HELMEPA Board decisions of 19 November 2020
During the assembly of the Board of Directors of HELMEPA, which was held on Thursday, 19 November 2020, it was announced that after 38 successful and prosperous years, the cooperation with Mr. Mitsatsos reached its end.
The entire Board of Directors expressed its deep gratitude to Mr. Mitsatsos for the great work he has done since the founding of the Union, always with the aim of highlighting the goals and the values of HELMEPA. More specifically, major milestones in this long course were:
- His dedication, throughout his career, to the Founding Declaration of Voluntary Commitment of the Union “Save the Seas”.
- His contribution to the founding of HELMEPA Junior, an idea of the late captain Vasilis Konstantakopoulos and the recognition of its role by the IMO General Assembly, as well as the invitation of the HELMEPA Junior by the SG of the IMO to hold a speech at the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC)of the IMO.
- The organisation and his contribution to conducting certified training seminars for HELMEPA officer members, which were recognised by the IMO Sub-Committee on Standards of Training and Watchkeeping (STW).
- His contribution to the establishment of National MEPAs in various countries under the coordination of the International Marine Environment Protection Association (INTERMEPA), based in the offices of HELMEPA Greece.
- The initiative for contact and long cooperation with National coast guards, such as of the USA, Australia and Canada with regular visits of members to their headquarters and acceptance of invitations of their heads for visits to Greece and speeches to members.
At the same time, he received many honorary distinctions both for HELMEPA and for himself, such as:
- The awarding of the Academy of Athens award by the President of the Hellenic Republic to HELMEPA and the Lloyd’s List award “Man of the Sea” to Mr. Mitsatsos, among many other awards.
- The honorary distinction by the United Nations Environment Program – UNEP, with the award of the “Global 500” award.
- The almost immediate recognition and expression of congratulations by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for the voluntary implementation of the MARPOL 73/78 convention (before it became mandatory) by the HELMEPA members and the ongoing cooperation with the IMO and its university (WMU), which proclaimed Mr. Mitsatsos a visiting professor.
On the occasion of this news, HELMEPA’s Chairperson Ms. Semiramis Paliou stated: “We would like to thank Mr. Mitsatsos from the bottom of our hearts for his long and great work, which he served with continuity and consistency. HELMEPA was and remains a living organisation, listening to the needs of our time. Issues such as sustainability and environmental sensitivity, which he has pioneered for many decades, are now issues that concern the entire planet and unite us in a common struggle for its protection. Our goal is the further penetration of HELMEPA into the maritime community, the expansion of its members and communication of its important educational and environmental work as well as the one of HELMEPA Junior with modern communication tools to the general public, always remaining faithful to the vision of its founder, Georgios P. Livanos”.
Mr. Konstantinos Triantafyllou is appointed as the new, temporary Director General of HELMEPA.
