Evangelos Adam, Sustainability, Environment, Energy Performance Manager, Dynacom Tankers Management Ltd

Evangelos Adam is a graduate of Hellenic Naval Academy as Marine Engineer (BSc) and holds an MSc in Electrical Engineering from Naval Post Graduate School, USA.

Since 1993 he has worked as Marine Engineer/Electronics Engineer/Chief Engineer for more than 10 years onboard Navy vessels. Since 2007 he held various high level administrative positions in regards to training, technical management, operational evaluation and performance analysis.

He joined Dynacom Tankers Management Ltd as Performance Analyst and Technical Superintendent and in 2019 he was assigned as Sustainability, Environment, Energy, Performance (SEEP) Manager of the newly established department.

John Cotzias, Projects & Finance, Xclusiv Shipbrokers Inc; President, Hellenic Shipbrokers Association

John N. Cotzias, currently acting as the President of the Hellenic Shipbrokers Association, has more than 30 years of experience in Shipbroking.

His family has been the oldest shipbroking family in Greece, active in both Sale and Purchase and Chartering of ships since 1893 and John represents the 4th Generation of continuity. From 1992 until 1995 he worked as head analyst in the Finance Department of a major Greek shipowning company managing 25 vessels both wet and dry. From 1995 until 1996, he worked with London Tankers Chartering in London as Procurement & Financial Advisor. In 1996 he joined the family business of N. Cotzias Shipping, as CEO of the Group.

John started in early 2000, N. Cotzias Shipping Consultants (NCSC), a well reputed specialist in market reporting, shipping analysis and market advising. From 2003 until 2004 he undertook the responsibility of managing the Greek Office of Dutch leading company Smit Heavy Lift Europe BV (Now Boskalis Offshore Marine Services BV) that assisted in construction of the Rion/Antirion Bridge in Greece.

Mr. Cotzias served the Hellenic Navy Special Forces (MYK) as an officer in the Command Center and this military experience was valuable in assisting all NATO, US, UK and Netherlands Naval-Ship Greek port calls handled by his N. Cotzias Agencies firm.

He is presently Maritime Advisor for NATO’s TGOS and AMSCC and he has been a Maritime Advisor for a number of Greek and international shipping companies and has appeared in various forums and conferences as a panelist and guest speaker in both Greece and abroad and was the producer and co-host of first weekly shipping program aired live on Greek TV. In his career John has completed a vast number of sale and purchase transactions, while he has put together many complex projects, involving financing and long period employment.

Since 2013, John N. Cotzias has been, for fourth consecutive term, acting as president of the Hellenic Shipbrokers Association (HSA).

In late 2017 he was one of the integral persons to partner and create Xclusiv Shipbrokers Inc., specializing in providing value added broking services to the company’s vast and loyal clientele.

John N. Cotzias holds an MSc degree in Shipping Trade and Finance from City University Cass Business School (UK) and also holds a BSc in Economics from the University of Buckingham.

Fotis N. Dalmyras, Chief Executive Officer, Andriaki Shipping Co Ltd

Fotis Dalmyras, Naval Architect, seamlessly involved with ships technical management since 2000. In 2019 he joined Andriaki Shipping Co. Ltd in the position of Technical Director, while in July 2021 he was promoted to the position of CEO.

He holds a MSc in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering by the National Technical University of Athens and a post-graduate MBA by Alba Graduate Business School.

Fotis was born in Athens in 1973 where he lives with his wife and two children.

Yigit Kemal Demirel, Decarbonisation Specialist, Hempel

Dr Yigit Kemal Demirel is a Decarbonisation Specialist at Hempel, focusing on modelling the roughness effect of coatings and biofouling on ship performance.

Prior to joining Hempel, he was a Senior Project Consultant at Alien Technology Transfer, further enriching his industry insight. Before that, he served as a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK.

With over 12 years of academic experience, Dr Demirel conducted world-leading research in his respective field, led and contributed to international projects, published in esteemed journals, and presented at global prestigious events.

Dr Demirel actively contributed as a member of the Resistance and Propulsion Committee of the International Towing Tank Conference (ITTC), which sets best-practice standards for large-scale hydrodynamics facilities worldwide. As a Chartered Engineer (CEng) and a Member of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects (MRINA), Dr Demirel brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to his current role.

