Lloyd's Register's Hellenic National Advisory Committee considers key industry issues for shipping's future and welcomes Lloyd's Register's strategy to establish a new marine headquarters in Southampton, UK to develop a centre of maritime excellence for world shipping

May 29, 2008

Lloyd's Register's Hellenic National Advisory Committee (HNAC) met in Piraeus yesterday. The Committee received updates on important current issues including new construction standards, the ILO Convention and Lloyd's Register's plans to establish a world class centre for shipping research and development, linking technical ship operations with industry and with ship science and maritime studies at the University of Southampton.

Lloyd's Register's Chairman, David Moorhouse, said: "The leadership shown by Greek shipowners, with the support of their Government, will be a key sounding board for Lloyd's Register's continued evolution as a classification society and the knowledge base of our industry. Our independence and expertise helps ensure that the shipping industry has access to the impartial information and experience it needs. This will be very important as we wrestle with the complexities of ensuring the industry is helped to reduce its global environmental impact and recruit motivated personnel."

Lloyd's Register's Marine Director, Alan Gavin, described the plans for a new University of Southampton campus-based development to marry Lloyd's Register's marine classification activities with the leading academic and research facilities of the university and the world-class maritime businesses in and around Southampton. With occupation planned for 2011, the transition plans are now being made at the same time as a detailed planning application is being prepared for regulatory approval. The new Centre of Maritime Excellence will be the hub of a global network of marine technological research and development.

The Hellenic Committee warmly welcomed these strategic plans. Capt. Panagiotis Tsakos, HNAC's Chairman, said leadership and innovation were vital to the future of a healthy shipping industry and he encouraged the Greek shipping community to act with the same strategic vision shown by Lloyd's Register in making the decision to move to Southampton.

The committee also heard presentations detailing Lloyd's Register's capabilities in preparing and supporting the industry in training and maritime career development and in more effectively measuring and managing environmental performance. Next week Lloyd's Register will be providing details of services to help the industry prepare for and implement the requirements of the ILO Maritime Labour Convention and of a practical guide to implement environmental management standards. Concerns were expressed that while the ILO convention globally regulated seafarers in deepsea shipping, the service industries - towage, pilotage, port services - operate free of any consistently implemented global regulation.

The role of the HNAC has been enhanced to receive and review reports from the Hellenic Technical Committee as an important, and now, formal channel for feeding industry expertise and experience into Lloyd's Register from industry at the highest level and into the modification, enhancement and development of rules and standards. "The committee unanimously agreed to align the work of the Hellenic Technical committee with the proceedings of the HNAC in order to allow a consolidated approach towards rule-development whether within Lloyd's Register itself or towards other bodies such as IACS or IMO", said Apostolos Poulovassilis, Area Manager, Greece, East Mediterranean & Adriatic.

Alan Gavin explained: "While we will always continue to work with operators, builders and regulators to develop better rules and pragmatic regulation to support safety, significant improvements in safety, operational and environmental performance also requires training and management systems to help ensure that shipping has the right people in the right places doing the right things. This is of paramount importance to us and a priority in fulfilling our purpose of protecting life and the environment."

Present at Wednesday's meeting as guests were George Stylianidis, Shipping Counsellor, Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus and George Xiradakis, Managing Director of X.R.T.C Business Consultants. The latter gave a presentation analysing the current state of ship finance in Greek shipping and the effects of the 'credit crunch'. Dimitris Melissanidis, President of Aegean Group of Companies, was unanimously elected a member of the Committee and attended this, his first, meeting.

The Lloyd's Register Group is an independent risk management organisation. It works to help improve its clients' quality, safety, environmental and business performance throughout the world, because life matters. Its expertise and activities cover shipping, railways, other land-based industries, and oil and gas. The Group comprises charities and non-charitable companies, with the latter supporting the charities in their main public benefit goal.

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