorial Board
Newsletter Committee
18
New Members of the Propeller Club from January
2012 till today (alphabetical order):
• Mr. Nikolaos Boussounis
• Mr. Michael Chaelis
• Mr. Eran Epstein
• Mr. John C. Evans
• Mr. Nikolaos Giannakopoulos
• Mr. Liadis Konstantinos
• Mrs. Ioanna Makri
• Mr. Yannis Mavrikios
• Mr. Solon Merikas,
• Mrs. Maria Moraitou
• Mr. George Papaleventis
• Mr. Nikolaos Politis
• Mr. Apostolos Poulovassilis
• Mr. Stavros Yagos
MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION
Date:
I, (print or type name)
, hereby apply for Regular Membership in ‘The International Propeller Club, International Port of Piraeus, Greece’ and agree, if
elected, to abide by the Constitution of the Club and to assist in ways open to me in furthering
its policies and objectives.
My business or profession is as outlined below:
Company Name
Company’s Business
Position
Street
Number
City
Company Phone
Company Fax
Cell Phone
Zip
Email Address
Home (optional )
Street
Check address to be used for mail:
Sponsored by:
Number
City
Zip
Home Phone
Home Address
1. _____________________
Company Address
2. ____________________
__________________________________
Signature of Applicant
MAIL TO:
For board use only:
The International Propeller Club
International Port of Piraeus
rd
87, Akti Miaouli, 3 floor
GR 185 38 Piraeus
Fax Number: 210 4290 974
Email: [email protected]
Received:
________________________
Approved by:
_________________________
_
Date Approved: _________________________
Notified:
_________________________
19
EUROPEAN & AMERICAN EDUCATION EUROPEA
CENTER FOR POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION
New York College, AtheNs & thessAloNiki Are ACCredited
ANd reCogNized bY the british ACCreditAtioN CouNCil, (bAC),
As iNstitutioNs of higher eduCAtioN.
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