As a result with the drive for a more efficient greener shipping industry moves forward, politicians aside, others involved in this exercise recognise it is still very much in the experimental stage.
Regulations are simply not being thought through says George Gratsos, president of the Hellenic Chamber of Shipping and member of the board of the Union of Greek Shipowners and as a result shipping's operational and technical sides are struggling to meet pending deadlines imposed by regulators carrying out a political agenda and ignoring the facts.
Given the significant share of maritime transport worldwide controlled by Greek interests, Greece’s often outspoken views on the most efficient, economical and safe way of transporting the goods the world needs is not only justified, but sought.
In recent weeks, dry bulk owners association Intercargo, class society Germanischer Lloyd (GL) and MAN Diesel & Turbo (MAN D&T) have all been in Greece discussing regulatory and technical developments within shipping with Greeks and seeking their feed-back on how best to face the challenges.
MAN D&T’s Piraeus boss, Dimitris Vlantos recently hosted a unique programme of five, three-hours workshops, each attended by 25 technical managers, with the aim "to have a better connection with shipping companies." Vlantos said there are problems with “new technologies and ways of doing things and we want feedback”.
“Our goal is to be open about problems as this is the only way to solve problems," explained Vlantos.
MAN D&T’s Thomas Traupe, who led one of the groups said emission issues, are “forcing the industry to become more a part of technology”. He said dual fuel engines were discussed and "in the end dual fuel will prove the best solution in emission reduction”. Vlantos noted dual fuel is already attracting interest within Greece and engines have been ordered by Dynagas and Alpha Tankers & Freighters “with more on the way”.
Referring to his workshop on retrofits MAN’s Jan Jansen said the main thing he learned from his group was, "slow steaming is different from vessel to vessel and from owner to owner”.
The struggle to keep abreast of the flow of rules and regulations "has taken the enjoyment out of shipping for most” says Dimitrios Korkodilos, ceo of 60-year-old Andriaki Shipping, and chairman of Intertanko’s Hellenic Committee, the tanker group’s largest national committee, and chairman of the powerful GL Hellenic Technical Committee. When it comes to ballast water management, Korkodilos, said he is lost for words.
Evangelos Moschoulis, of GL’s Piraeus office, tackling the BWM Convention, confirmed what is already recognised, choosing an appropriate system is no simple matter, warning "the installation, ship type, route, maintenance costs and energy consumption of the system all having to be taken into account”. What the future would hold for the BWC and how owners would comply was uncertain, Moschoulis said, pointing out "some 68,000 vessels would have to fit a BWT system before the end of the decade, under the current implementation regime; a huge technical and financial challenge." Besides BWT systems themselves are largely unproven in practice, he said, leading to a potential gap between the regulations and the technology available for implementation.
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