Greek Maritime Administration News

The election of Efthimios Mitropoulos of Greece to the post of Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization was confirmed on November 27 to appoint Mitropoulos. He will take up office on the retirement of the incumbent, William O'Neil of Canada, at the end of this year. In a wide-ranging acceptance speech to the Assembly, Mr Mitropoulos spoke of the challenges that lie ahead for the Organization. Mitropoulos emphasized the need for change within IMO, referring to the "winds of change" blowing through the maritime world and through the Organization itself, and pledged himself to understanding and interpreting the message borne by those winds.

Germanischer Lloyd has been granted full authorization by the Greek maritime administration with immediate effect. The authorization enables the classification society to perform, on behalf of the administration, all survey and certification duties related to the assessment of the safety and the condition of ships sailing under the Greek flag. These statutory duties encompass attending to all types of ships, including passenger ships greater than 1,500 gt and high speed craft; the execution of International Safety Management (ISM) Code renewal audits, with the issuance of certificates; and surveying and issuance of certificates according to the requirements of IMO’s recently agreed Anti-Fouling Convention.