This Thursday at 6 pm tune in for “A Deep Dive into Fleet Management”: the people of the Shipping, Energy & Geopolitics Student Association have concocted a very special event where they, along with a choice set of speakers, will take us through the ins and outs of a very special industry: the shipping industry.
A few days from now, on Thursday 7th, the students from the Shipping, Energy and Geopolitics Student Association will be hosting an online event on the functioning and ongoing evolutions of the shipping industry, tackling issues related to the rapidly changing circumstances which managers in the field are facing today. These problems have been in the focus of the association since its establishment 3 years ago. Their members frequently write essays and host debates on the evolution of long-haul maritime traffic in relation to the energetic transition that our societies are undergoing. The seminar called “A Deep Dive into Fleet Management” will be moderated by professor Roberto Vincenzi from our Accounting Department who has long held an interest in the fields of shipping, energy, and the maritime industry.
The all-Greek cast of speakers includes long-time veterans of the industry such as company CEOs Danae Bezantakou and Patrikios Dimitris, Captain Panagiotis Mavrogiannis of Oceanstar Management and chartering manager Amalia Miliou-Theocharaki.
Introducing the Speakers
D. Bezantakou, the CEO of Navigator Shipping Consultants, is a big name not only in Mediterranean shipping, but worldwide: she was selected as one of the “40 under 40” European Young leaders back in 2014 and was among the Young Global Leader of the WEF for the 2015-2020 term. In the event, she will talk about the importance of logistics and towing services in her industry, especially in the wake of the last year’s Suez Canal obstruction which caused an estimated $10 billion in damage to global trade. In addition, she will talk about the challenges that women face when climbing up the ladder of sea transport corporations – a working environment that has historically been dominated by men since its inception.
After Bezantakou’s 15 minute speech, Captain Panagiotis Mavrogiannis, Chief Operating Officer of Oceanstar Management Inc., will take the floor. He will discuss the technical side of maritime transport: his on-the-field experience will allow him to take us through the various types of shipping vessels in the industry, such as bulk carriers, container ships, barges, and tankers. Captain Mavrogiannis will take us through the technical aspects of each cargo type, such as their average speed, length, carrying capacities, as well as their market prices and operating costs. This will be followed by how different carriers have historically performed on the market and a short series of predictions on how the carrier industry will move forward in the future.
After 20 minutes it will be time for Amalia Miliou-Theocharaki to take the stage. One of her main topics is dear to the Shipping Energy Association’s heart: with her, they will examine the ramifications of the COVID-19 crisis on the industry at large, that is the large-scale disruption of global transport chains, as well as the recent geopolitical developments that threaten to shake up the shipping world at its foundation. One of these developments, for example, is China’s latest tendency of buying up foreign ports when the countries that host them are unable to repay their debts: a fate that has most notably befallen Athens’s Piraeus, one of the Mediterranean’s largest in terms of volume of shipping.
In addition, her role as chartering and sales manager at TEO Shipping Corp. gives her the knowledge to teach us more about chartering, by far one of the most important mechanisms in the fields of freight transport. Since buying and maintaining a cargo ship is mind-numbingly expensive, most business owners who wish to transport significant loads will instead sign a charter to lease a large enough boat that will allow them to transport their cargo wherever they need.
Finally, it will be industry veteran Dimitris Patrikios’s turn on the mic. The long-standing CEO of Kyklades Maritime Corp. brings us his expertise to outline the future of maritime shipping in a post-energetic transition world: obviously much of the industry’s revenues come from the gigantic oil vessels that transport fossil fuels to every corner of the globe. It is hard to imagine how these maritime giants could be readapted to serve more environmentally sustainable purposes in the future, when the economic importance of oil begins to slowly wane.
In Conclusion
Thursday’s seminar truly covers a wide array of topics related to shipping, and not only for those already initiated to the wonders of freight transport: even the layman should be concerned of the future developments of this truly gigantic industry as the repercussions of its developments are constantly felt at a world level even when they don’t make the news. Cargo ships are responsible for the transportation of commodities that make all our economies spin as they should, and we have seen last year how even one little cog jamming within the machine is enough to put the world’s economy upside down.
So for those who wish to participate in the meeting and learn more about this crucial industry, we remind them that it starts at 6pm this Thursday, with registrations available at the following link:
Articles written by the various members of our team.
A political theory student. Writing about workers' rights and international politics.
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Tommaso Gariazzo
