May 2024

The evening event for April 2024 was concluded, where:

Dr. Mr John Kokarakis, Technical Director, SEEBA Zone Bureau Veritas

made a presentation on the topic of:

“The impact of the Suez Canal disruption on shipping from the financial and environmental points of view”

Presentation Summary:

The recent attacks by the Huthis of Yemen on vessels crossing the Straits of Bab el Madab from the Gulf of Aden to and from the Red Sea have forced ships to consider various other routes to avoid this risk. The most popular alternative route is via the Cape of Good Hope. Examples are considered in the study and comparisons of operations and expenses (fuel, EU-ETS, FuelEU) as well as emissions for a 15k TEU Containership as well as a Supramax bulker. Extensive analysis will also be presented of which commodities are affected the most. In addition, alternative solutions to bypassing the Suez will be presented.

About the Speaker:

Dr. Kokarakis a 1979 graduate of National Technical University of Athens, holds PhD (1986) and Masters degrees in Naval Architecture (1983) and Mechanical Engineering (1984) from the University of Michigan. He worked for over ten years as a consultant undertaking technical problems worldwide. His specialization was in the area of technical investigation of marine accidents. In his capacity as a forensic engineer he participated in the technical investigation of the Exxon Valdez grounding, the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, the drillship Sea-Crest capsize, the Piper Alpha fire and explosion, the Aleutian Enterprise foundering in Alaska as well as many other accidents of less notoriety. In addition, he was a technical consultant for SEALAND, APL, MATSON Navigation, Chevron and other companies. The last twenty years he works in Greece, in the area of classification. Having served in the plan approval office of American Bureau of Shipping in Piraeus, he then joined Germanischer Lloyd heading their tanker and bulk carrier team in Greece. He is currently the Technical Director of Bureau Veritas in the Hellenic and Black Sea & Adriatic Zone. In his duties Dr. Kokarakis is responsible for the smooth technical operation in the Zone as well as in the harmonic cooperation with the BV offices worldwide to the benefit of the BV clients. He has been a member of SNAME since 1976 and a Fellow of the Society. He is currently the Chairman of the Greek Section since 2014. He has also served as International Vice President of the Society and a Member of the Fellows Committee.


The presentation can be found below: