Business leaders from the local and international maritime sectors will be at the 7th Cyprus Shipping Forum in Limassol on Tuesday, where the focus will be the role of Cyprus as a maritime, energy and logistics hub, as well as an investment and business destination.
The full-day event, taking place at the Columbia Plaza, will feature a keynote presentation by the Cyprus Deputy Shipping Minister, and panel discussions that will debate regulatory trends, the pros and cons of emissions, ship management and ship finance, sustainability in the maritime world, investing in shipping, and a debate on the transformation in the chartering business.
The forum is organised by Capital Link, the New York-based investor relations, financial and advisory firm that focuses on maritime, commodities and energy. It is being held under the auspices of the Shipping Deputy Ministry of Cyprus, in cooperation with the Cyprus Union of Shipowners, and is supported by the Cyprus Shipping Chamber and other major stakeholders.
Columbia Shipmanagement and DNV are the Global Gold Sponsors of the event.
“The forum will feature major international speakers and delegates and local leaders in an exchange of ideas on critical industry topics,” said host Nicolas Bornozis, President of Capital Link, Inc.
He said major topics include developments and trends in the major shipping, financial and capital markets, as well as issues pertaining to geopolitical and regulatory developments, technical and commercial fleet management.
“The forum will highlight the competitive positioning and advantages of Cyprus as an industry hub,” Bornozis said, adding that, “participants will gain a deeper understanding of the current state of the shipping and marine services industry, the subsequent effects on their investments, and a clear focus on the opportunities and challenges ahead.”
On behalf of the organisers, Nicolas Bornozis will make some welcoming remarks, followed by George Tsavliris, Principal of Tsavliris Salvage Group who will be conference chairman for the seventh year in a row.
The Shipping Deputy Minister Marina Hadjimanolis’s keynote presentation will focus on “Cyprus Shipping – Forging Ahead” and will be interviewed Elvina Montanios, Shipping Partner at Montanios & Montanios.
The wide range of discussion topics will kick off with a shipping regulatory update presentation by Theo Kourmpelis, Strategic Business Partner at Lloyd’s Register, followed by a panel on “Preparing for Net Zero” moderated by Dr. John Kokarakis, Technical Director SEEBA Zone – Bureau Veritas. The other panelists are: Dimitris Vastarouchas, COO & Vice President, Danaos Corporation; Alex Hadjipateras, Managing Director, Dorian LPG Management; Dr. Loukas Barmparis, President, Safe Bulkers; and, Dr. Dinos Arcoumanis, Professor Emeritus – University of London, Corresponding Member of the Academy of Athens.
Ship management and fleet performance
The next panel discussion will be on “Optimising ship management and fleet performance” moderated by Chara Georgopoulou, Head Maritime R&D and Advisory Greece, DNV. The panelists include: Nikolas Vaporis, Chief Technical Officer, Capital Ship Management; Mark O’Neil, President & CEO, Columbia Group, and President, InterManager; Fabian Fussek, Co-Founder & CEO, Kaiko Systems; and, Prabhat Kumar Jha, Group Managing Director & CEO, MSC Shipmanagement, Cyprus.
The panel discussion on “Ship finance – Adapting to new regulatory and commercial landscape” will be moderated by George Zambartas, Head of Limassol Office, Hill Dickinson LLP, with panelists Nicholas Pavlidis, Head of Shipping, Bank of Cyprus; Constantinos Milios, Head of Shipping Finance, Eurobank Cyprus; Dimitris Tzavaras, Head of Shipping, Hellenic Bank; and, David Grant, Managing Director, Shipping Finance, ING Bank NV.
The next panel will focus on “ESG – Charting the course to a sustainable future” debating the necessity and tangible benefits of ESG from the viewpoint of various stakeholders including shipowners, bankers, insurers and charterers.
It will begin with an opening presentation by Katerina Ronga, Partner, Risk Advisory, Sustainability & Climate Leader at Deloitte Greece, and will be moderated by Ezekiel Davis, Vice President, Europe Business Development, ABS. The other panelists include: Hugues Calmet, Head of DNB Athens Representative Office; Thanasis Antonakis, Deputy CFO & Chief Compliance Officer, Safe Bulkers; and, Jeff Wakker, COO, Viterra Chartering B.V.
“Investing in shipping” will be moderated by Andreas Mylonas, Advocate, Managing Partner, AMG Mylonas & Associates, LLC, and the panelists include Aristides Pittas, Chairman & CEO, Euroseas Ltd. & EuroDry Ltd.; Ronis Kyperesis, Head of Finance, Pelagic Partners, and CFO, Hartmann Holdings; and, Hans Oust Heiberg, Partner, Sole Shipping.
The next panel will focus on chartering and will debate “Navigating through industry transformation”, moderated by Polys Hajioannou, CEO, Safe Bulkers. The panelists will be Alex Sass, Vice President Freight, EP Resources AG; Samuel Jaeggi, Freight Trader, Mercuria; Mark Thompson, Senior Freight Trader, Olam International; and, Patrick Legierse, Global Head of Chartering, Viterra Chartering B.V.
The forum will end with the traditional “Shipowners’ Roundtable” moderated by Stavros Violaris, Partner, Sustainability Leader, EY Cyprus; and will include the panelists Andreas Hadjiyannis, CEO, Cyprus Sea Lines / Hellenic Tankers and President, Cyprus Union of Shipowners; Semiramis Paliou, CEO – Diana Shipping (DSX), Chairperson of HELMEPA and Chairperson of INTERMEPA; George Mouskas, CEO, Olympia Ocean Carriers / Zela Shipping; Polys Hajioannou, CEO, Safe Bulkers; and, Petros Pappas, CEO, Star Bulk Carriers.
Conference chairman George Tsavliris will make the closing remarks.
