Morning session

09:30 - 09:50 – Why digital integration is important in achieving our vessel performance goals
Dimitris Lyras, Director, Paralos Maritime Corporation

Bio: Dimitris Lyras is a member of a family with more than 150 years of experience in shipping. He is director of Paralos Maritime Corporation, also founder, owner and investor of Ulysses Systems, a software company specializing in the delivery of actionable information, and Ulysses Learning, a simulation-based e-Learning company. Dimitris co-authored 'The Future of Decision Making' (R.C.Shank, D.Lyras and E.Soloway, 2010). He is a prior council member of Intertanko.

Alexander Senteris, Compliance Manager-Emission Trading Systems, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement

09:50 - 10:10 – How BSM is navigating the challenges of EU ETS
Alexander Senteris, Compliance Manager-Emission Trading Systems, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement

Bio: Currently, Alexander spearheads sustainability initiatives as a Compliance Manager (ETS) at Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement. Formerly a Senior Analyst & Emissions Compliance Officer at Angelicoussis Group, Alexander's expertise lies in fleet optimisation, energy efficiency, and crafting decarbonisation strategies for diverse vessels. His impactful work extends to multicriteria optimisation research, contributing to a broader sustainability perspective. With a Doctorate in Sustainability Studies from the University of Piraeus, Alexander is driving positive change in the shipping industry through his multifaceted approach and dedication to environmental responsibility.

10:10 - 10:30 – CII and optimisation management
Giannis Giannikios, Energy Efficiency Engineer, Angelicoussis Group

Bio: With a focus on environmental sustainability and energy efficiency, Giannis has played key roles in organisations including Bureau Veritas Group and A.M. Nomikos. Holding a Master's degree in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, Giannis brings a wealth of knowledge and a commitment to excellence to the maritime industry. His career is marked by hands-on experience, a strategic mindset, and a dedication to promoting green practices.

10:30 - 11:00 – Joint Presentation: How Operations Control Rooms and software can better support our awareness of vessel performance
Most believe that as shipping is a conservative industry, it allows only a moderate progress to influence the way it works. This is only partially true; in the past 40 years, the industry has seen the arrival of UMS, GMDSS, GPS, ECDIS, ISM, TMSA, MARPOL ANNEX VI, and recently ETS and a plethora more of acronyms, often related with IT applications, used to simplify the work all these acronyms entail. Today, the environmental issues, the lack of skilled and motivated crews, the overall increased technology on ships, are causing shipowners, ship managers and the always omnipresent regulators to see better ways to manage ships. MASS maybe one answer, but in the meantime many companies are pushing to bring more awareness into the offices using Performance software solutions and Operations Control Rooms. This presentation will focus on such aspects.

Giampiero Soncini, Managing Director, Oceanly

Bio: Giampiero Soncini has served as an officer in the Italian Navy for 14 years, and for 13 years he was the Technical Manager for NATO Research Vessel Alliance, the world's first ship to be equipped with both GPS and INS technology. During this time, he became passionate about integrating technology into ships, a skill which he later refined while working at SpecTec, the company behind the AMOS software. As CEO of SpecTec for 11 out of his 20 years there, Giampiero played a significant role in establishing the company as a major player in IT for the shipping industry. Now Giampiero believes that the future of digitalisation in shipping lies in achieving complete control over all aspects of navigation planning, fuel consumption, and emissions. As a result, he is convinced that Oceanly Performance will become a crucial element of fleet management. For this reason, he has decided to join the company as CEO.

Fotis Papadopoulos, Energy Efficiency Specialist / Naval Architect, MSC Cruise Management

Bio: Fotis Papadopoulos holds the position of Energy Efficiency Specialist / Naval Architect at MSC Cruise Management (UK) Ltd. He is developing the company’s performance monitoring system and is responsible for monitoring the technical performance of the fleet. He is also involved in energy efficiency and decarbonisation projects. In the past, he acquired experience on ship energy efficiency by working in the ship design industry and in academia. He graduated as a Naval Architect and Marine Engineer from the National Technical University of Athens in 2019, having received multiple awards and honours.

11:00 – 11:30 – Morning coffee break

Providers session

11:30 - 11:50 – Optimising Vessel Performance in the digital age
Thomas Hechmann, CCO, Coach Solutions

Bio: Thomas Hechmann is a shipping professional with more than 20 years of experience in commercial shipping, consulting, and management, from companies such as AP Møller and DS Norden among others.

11:50 - 12:10 – Erik van Ballegooijen, Director R&D, VAF Instruments

Bio: Erik van Ballegooijen, Director R&D of VAF Instruments, is responsible for VAF sensor development, software application development, and for providing customer consultancy on ship propulsion performance. Latest development projects are the VAF ShaPoLi solution and the VAF high frequent data collection solution IVY, covering the ships propulsion performance. Van Ballegooijen holds 2 master’s degrees in engineering. After graduation he worked for 18 years at Wärtsilä Propulsion and started as a ship propeller designer (hydrodynamicist). Since 2001 he headed several operational engineering, project management and R&D departments. Since 2015 he is the Director R&D of VAF Instruments and part of the VAF management team.