David Ferrer, CTO & Co-founder, bound4blue

David Ferrer, holds a BSc. & MSc. in Aeronautical Engineering and a MSc. in Project Management. He has also attended a business program at IE Business School and the Space Studies Program at the International Space University.

Prior to founding bound4blue, he worked at Zero2Infinity, a European company that develops and operates technologies to provide access to space with stratospheric balloons (for science, technology testing and PR & Sponsorship), human space travel and a dedicated nano satellite LEO launcher, where he led all the technical development.

David has participated in more than 10 national and European projects, being the inventor of more than 5 patents in the field of wind-assisted propulsion systems and its various applications (such as hydrogen generation).

Due to his endeavor, he has received several awards, such as being recognized as Innovator Under 35 and Visionary of the Year in 2018 by MIT.

Stamatis Fradelos, Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, ABS

Stamatis Fradelos is Vice President in ABS’ Regulatory Affairs Department. The ABS’ Regulatory Affairs Department is responsible for the ABS interface with IMO, Flag Administrations and IACS, facilitating the application of regulations and maintaining ABS and clients’ awareness on regulatory issues being progressed and developed internationally. Stamatis is also member of IACS Board of Directors, the IACS Council and the IACS Sub-Committee on Quality Policy participating in IACS governance and strategic decisions.

Prior to joining ABS, Stamatis worked as a marine Field Surveyor for five years at the Hellenic Register of Shipping, spent six years at Lloyd’s Register as a Plan Approval Surveyor and two years at Det Norske Veritas as Business Development Manager and Regional Bulk Carriers Segment Director.

Stamatis has a M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering, a M.Sc. in Marine Technology and Science and a M.Sc. in Engineering - Economic Systems. He is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects and a Chartered Engineer of the UK Engineering Council.

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.

Hakon Juel Hansen, Promotion Manager & Business Development, HOLEBY Gensets, MAN Energy Solutions

Hakon Juel Hansen holds a degree of Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Business Administration from Copenhagen Engineering Colleague. Special project was performed on the Simulation of the 2S Main Engine process at MAN B&W.

Hakon has decades of experience in Global Technology Sales and Business Development of Commercial Refrigeration and Air-condition systems at Carrier Cooperation. Both as Global Key Account Manager and Sales Director.

Besides Hakon was responsible for the Business Development and Technology Integration at Topsoe Fuel Cell, identifying Global Business Partners and bringing Solid Oxide Fuels to the Global market for Power Generation.

For the past 6 years Hakon has held various positions at MAN ES PrimeServ being Regional Responsible for the 2Q in Copenhagen S Main Engine spare part sales and Reliability Packages.

Currently Hakon is Global responsible for the Engine Promotion and Business Development of the Small Bore Genset in strong cooperation with our Holeby based business unit.

Stavros Hatzigrigoris, Advanced Engineering Services; Zodiac Maritime

Stavros has recently set up his own consulting Co (Advanced Engineering Services) whilst at the same time works for Zodiac Maritime. 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. During his years with the Maran Group Stavros has been responsible for the contracting , construction and delivery of more than 160 new ships in Korea and China including 45 LNGCs in Hyundai Samho and mainly DSME.

He holds a B.Sc.degree 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.

 
Michael Jeppesen, Promotion Manager, MAN Energy Solutions

Michael Jeppesen obtained a Master of Business degree in August 2017, “The Blue MBA” within Shipping & Logistics from Copenhagen Business School. Further, he holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering obtained from Copenhagen Teknikum University in 1989.

• Joined MAN Diesel's Two-Stroke Promotion & Customer Support Department in July 2010 and was appointed Promotion Manager. Presently responsible for Greece, Croatia Cyprus and Israel.

• Manager for MAN Diesel's Two-Stroke Maintenance Tools Department 2005-2010.

• Section manager for MAN Diesel's Two Stroke PrimeServ Diesel, Technical Service Department 2003-2005.

• Project manager for BWSC, dealing with diesel power plants for Burmeister & Wain Scandinavian Contractor 2001-2003.

• Superintendent engineer for MAN Diesel's Two-Stroke Operation Department, specialist within cylinder condition 1991-2001.

