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HELMEPA’s Board decisions of 19 November 2020

During the meeting of HELMEPA’s Board of Directors, on Thursday 19 November 2020, it was announced that following 38 successful and prosperous years, the cooperation with Mr. Mitsatsos has reached its end.

 

 

 

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HELMEPA bids farewell
to Dimitris Mitsatsos

 

The entire Board of Directors expressed its deep gratitude to Mr. Mitsatsos for the great work he has carried out since the founding of the Association, always with the aim of highlighting the goals and the values of HELMEPA. More specifically, major milestones in this long-standing course were:

 

  • His dedication, throughout this course, to the Association’s Founding Declaration of Voluntary Commitment “To Save the Seas”;
  • His contribution to the founding of HELMEPA Junior, with the support of the late Captain Vasilis Constantakopoulos and the recognition of its role by the IMO General Assembly, as well as the invitation of HELMEPA Junior members by the IMO SG to deliver a speech to the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the IMO;
  • The organisation of certified training seminars for HELMEPA member- seafarers, which received the appreciation of the IMO’s Sub-Committee on Standards of Training and Watchkeeping (STW) and his contribution to conducting them;
  • His contribution to the establishment of national MEPAs in various countries under the umbrella of the International Marine Environment Protection Association (INTERMEPA), which is based in HELMEPA’s headquarters in Greece.
  • His initiative to make contact and establish long-standing cooperation with national Coast Guards of countries such as of the USA, Australia and Canada with regular visits of members’ representatives to their headquarters and the acceptance of invitations by their leadership to visit Greece and deliver speeches to the Association’s members.

 

At the same time, he received numerous honorary distinctions both for HELMEPA and personally, such as:

 

  • The Academy of Athens award by the President of the Hellenic Republic to HELMEPA and the Lloyd's List “Man of the Sea” award to Mr. Mitsatsos, among many other awards;
  • The honorary distinction by the United Nations Environment Program - UNEP, with the presentation of the “Global 500” award;
  • The almost immediate recognition and expression of congratulations by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for the voluntary implementation by HELMEPA’s members of the MARPOL 73/78Convention (before it became mandatory) and the ongoing cooperation with the IMO and the World Maritime University (WMU), which proclaimed Mitsatsos as Visiting Professor.

 

On the occasion of this news, HELMEPA's Chairperson Ms. Semiramis Paliou stated: “We would like to wholeheartedly thank Mr. Mitsatsos for his long-standing and significant work, which he served with continuity and consistency. HELMEPA was and remains a living organisation, listening and responding to contemporary needs. Issues such as sustainability and environmental awareness, which he has pioneered for many decades, are now issues that concern the entire planet and unite us all in a common struggle for its protection. Our goal is the further penetration of HELMEPA within the maritime community by expanding its membership and the communication of its important educational and environmental work as well as that of HELMEPA Junior with use of modern communication tools to the wider public, always remaining faithful to the vision of its founder, Georgios P. Livanos”.

 

Mr. Constantinos Triantafillou is appointed as the new, Interim Director General of HELMEPA.