12:10 - 12:30 – Vessel Performance in a changing regulatory landscape Kostas Korfiatis, Vessel Performance Manager, Vessel Performance Solutions

Bio: Kostas Korfiatis is a NTUA-graduate of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering. Prior to his role at Vessel Performance Solutions (VPS), Mr. Korfiatis worked for 8 years at Tsakos Group, initially as Vessel Performance Engineer and subsequently as Energy Manager, overseeing the development, maintenance, and implementation of Company’s Energy Management System, while ensuring regulatory compliance with applicable international and national rules and regulations. Mr. Korfiatis has been active at Intertanko and other Associations, on issues relevant to hull and propeller performance, hull cleanings, CII etc.

Vessel performance managers panel session

12:30 – 13:20 – Panel

Insights on how Navarone approaches ship performance and environmental compliance.
Loukas Michalitsis, Performance Engineer, Navarone

Bio: An experienced Naval Architect and Marine Engineer, with 30 years of expertise across diverse roles in the shipping industry. His technical and theoretical background, coupled with programming abilities, has enriched his experience in shipyards, design bureaus, maritime companies, digitalisation firms, research institutes, and small craft manufacturers. Proficient in ship resistance, propulsion, and efficient ship operations, Loukas specialises in Ship Design and Operational Performance Engineering. In his current role as a Performance and Environmental Engineer at Navarone SA, overseeing 27 Handy/Handymax geared bulk carrier vessels, he focuses on fuel savings, commercial profile improvement, and environmental impact mitigation.

Gregory Spourdalakis, Managing Director, Columbia Shipmanagement

Bio: With over 20 years of experience in the maritime industry, Gregory assumed the role of Managing Director at Columbia Shipmanagement in December 2023 after serving as General Manager for more than three years. Gregory is dedicated to delivering high-quality services, ensuring compliance with international standards, and optimising efficiency, safety, and sustainability. His background in marine engineering and project management, coupled with an MBA from Southampton University, positions him as a key driver in advancing the maritime sector's growth.

Giampiero Soncini, Managing Director, Oceanly

Moderator – Karl jeffery, Digital Ship, Founding Editor

13:20 – 14:20 – Lunch break

Lunch Sponsor

Fortune Technologies

Vessel performance managers session

14:20 - 14:40 – Simplifying performance and emissions management in the information overload era
Konstantinos Kordas, Energy Efficiency Engineer, Neptune Lines

Bio: Mechanical Engineer with 15 years experience in the maritime industry. Working experience in many shipping companies on environmental projects implementation, digitalization solutions and performance evaluation. Strong analytical skills and experience with data analysis and powerBI implementations. Presently he is an Energy Efficiency Engineer at Neptune Lines focusing on performance improvement, emissions reduction and new technologies for a fleet of 25 vessels.

14:40 - 15:00 – Creating a performance model to quantify excess power demand, leading to fuel overconsumption, and determining optimal vessel cleaning times
Dimitris Papathanasiou, Data Scientist - Energy Efficiency, Angelicoussis Group

Bio: Dimitris is a statistician with an MSc in big data and analytics applying mathematics, statistics, machine learning and data analytics, focusing on data processing, data modelling, and business intelligence. He has been with Angelicoussis Group since 2018, beginning as an Analysis before starting as a Data Scientist in 2021. Dimitris has deployed ML models for demand forecasting, event prediction and mechanical engineering projects. Dimitris has a background in maths, statistics, and economics combined with applied work in the areas of insurance and maritime/shipping.

15:00 - 15:20 – Better ways to manage the optimisation of vessels
Theodoros Tserpelis, Digital Transformation Officer - Technical Department, TMS Tankers

Bio: Theodoros has a wealth of expertise in utilising new technology to drive growth and enhance operations. Holding an MBA with a focus on Maritime from ALBA Graduate Business School, Theodoros brings a blend of project management skills and an understanding of the maritime industry. Theodoros specialises in integrating technologies like SCADA, automation, and IoT to optimise operations. Recognised among Greece's top 50 influential Digital Transformation Officers, he has a track record of success in implementing data acquisition systems and overseeing IT developments. His passion for creating value through innovation and technology is evident in his commitment to helping organisations thrive in the digital age.

15:20 - 15:40 – Estimating the effect of fouling in ship performance based only on observed hull condition
Timoleon Plessas, Sealion Engineering

Bio: Timoleon has studied Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) and holds a PhD in the field of “Ship Design Optimisation”. He has collaborated with NTUA in EU-funded research projects dealing with various aspects of ship design and operation such as ship design optimization, manoeuvring in adverse weather conditions, simulating energy systems and wind-assisted propulsion. He has published numerous papers in journals and conferences and has served as a reviewer for the “Ocean Engineering” journal. He has also worked in the energy department of a large Greek shipping company (Minerva Group). There, he participated in the monitoring of vessel’s performance by developing sophisticated tools for handling high-frequency data and arranging underwater hull inspections and hull cleanings. He founded Sealion Engineering to utilise his academic knowledge and industry expertise and offer consulting services in the maritime industry.

15:40 - 16:00 – Topic TBC
Dr Antonios V. Lalechos, Projects & Performance Manager, TMS DRY fleet

Bio: Dr Antonios V. Lalechos has served as the Operations Director of Deepsea technologies for two years. Since summer 2022 he works as Projects & Performance Manager of TMS dry fleet. Prior he lead Electrical & Electronic works for a fleet of 30 vessels at Eurobulk (bulk carriers & container vessels).

16:00 – 16:30 – Afternoon coffee break