• Project engineer for MAN Diesel's Two Stroke Installation Department 1989-1991.
 

Angelica Kemene, Head of Market Analysis & Intelligence, Optima Shipping Services

Angelica Kemene is at the helm of the Market Analysis & Intelligence division at Optima Shipping Services, offering global clients expert counsel on shipping market developments, including investment, strategy, and chartering decisions. Angelica plays a pivotal role in the Kaiyo2 project, reducing maritime sector greenhouse gas emissions through financial carbon methodologies.

She contributed to the TVCM Governance Group, promoting an efficient voluntary carbon market for the Paris Agreement. Angelica co-launched The Taskforce for Maritime Emission Markets, focusing on carbon-reducing technology investment in the maritime industry.

With 20 years in the shipping market, Angelica analyzed traded commodities' impact on the Shipping Industry at ICAP Plc, London, Baltic Exchange Derivatives Trading Ltd, and as a Commercial Shipping Analyst with Trafigura Beheer B.V. She co-founded Optima-X, a maritime innovation hub in Athens, housing the Enso XL accelerator for MaritimeTech startups.

She holds a degree in Shipping and an MSc in Mathematical Trading and Finance from CASS Business School, London. She expanded her expertise with certificates in Python programming, Digital Marketing, and Data Science, and an MSc in Carbon Management at the University of Edinburgh. Angelica is proficient in 5 languages.

Lefteris Koukoulopoulos, Regional Decarbonization Specialist, DNV

Lefteris Koukoulopoulos is a Regional Decarbonization Specialist at DNV Maritime, with a background as a Naval Architect and Marine Engineer from NTUA and over five years of experience in Maritime Advisory and R&D and recently appointed in the Business Development department.

Lefteris is distinguished for his in-depth expertise in computer-based simulation for complex ship energy systems and has a track record of successfully executing projects related to compliance with environmental regulations, including EEXI and CII.

Panos Kourkountis, Technical Director, Sea Traders SA; Chairman, MARTECMA

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 chairman 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).

Theo Kourmpelis, Strategic Business Partner, Lloyd’s Register

Theo Kourmpelis is a Strategic Business Partner at Lloyd’s Register, based in Athens. His role is to define commercial strategy and lead customer experience for LR’s top tier customers in Greece.

Theo has held various positions within LR, both in business development and technical departments of the organization. He has also participated in several EU funded projects related to ship electrification and alternative fuels as a subject matter expert and project manager.

Theo is author and co-author of more than 15 paper publications in international conferences and journals. He studied Electrical and Computer Engineering in National Technical University of Athens.

Dimitris Koutsaftis, Senior Scientific Consultant, Research & Development, ERMA FIRST

Dr Dimitris L. Koutsaftis, acts as Senior Scientific Consultant in the Research and Development department of ERMA FIRST ESK Engineering Solutions S.A. He has a diploma in Chemical Engineering, a M.Sc. in Materials Science and Engineering and a Ph.D. degree in Electrochemistry from the School of Chemical Engineering of the National Technical University of Athens, Greece.

His expertise is in the area of product development of marine equipment. He also has more than 10 years of hands - on experience in water and wastewater treatment methods, which was obtained as Manager of the Wastewater treatment department of POLYCO S.A. a Greek waste management and valorization industry.

In the beginning of 2014, he joined ERMA FIRST ESK Engineering Solutions S.A, a worldwide leader in Ballast Water Treatment, initially as a Senior Electrochemical Engineer and later as Research and Development Manager, where he led the development program of the company’s proprietary electrochlorination technology.

Maria Lambardaki, Project Development Leader SEEBA Zone, Bureau Veritas

Maria Lambardaki is a Naval Architect and Marine Engineer. She graduated from National Technical University of Athens and subsequently obtained a Master’s degree in Maritime Studies from University of Piraeus. She is working for Bureau Veritas the last 15 years.

Her current position is Project Developer for Greece Cyprus & Malta. Her task and major focus is on assisting clients to meet the growing challenges posed by new and upcoming regulations, by applying novel and often innovative technologies.

Using the vast pool of competencies and knowledge within Bureau Veritas, she is providing technical advice to clients for new construction projects or other major projects.

