Metaxia Psalti elected Intercargo’s first female vice-chair

Intercargo has elected John A. Xylas, president and CEO of Ariston Navigation Corp, as its chairman and Metaxia Psalti, COO of Neda Maritime Agency as the first female vice-chair for the association of dry cargo shipowners, operators and managers.

Xylas will take the place of Dimitrios Fafalios, president of Fafalios Shipping, who has been appointed honorary chairman in recognition of his six years as chairman and prior decade as chair of the association’s technical committee.

The appointments are the results of elections held at Intercargo’s annual general meeting in London in October, and will take effect from 1 January, 2025.

Xylas, a board member and treasurer at the Union of Greek Shipowners, has over 38 years of experience in shipping and extensive expertise in dry bulk shipping. Athens-based Ariston Navigation currently has a fleet of seven vessels under technical management, including a pair of 10-year-old gearless kamsarmaxes and five geared handymaxes of the same age.

One of two vice-chairs, Spyros Tarasis, will step down at the end of this year after six years in position, and will be succeeded by Psalti, who has served as chair of the association’s quality panel. WIth over three decades of experience across diverse ship types, Psalti, holds a Master's degree in Maritime Law from City University, London, and serves as COO of Neda Maritime Agency, which has a fleet of 18 dry bulk ships ranging from kamsarmax to newcastlemax, and 11 tankers.

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Capt. Uttam Kumar Jaiswal of Pacific Basin Shipping (HK) has been re-elected as vice-chairman for another two-year term. Intercargo’s constitution caps service in any position at six years.

Tom Keenan steps down after six years as chair of the technical committee, a role which will be taken up by Dimitris Monioudis, MD of Rethymnis & Kulukundis Ltd. Keenan has been appointed an honorary member of the technical committee.

Incoming Intercargo chairman Xylas said: "It is a privilege to take on this role, and I want to express my gratitude to Dimitrios Fafalios for his outstanding leadership over the past six years. As our sector navigates significant changes, from decarbonisation to digitalisation, Intercargo's role in representing quality dry bulk shipowners has never been more important.

“Together with our new leadership team, we will continue to promote safe, efficient, and environmentally sound bulk carrier operations while ensuring our members' voices are heard at the highest levels of international shipping."