Alastair Evitt News

The global provider of maritime services V.Group has appointed Junshan Zou to build, lead and drive V.Group’s activities in China, including business development, ship management and marine services. Speaking about this appointment, Alastair Evitt, Group Managing Director for V.Group’s Ship Management East division said: “We have made a long-term commitment to growing our business in China and I am delighted that Junshan Zou is joining us at what is an exciting time for the Group. Junshan has more than 20 years’ experience in maritime related businesses, building on his early academic and research career with the Shanghai Maritime University. He is the sole author of the book Port Economics and a co-author of two books – Transportation Economics and Management of China National Economy.

V.Group said it has appointed Junshan Zou to build, lead and drive V.Group’s activities in China, including business development, ship management and marine services.“We have made a long-term commitment to growing our business in China,” said Alastair Evitt, Group Managing Director for V.Group’s Ship Management East division. “This new role will enable us to focus our efforts on growing all aspects of V.Group’s business including expanding our pool of Chinese seafarers to meet the future growth needs of the market.”Zou has more than 20 years’ experience in maritime related businesses…

As the annual Day of the Seafarer dawns (June 25), InterManager, whose members manage more than 250,000 of the world’s seafarers, has reaffirmed its commitment to crewmembers with a package of activities aimed at addressing crew-related issues. The association, whose members are involved in the management of a third of the world fleet, is working with industry partners and training institutions on a number of projects to benefit crew members throughout the global shipping sector.

InterManager appoints Gerardo Borromeo president, joined by four new vice-presidents. InterManager, is an international trade association for in-house and third party ship managers presently has a membership of 91 – both Full and Associate members – involved in the management of almost 5,000 vessels and some 250,000 crew. Mr Borromeo, who was elected unopposed at InterManager's AGM in Copenhagen, succeeds Alastair Evitt, Managing Director of Meridian Marine Management, who has completed his two-year term of office. The AGM also voted in four new Vice Presidents to focus on specific areas of InterManager business. They are: Alex Albertini (Marfin Management) who takes up the role of Treasurer…

InterManager, the international trade association for in-house and third party ship managers, has today appointed Gerardo Borromeo as its new President with immediate effect. Mr Borromeo, who was elected unopposed [October 11] InterManager AGM in Copenhagen, succeeds Alastair Evitt, Managing Director of Meridian Marine Management, who has completed his two-year term of office. The AGM also voted in four new Vice Presidents to focus on specific areas of InterManager business. They are: Alex Albertini (Marfin Management) who takes up the role of Treasurer…

InterManager members attending this year’s Annual General Meeting on Thursday (October 11) will thank retiring President Alastair Evitt for his work at the helm of the association over the past two years. During his Presidency Mr Evitt has represented InterManager on the world maritime stage, working on behalf of its members to ensure the views of the shipmanagement industry are heard and understood and to campaign for better treatment for seafarers. In particular he has been at the forefront of the international battle against piracy…

Campaign supports continued EU anti-piracy operations off the Somali coast. The SOS SaveOurSeafarers campaign welcomes the UK House of Lords Select Committee for External Affairs Report which contains a series of recommendations on how to curb piracy off the coast of Somalia. These include the continued use of naval warships to tackle piracy under EUNAVFOR's ongoing anti-piracy operation Operation Atalanta. "We wholeheartedly welcome the Committee's acknowledgement of the significant impact Operation Atalanta has had in reducing the number of pirate attacks…

Ship and crew managers have welcomed the ratification of the Maritime Labor Convention 2006 which is set to protect the rights of millions of seafarers when it comes into force in August next year. “Establishing minimum standards for the working conditions of the world’s seafarers is essential in ensuring best practice across our industry, especially at a time when recruitment is at a low level and the industry is struggling to attract young people,” said Alastair Evitt, President of InterManager…

Somali pirates who were found guilty of hijacking the French vessel Le Ponant in 2008 have been sentenced to a total of 24 years imprisonment by a Paris court. Of the six Somali pirates, who were captured by French forces in a daring raid on land, with a 4x4 vehicle, arms and a part of the ransom, two were acquitted. One was sentenced to serve four years but this was negated by his detention on remand since April, 2008. All three had protested their innocence. Two others were sentenced to seven years imprisonment and the remaining pirate…

InterManager, the international trade association for the ship management industry, has boosted its membership with several new members joining its ranks during the first quarter of this year. Full members joining include ship management company Nigeria LNG and crew manager Nedcon. They are joined by Associate members KVH, Cubisol, Jadran Pismo and Stark Moore Macmillan. Speaking as the InterManager Executive Committee Meeting in Athens today (June 7) InterManager President Alastair Evitt said: “I am pleased to report that InterManager is increasingly receiving applications for membership from a range of shipmanagement and related maritime businesses.

