and othersLike many in Greece's maritime community, Eleni Polychronopoulou grew up surrounded by the shipping industry through her family's marine supplies business. When it came time to pursue a career, she combined her shipping roots with her passion for protecting the marine environment, thereby improving Greek technology.
Mr. Polychronopoulou honed his product and business development skills at Environmental Protection Engineering (EPE) before being appointed Business Development Manager at the founding of Erma First in 2009. Since then, she has guided the company's mission to minimize the environmental impact of shipping. “The environmental agenda is driving change across the shipping industry. New technologies can help protect the marine environment and ensure global shipping remains cost-effective while meeting the imperatives of sustainability.” Polychronopoulou says. Once best known for her ballast water treatment systems, which have been installed on over 3,500 of her vessels, including some of the world's largest shipping companies. Erma First currently oversees a portfolio of sustainable marine solutions, including technologies that help ship operators reduce emissions. The company recently announced Blue Connect, an alternative marine power (AMP) solution. It is officially recognized as an Energy Saving Device (ESD) by DNV and has received Approval in Principle (AiP) from Bureau Veritas. The technology provides a seamless electrical connection between the ship and shore while at anchor, allowing the ship to cut off power and reduce emissions and fuel consumption. Shut down the auxiliary engine. First Installation of the Blue Connect is expected to take place this fall, and Arma First has orders for six to eight units to be delivered by the end of the year.
Armour First also Propeller boss cap fin, flex cap, A bespoke upgrade that will bring fuel savings of 2% to 5% by improving the hydrodynamics around the propeller hub vortex. In addition, the company recently announced plans to offer carbon capture and storage (CCS) on board ships with its Carbon Fit solution. An amine absorbent version offered for deepwater vessels has AiP from Lloyd's Register and DNV, and a simpler calcium hydroxide-based version aimed at shorter seagoing vessels is also available. Polychronopoulou said the pilot units are expected to be installed by August 2024.
“Our view is that shipping cannot achieve its decarbonization goals with a single solution,” she said. “Rather, each victory will be hard won and strategies targeting energy efficiency gains and reducing every tonne of carbon dioxide, whether on land or at sea, are needed. Technologies such as ours are compelling individually, but the benefits can also be cumulative.”
As chairman of METIS, Mr. Polychronopoulou is also active at the digital forefront of decarbonization. A company that provides a range of ship efficiency tools From fuel consumption optimization to total emissions management, voyage analysis and real-time monitoring, METIS recently began serving the energy market and collaborated with offshore service provider ESVAGT to improve the performance of ocean transport vessels (SOVs). We have developed an application that is transparent throughout the world. Diverse activities of marine vessels.
“These days it would be hard to find someone who doesn't know something about the value of data. METIS offers solutions that unlock the full potential of that value in shipping,” she says. “We help shipowners increase vessel efficiency, optimize voyage performance, reduce fuel consumption and lower emissions. We help them understand and solve technical issues, optimize speed, identify the best route based on weather conditions, obtain data to validate charterparty terms, monitor and document CII. All of this is crucial in realizing the commercial and sustainability goals of the shipping industry.”
Greeks United
The Greek Association of Marine Equipment Manufacturers and Exporters, known as HEMEXPO, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. After a decade of promoting Greek marine equipment and technical services to the global maritime industry, HEMEXPO has dozens of members and connections to shipowners and shipyards around the world.
The association actively presents Greek technology at international trade fairs, underscoring the quality and cost-effectiveness of Greek-made technology and the advantages of developing solutions in a market that is familiar with the shipping industry.
During its last biannual election process, the association welcomed a new board of directors, a group that highlights the diversity of equipment represented at HEMEXPO. Konstantinos Fanouliadis, managing director of heat exchanger and cooler company FARAD SA, Athanasios Athanasopoulos, CEO of industrial and marine automation company UTECO ABEE, and Ilias Marios, export director at marine lighting specialist Seabright SA, were all re-elected, and joined by Stefanos Chartmantzidis, chief commercial officer at Prisma. electronics. Beyond its extensive activities at industry events in Europe and Asia, HEMEXPO continues to grow its own membership and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a Greek exporter late last year. The association, SEVE, supports mutual export goals.
“Our goal as an association is for Greece's leading marine equipment manufacturers to build lasting international and regional partnerships, and for the collective strength and innovation of our suppliers to be at the forefront of owners' and shipyards' thinking. to continue to ensure that the
development of europe
HEMEXPO is an active member of SEA Europe, the shipyard and maritime equipment association representing merchant and naval shipbuilding from 16 countries. Mr. Polychronopoulou has been Vice-Chair of SEA Europe since 2021. SEA Europe is an active voice for the shipbuilding industry, including on issues such as protecting European industry in trade agreements, the role of EU funds in trade agreements and more. It supports shipyards and equipment manufacturers, providing expertise to help its members tackle emissions from shipping.
The association recently presented recommendations for a maritime industrial strategy to the European Parliament, targeting the recovery of European shipbuilding capabilities. The strategy calls for strengthening European leadership in composite shipbuilding and marine equipment manufacturing, recovering strategic ship types for the European Blue Economy, and conquering emerging markets. Markets such as offshore renewable energy and carriers Of alternative fuels.
SEA Europe also proposes a new Blue Technology Fund for the European maritime sector to replace existing schemes from 2027, envisaging a solution to what it sees as a fragmented and complex funding environment.
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