The Piraeus office of International Registries, Inc. (IRI) hosted two meetings in April 2023. More than 170 owners, operators, and industry stakeholders from around Greece and the Mediterranean attended the port State control (PSC) Seminar presented by the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) Registry’s global inspections team, which was preceded by a two-day Fleet Operations Managers meeting. 
Theo Xenakoudis, Chief Commercial Officer welcomed stakeholders to the seminar, highlighting the importance of information sharing and collaboration as the industry addresses the challenges of the future. Simon Bonnett, Chief Maritime Officer (London) provided an overview of the Registry’s Maritime Services Group and current initiatives. Brian Poskaitis, Senior Vice President, Fleet Operations (Baltimore/Annapolis) gave participants an overview of the Registry’s reach, highlighting the depth and breadth of the global inspections team. Thomas Bremer, newly appointed Vice President, Fleet Quality and Compliance (Baltimore/Annapolis) provided the group with insight on the Registry’s efforts to enhance fleet quality and assist owners and operators with compliance. Regional overviews of PSC trends and data were provided by Captain Theodore Lalas, Fleet Operations Manager (Piraeus); Gerald Annuss, Deputy Fleet Operations Manager (Hamburg); Chris van Tiel, Fleet Operations Manager (Roosendaal); Hans Krijger, General Manager (Roosendaal) on behalf of R.Vinod Kumar, Fleet Operations Manager (Mumbai); Captain Sascha Dyker, Fleet Operations Manager (Hong Kong); James Maupin, Fleet Operations Manager (Houston); and Davis Kong, Vice President, Fleet Operations (Fort Lauderdale). Following the presentations, attendees participated in discussion and knowledge sharing during question-and-answer sessions.
Immediately preceding the PSC seminar was a Fleet Operations Managers meeting. The two-day seminar brought together more than a dozen fleet operations managers and deputy fleet operations managers from around the world to discuss operations, trends, updates, and strategic goals and objectives.
In-person seminars and meetings are an important aspect of the Registry’s focus on customer service and support, providing a platform for unfiltered discussion, information sharing, and most importantly providing a solid foundation for strong personal relationships that facilitate client service across the world.
