Early November sees the tanker community gathering in Athens for the Tanker Shipping & Trade Conference, Awards & Exhibition
On the evening of Tuesday 2 November, the Royal Olympic Athens Hotel will play host to the first live gala dinner and awards in two years to honour the the tanker industry’s leading lights.
The awards to be handed out are for Tanker of the Year, Tanker Operator of the Year, an Environmental Award, the Tanker Industry Leader Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award.
The wide range of nominations for Tanker of the Year reflects the depth of the industry, with nominees hailing from a range of tanker segments -- from small clean tankers to the largest VLCCs. This year, the final nominees are: Prospero, Live Knutsen and Dianella.
Prospero is a 22,000 dwt small clean tanker that has joined Sweden’s Donsötank fleet. Like other tankers from Sweden’s Gothia Alliance commercial cooperative, Prospero has a number of features that point to how the wider tanker fleet will tackle decarbonisation. The FKAB-designed tanker features a straight non-bulbous bow as part of the search for fuel efficiency at today’s lower cruising speeds.
Live Knutsen is at the other end of the scale, being a 155,000 dwt shuttle tanker which joins the large fleet assembled by Knutsen NYK Offshore Tankers. Launched in 2021 from COSCO Zhoushan, the ship is currently valued at over US$100m by VesselsValue.
Fitting in-between the two other nominees is the MR2 tanker Dianella which forms part of Saudi Arabia’s Bihar International fleet. The 50,000 dwt MarineLine tank-coated chemical products tanker was launched in 2021 from New Times Shipbuilding yard in China.
There are four nominations for Tanker Operator of the Year. Former Industry Leader Award recipient, Nicholas Tsakos’ company, Tsakos Energy Navigation (TEN) has been nominated. The company has demonstrated commitment to the LR2 sector with four vessels on order at Daehan plus its first two LNG carriers on order at Hyundai Heavy Industries.
Chemical carrier owner and operator Odfjell has been nominated for its work in honing eco technologies. An example is the fitment of propeller boss cap fin to some of its tankers. This is an idea from the eco technologies “back catalogue” that works well when carefully designed for the vessel.
Shell International Trading and Shipping Company is the third finallist for the award. As an oil major turned energy company, the nomination recognises that the company is promoting LNG as a lower-carbon alternative marine fuel.
Well-known shipmanager and crewing company Thome Group has been nominated for its initiatives to enhance crew welfare including its virtual crew self-service portal for seafarers; partners in safety program and focus on COVID care including mental health provision and streamlines onboard and onshore vaccination programme.
Capital Ship Management has been nominated, as well, having recently drawn praise from inside and outside the tanker industry for the rescue of over 150 migrants in the Mediterranean.
The recipient of the Environmental Award will be announced on the night from a short list of Euronav Tankers, V. Group and Pantheon Tankers Management. The later was nominated for the first petroleum shipment that had a wellhead to usage carbon offset. Euronav’s nomination was derived from the company’s commitment to ammonia as a marine fuel. V.Group’s work as a partner in the HiLo Risk Management risk modelling is also recognised.
The Lifetime Achievement Award has already been announced as well known industry player Denis Petropoulos. Those in the industry will be aware of Mr Petropoulos’ contributions through his work as a broker and as a senior member of the Baltic Exchange.
The Industry Leader award, which is presented on the night at the Gala Dinner, is presented to the individual who sets and achieves new industry standards and exemplifies best management practices. Past recipients include, Nicholas Tsakos (TEN) and Karin Orsel, CEO MF Shipping Group. This year’s winner is Stamatis Bourboulis, general manager of Euronav Ship Management (Hellas) Ltd. He is a member of INTERTANKO Safety and Technical Committee (ISTEC), DNVGL and RINA Greek Technical Committee, and has been a member of the Euronav board of directors since 2019.
Last, but not least, is the Posthumous Award. This has not been awarded before but it was felt that the life and career of John Angelicoussis of the Angelicoussis Group who passed away in 2021, could not go unrecognised. Stelios Troulis, director, Angelicoussis Group has agreed to collect the award on behalf of the company and the Angelicoussis family. Mr Troulis joined the Angelicoussis Group in 2018, and his responsibilities span a number of areas: Mr Troulis has overall responsibility for the group’s activities on low carbon and the energy transition aspects (footprint, fuels, strategy) and also the fuels and lubricants purchasing for the Group.
Be sure to join us at the live Tanker Shipping & Trade Conference, Awards & Exhibition in Athens 2-3 November 2021.
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