Shipowners from all over Asia gathered to form a massive human SOS as a demonstration of their support for the international SOS SaveOurSeafarers campaign. The gesture was photographed during the meetings this week in Australia of the 21st Asian Shipowners Forum (ASF) which had piracy at the top of their agenda. In the last 7 years, 62 seafarers have died as a result of pirate actions, and getting on for 4,000 have been held hostage on some 200 ships hijacked by Somali pirates.

Any move at the government level to ban the payment of ransoms to pirates would have a massively detrimental effect on the risk to the world's seafarers and the global economy, according to Alastair Evitt, Managing Director of Meridian Marine Management, President of InterManager and the newly appointed Chairman of the Save Our Seafarers Campaign. Addressing the opening session of this year's Connecticut Maritime Association (CMA) conference in Stamford, Evitt said that not only would such a ban have an impact on the willingness of any crew to transit high-risk areas…

The “horrors” of piracy have dominated the first year of Meridian Marine Management Managing Director Alastair Evitt’s first year in his role as President of InterManager, the international trade association for the shipmanagement industry. Summing up his first year representing the world’s third-party and in-house ship managers, Mr Evitt told the InterManager Annual General Meeting today (November 15th) that the fight against global piracy is a priority for his presidency and praised the way the shipping industry has united to fight it.

Intermanager Welcomes David Cameron's Call for Armed Guards of UK Flagged ships. InterManager (an active member of the Save our Seafarers (SOS) campaign) is, after months of campaigning, delighted to hear the public vilification of piracy issued by the UK Government. The SOS campaign has strived to bring recognition of the horrific and detrimental effect of Somali piracy to both Governmental and public awareness. Alastair Evitt, President of InterManager, said that it was a quantum…

InterManager, the international trade association for the ship management industry, is delighted to welcome Bibby Ship Management Ltd to its membership. Located in Liverpool, Bibby Ship Management Ltd provides a quality assured comprehensive technical management service to the international marine industry. The firm's parent company, Bibby Line Group Limited, has been established for 200 years and appreciates investment in long-term results and commitment to core values - aims which chime well with InterManager's aims and objectives.

InterManager members have called for more proactive methods to be developed in the protection of ships transiting pirate-infested trade lanes by launching a campaign to allow owners and third party managers the freedom of choice in employing armed guards onboard ships they manage. The InterManager campaign, which has received more than 90% support from its members, proposes to lobby Flag States and Charterers to review their rules relating to armed guards onboard ship.It claims…

project to produce an industry wide performance measurement tool. The Project is set to be rolled-out to the worldwide shipping industry. Working with The Norwegian Research Council , Marintek, Wilhelmsen ASA and a range of Industry Stakeholders, InterManager has developed a global shipping industry standard for defining, measuring and reporting information on operational performance. The Shipping KPI Project proposes a global shipping industry standard for defining, measuring and reporting information on operational performance in order to boost performance improvements internally in companies engaged in ship operation activities and…

V.Ships announced the appointment of Douglas Robinson as V.Ships Ship Management Divisions' Managing Director for Asia, based in Singapore. He brings to the V.Ships Group a wealth of experience gained from more than 30 years in shipping, marine services, engineering and mining. Having spent 16 years at sea with BP Shipping as a marine engineer, his last three years as Chief Engineer, Douglas Robinson went on to obtain both a Bachelors degree and his MBA, while working for BP's shore organisation in a number of exacting positions in chartering, project and technical management. From 1992-2000, he worked in the Indonesian coal industry for a Rio Tinto/ BP joint venture, where his role as General Manager and Director was to improve performance and efficiencies within the business.