 
Nikolaos Liapis, President, Hellenic Institute of Marine Technology (HIMT)

Dr Nikolaos Liapis is a Mechanical Engineer, MEng NTUA and he holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering. His main areas of specialization are fuels and lubricants, tanker ships management, logistics and biofuels, as he has worked for more than 29 years in managerial positions in the Oil Sector. The last 15 years he was occupied as Chief Operations Officer in ELINOIL SA, an oil distribution company and as General Manager to ELIN SHIPPING, an affiliate shipping company, operating small tankers.

He is highly experienced in project management, overseeing projects as biodiesel production plant design and construction, fuel depots construction and tanker design and construction.

Dr. Liapis is the President of the Hellenic Institute of Marine Technology (HIMT) and Member of the Board of Hellenic Shortsea Shipowners Association (HSSA). He has been the Coordinator of the Energy Products Committee of the Hellenic Petroleum Marketing Companies Association (SEEPE), member of the Downstream Committee of Southeast Europe Energy Institute (IENE) and member of the Lloyd’s Register Technical Committee. He is a founding member of the Greek Association of Biofuel Producers (now SVIVE). He has been Chairman of the Marine LNG Network and of the Biofuels Technology Platform.

He is a lecturer at University of Piraeus, and at Business College of Athens and has been a lecturer at Athens Metropolitan College teaching Energy Policies, Maritime Logistics, Shipping and Strategic Management. He was a speaker at a significant number of conferences on energy, fuels, biofuels and shipping and he has been the representative of the European Biodiesel Board (EBB) in Greece. He is a writer of books on nutrition, diet and cooking.

George Manditsios, Product Owner, Data Analysis Department, METIS Cyberspace Technology

George Manditsios is a qualified Naval Architect & Marine Engineer (NTUA) with substantial expertise in the maritime sector. He has a rich background, having worked with shipping companies as an environmental and energy performance engineer.

In 2018, he became a part of the METIS team and currently serves as the product owner. His primary focus revolves around emissions management for optimization and ensuring compliance with regulations.

John Platsidakis, Honorary Chairman, INTERCARGO

John Platsidakis started his career in 1978 at Bank of America in Athens, Piraeus and London. He resigned the Bank in 1987 with the title of Vice President and joined Marmaras Shipping Group in Piraeus as Finance Director until 1988. In 1989, Mr. Platsidakis joined the Angelicoussis Shipping Group and assumed the position of the Managing Director of Anangel Shipping Enterprises. Mr. Platsidakis also served as Vice President and Director of Angelicoussis Shipping Group Ltd., President and Chairman of Maran Dry Shipholding Ltd, Vice President of Maran Tankers Shipholding Ltd and of Maran Ventures Inc. He resigned the Angelicoussis Group in 09/2020 and joined Costamare Shipping in 04/2021.

Mr Platsidakis has also served in various positions (Director, Vice Chairman, Chairman, President, Member of the Executive Committee etc) in numerous organizations, such as Intercargo, Intertanko, the Hellenic Chamber of Shipping, the Union of Greek Ship-Owners, the Antonios and Ioannis Angelicoussis Foundation, the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers. He is a member of the Business Advisory Committee of the postgraduate program “M.Sc. in International Shipping and Finance” offered jointly by Henley Business School of the University of Reading in the U.K. and ALBA Graduate Business School in Athens.

Mr Platsidakis was the founder of the Society of the Greek Alumni of the London School of Economics in 1980, served as its President from 1980 until 2005 and was member of the Advisory Board of the Hellenic Observatory at the European Institute of the London School of Economics. Mr Platsidakis was included in the Lloyd’s List 100 Most Influential People in the Shipping Industry in 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017 and has received the Lloyd’s List Greek Shipping Personality of the Year 2018 Award as well as the Seatrade Personality of the Year 2019 Award. Mr Platsidakis studied Mathematics (B.Sc.) at the University of Thessaloniki, Greece, Operational Research (M.Sc.) at the London School of Economics, UK and Economics and Econometrics (M.Sc.) at Southampton University, U.K.

Stylianos Psillakis, General Manager Technical, Columbia Shipmanagement Greece Ltd

Stelios Psillakis has extensive seagoing experience on board various types of vessels and more than 15 years of on-shore experience in senior engineering roles of major shipping companies. He has a Master's degree in Marine Engineering and Management from the University of Greenwich and a Bachelor's degree in Marine Engineering (Honor) from the Merchant Marine Academy in Chania.

Stelios is a member of ABS, DNV and the Lloyd’s Technical Committees. He has led a number of innovative projects such as scrubbers installations, ESDs (AI, MEWIS ducts, flettner rotors, VFDs, PBCF as well as technologically advanced electronic condition monitoring systems for various aux. equipment) and have also been involved, among others, in NB projects, specifications preparation and contract execution.” 

Christoph Rofka, Division President for Medium & Low Speed Products, Accelleron

Christoph Rofka is currently Division President for Medium & Low Speed Products at Accelleron (Turbo Systems Switzerland Ltd) in Baden, Switzerland. He is responsible for development, supply & production and sales of turbochargers ranging from small Marine Auxiliaries to the largest 2- stroke low speed engines.

Christoph has a master's degree in mechanical engineering from the Leibniz Universitat Hannover in Germany. He began his professional career 1995 as a turbine development engineer at ABB Turbo Systems Ltd. In 1999, he joined the company's two-stroke application engineering team, where he spent two years at ABB's joint-venture company in Japan, Turbo Systems United. Shortly after his return to Switzerland, he became head of application engineering before taking over the newly established sales segment for medium-speed applications followed by heading the entire new business within the Marketing and Sales organization.

From 2017 to mid-2020, Christoph led the Turbocharger Technology Organization and managed the CIMAC GHG Strategy Group. Since late 2020, he has been Vice President of Communications at CIMAC.

Marcus Schaerer, General Manager Technical and Services, Shell Marine

Marcus Schaerer, currently General Manager of Technical Services, is responsible for spearheading Shell Marine’s intelligent monitoring services with pioneering market innovations.

He is a seasoned veteran in the maritime industry, with over 25 years of experience, spanning from his days as a Ship Chandler to overseeing Shell’s Sales, Marketing and Technical teams since he joined the company in 1997.

He is currently based in Hamburg, married to Birgit and thoroughly enjoys cooking in his free time. The latter passion is stemming from his hospitality training at Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne.  

George Skevis, General Manager, CLEOS

Dr George Skevis is the General Manager of CLEOS, a collaboration between three leading Greek shipping companies, GasLog, Drylog and Olympic Shipping, with the purpose to perform Research and Development, and offer advisory services regarding fleet decarbonization.

Dr Skevis is a Mechanical Engineer with 30 years experience in fuel and combustion systems research and development, carbon capture storage and utilization and energy systems modelling and simulation. He has 20+ years experience in managing EU and industrial R&D projects in the fields of transport, energy and the environment, he is the author of numerous scientific papers, technical publications and reviews on fuels and energy and he is the national representative in relevant professional organizations and scientific networks.

Prior to joining CLEOS, George was a Senior Researcher and Research Team Leader in CERTH, the leading R&D centre in Greece and has served in multiple research and academic roles. He holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Imperial College London.

George J. Souravlas, Chief Executive Officer, Load Line Marine SA

George Souravlas is qualified in both Naval Architecture and Mechanical Engineering (BSc) from the University of Sunderland (UK). His academic background includes studies at the PhD level in Mechanical Engineering (Heat Transfer) and lecturing at the University of Sunderland for 4 years.

He is a member of the Greek Committees of the Japanese Classification Society (Class NK) and of the Korean Register (KR). He is also a member of the Greek Technical Committees of Class NK, Det Norske Veritas & Germanischer Lloyd (DNV GL) and the Italian Classification Society (RINA).

Furthermore, he was elected twice, as a member at the Board of Directors of the Hellenic Chamber of Shipping (HCS), and twice as Vice President at the Hellenic Shortsea Shipowners Association (HSSA).

Mr Souravlas, with over 25 years of experience in senior ship management, co-founded ‘Elmira Shipping and Trading S A’ in 1997 and had held the position of the Technical Director until 2009.

George Souravlas had also been invited to speak on several occasions at International Conferences on various operational aspects of ship management, environmental concerns, and technological developments. He also chaired ACI’s 4th Optimising Ship maintenance Conference that was held in Rotterdam in January 2011. He is also a member of the Greek Advisory Panel of BIMCO.

Mr Souravlas is a member of the prestigious ‘’Who is Who’’ Society in Greece, as well as of the International ‘’Who’s Who’’ Society of Professionals.

Furthermore, in 2016 he was accepted as a member in the exclusive ‘’Athens Club’’ and in the same year, he became a founding member of the NPO, Axion Hellas – Supporting Society.

In January 2010, he founded together with Mr Calfoglou, ‘Load Line Marine S A’, a company that manages a fleet of 13 Handy size, Supramax and Ultramax high quality Bulk Carriers that trade worldwide. The company has contracted 3 Bulkers at highly respected Korean and Chinese Shipyards.

Load Line Marine S A, is a value-driven company which seeks to achieve high performance in order to ensure consistently top standards in a financially, socially and environmentally sustainable manner, while being a value-driven company with environmental responsibility as a core part of its business strategy.

Antonis Trakakis, Technical Director, Marine, RINA

Antonis Trakakis studied Mechanical Engineering at NTUA and carried graduate studies at von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics in the field of Turbomachinery.

He worked for shipping companies , both in ropax and ocean freighter sectors, and joined RINA in Oct 2020 as Technical Director, Marine.

In his previous employments he engaged extensively with the application of LNG and alternative fuels in deep sea shipping and with issues relevant to operation of ships in sensitive areas like the Baltic sea.

Among his special concerns are the formation and control of emissions, and engine efficiency.

Vasileios Tsarsitalidis, Energy Saving Technologies, ERMA FIRST

Vasileios Tsarsitalidis graduated in 2008 (third of class) from the School of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering (MEng) of the National Technical University of Athens and while pursuing his PhD (in the same school) also got a master's degree (MSc) in Computational Mechanics in 2010.

In January 2015 got his PhD in Marine Hydrodynamics and Propulsion and more specifically in non- conventional (biomimetic) propulsion. Meanwhile, he was an Assistant tutoring for the hydrodynamics and propulsion related courses. During the last years of the PhD he worked in several commercial projects, including performance prediction of energy saving devices, trim optimizations and propeller retrofits.

In 2015, after being announced a Doctor of Engineering, Vasileios served in the Hellenic Navy from where he was discharged with honors for the development of loadicator software for the S-class frigates and other consulting services.

After this, he continued research in biomimetic propulsion as a post-doc of NTUA and did a series of cooperation projects. In April 2017 started with Vector Marine Software as Ship Performance Engineer.

From 2019 Vasileios worked with ABS, as Senior Engineer II in the global ship systems center, until 2020, when he took the role of Domain Expert in the R&D team of DeepSea. From 2023 Vasileos Joined ERMA FIRST, as the leader of the newly founded Energy Saving Technologies Department.

Marcel Vrijsen, Global Sales Manager, Digital Service, ABB

With more than ten years experience within the maritime industry, Marcel is passionate about new technologies that will help the maritime industry more efficiently towards a cleaner more sustainable future.

His responsibilities within ABB Marine & Ports as the Global Sales Manager for Digital Service align with his vision and beliefs in moving forward in the evolution of sustainable shipping.

Panagiotis Zafet, Managing Director, Balthellas Group

Panagiotis Zafet is the Managing Director of Balthellas Group, a ship management and shipbroking company he founded in 1991. He took over the family ship-agency business and expanded the company into full-scale management of dry cargo vessels. In the years 2016-2017, he has organized, consummated and led a new venture currently operating Panamax/Kamsarmax bulk carriers. During the years of 2004-2008, he co-founded and led as CEO and Co-Chairman Seanergy Maritime Corp, a Blank Check financial vehicle initially listed in the AMEX and currently at NASDAQ.

Prior to founding Balthellas, he served as the CEO of Hellasco Shipping Ltd during 1986-1991 and as the company’s Director during 1991-2016, a company specializing in the liner shipping industry, active in the forest products trade through a regular shipping service between Scandinavia and the Eastern Mediterranean.

Panagiotis holds a Bachelor of Law from the Aristoteleio University of Thessaloniki and is married with three children. He is a Board Member & Governor of the Propeller Club of Piraeus.