Afroditi

Survey work does not only entail attendances on board and reporting. We belong in a community where exchanging ideas, getting informed on the latest trends and socializing is paramount to foster deeper connection amongst us.
Here is what our surveyors have been up to when they temporarily get rid of their boiler suits.

UNDER 35s – MIAMI

August 17th, 2023

The Lloyd’s Marine & Energy U35’s Committee organized their Americas Tour 2023 which this year included travelling to Cartagena (Colombia), Panama and Miami.

We had the pleasure of hosting the 20 attendees of the U35s Association to a day of fun and relaxation.

The outing commenced by sailing on a cruise yacht around the beautiful Biscayne Bay, Key Biscayne and Virginia Key. It was a pleasant summer sun-shining day. The young professionals got rid of their business suits for one day, whereas Martin Rivero and Juan Pablo Inza, who accompanied them, representing our LatAm offices left their boiler suits at home.

The winding down continued on a scenic rooftop lounge in downtown Miami, where the day was nicely concluded, over a couple of cocktails and a smashing view of the shimmering Miami night skyline.

NAVEGISTIC – 10th Anniversary Edition

Asuncion, Paraguay – October 4th to 6th, 2023

NAVEGISTIC is the largest intermodal and river logistics fair in South America with 300 exhibitors and the participation of about 1,500 marine professionals and entrepreneurs.

During this three-day fair, our Asuncion office team, led by Martin Jr. Rivero and Carlos Ferreira, had the pleasure of interacting with local and international stakeholders, such as executives from the Operations, Technical and Insurance departments of local shipping companies, executives from local and international Brokers as well as representatives from local and international H&M Underwriters.

SURVEY FAMILIARIZATION COURSE

Tuzla & Yalova, Turkey – October 17th to 19th 2023

Our two-day Survey Familiarization Program took place this year for the 17^th time since 2004, in Tuzla and Yalova, Turkey with the participation of professionals from international insurance market communities, the majority being claims handlers from H&M Underwriters and P&I Clubs, but also from marine insurance Brokers and Solicitors.

Hosted by our Istanbul office team, the main purpose of our Survey Familiarization Course is to introduce and demonstrate the local Shipyards facilities, workmanship skills and cost effectiveness, as well as the main aspects of ship design and machinery, outfitting and equipment, versus risks undertaken by Underwriters on board vessels both afloat and on keel blocks in dry dock.

Realizing the actual scale and size of the vessels as well as complexity and sophistication of several components is most certainly the biggest gain to the participants. Things tend to look different on paper or in photos compared to reality!

ALSUM Conference

Punta Cana, Dominican Republic – October 24th to 26th, 2023

ALSUM is the Latin American Association of Marine Insurers which holds an annual conference with the participation of over 300 marine insurance professionals, including Underwriters, Claims Handlers, Brokers, Solicitors, Adjusters and Surveyors/Technical Specialists.

This year the conference took place in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, during which our Senior Surveyor/Local Partner, Juan Pablo Inza, had the opportunity to interact with executives of the Latin American marine insurance market.

The most interesting panel discussions of the ALSUM 3-day conference were the ones dealing with strategies to maximize the contribution of salvage, mitigation expenses and recoveries to claim reduction, General Average management as well as collision in port environment and its impact on marine insurance.

In this section discover the heart of Evdemon & Partners, our people. In candid interviews, our Surveyors open up about their journeys, aspirations, and the meaningful challenges they embrace with passion.

Lola Rosa | Surveyor

1. My first job in the Maritime Industry:
   I started as a Project Assistant and later became a Project Manager at a shipyard specializing in yacht repairs. My responsibilities included overseeing projects, coordinating teams, managing budgets, and ensuring timely project completion.

2. What inspired me to become a surveyor:
   My curiosity to learn and gain hands-on experience drove me to this field. Starting with yachts, I wanted to move beyond office tasks and be actively involved onboard large vessels. The investigative aspect of inspections, identifying causes, and continuous learning also intrigued me. Additionally, the opportunity to travel and connect with professionals from different countries was also attractive to me.

3. The aspect I enjoy most about my job:
   I love the opportunity to travel, meet new people, and learn something new every day. As a young professional, working alongside experienced colleagues and learning from them is invaluable. I also aspire to pass on my knowledge in the future.

4. One of the most striking experiences on the job (attendance or other):
   One of my most memorable experiences so far was conducting my first condition survey with a colleague. It was my first time seeing the full interior of a cargo ship, exploring all machinery, installations, and operational systems firsthand. Also carrying out my first Ultrasonic hatch inspection. It was a great learning experience that reinforced my passion for this field.

5. Inspiring words from people I have encountered in my line of business:
   “Step by step, don’t rush—patience is key.” A Spanish saying I follow is “Despacito y con buena letra” (Slowly and carefully).
   Another one: In this field, you may encounter similar cases, but there is always something new to learn.

6. You have infiltrated a predominantly male-dominated profession. Can you share any challenges you might have face working in such an environment?
   Honestly, I have never seen myself as different from my male colleagues. I focus on doing my job with confidence, knowing that in the end, one’s work speaks for itself.
   Fortunately, clients, crew, and colleagues have always treated me equally, and my challenges have been more about gaining experience and overcoming personal fears.
   Physically, moving certain mechanical parts is a challenge compared to my male colleagues, but I’ve always found people willing to help, and with their support and collaboration, we get the job done.
   One of my personal challenges was overcoming the fear of climbing up and down the ship’s ladder when boarding while anchored, but with the help of the service boatmen, it becomes much easier.

7. Have there been any specific moments or achievements in your career that you are particularly proud of, especially as a woman in this field?
   I take pride in doing what I love with determination, regardless of gender expectations. Passion and hard work define success, not stereotypes. Overcoming challenges and proving my capabilities in every project strengthens my confidence and motivates me to keep growing professionally.

In this exciting new section discover the heart of Evdemon & Partners, our people. In candid interviews, our Surveyors open up about their journeys, aspirations, and the meaningful challenges they embrace with passion.

Haifeng Yan | Surveyor

1. My first job in the Maritime Industry:
   QC inspector in a newbuilding shipyard (CSSC)

2. What inspired me to become a surveyor:
   Initially inspired by one of my friends to become a marine surveyor, who was also working in the marine industry, but the nature of the job keeps me continuously inspired.

3. The aspect I enjoy most about my job:
   Experiencing different type of casualties and improving my knowledge / insight. It is a never-ending learning process.

4. One of the top locations I traveled to for a survey:
   I travelled to Thailand for one H&M condition survey at anchorage. Hottest place I have been with incredible humidity.

5. One of my most unexpected trip for work:
   Survey instruction received at midnight on urgent basis to attend one vessel at Shanghai outer anchorage and immediately mobilized the next day early morning from base to destination in order to catch up the launch boat and eventually reached the vessel after 3 hours trip at sea.

6. One of the most striking experiences during a work trip:
   I travelled to one city in northern China in winter time (-20° C)! The result was catching a cold during the survey, it was the coldest place I have ever been.

7. One of the most memorable casualties I have ever dealt with:
   A bulk carrier ran aground and was stranded on rocky seabed after a strong typhoon. There was oil spill and severe hull damages. Oil cleaning continued for almost a year, which meant that I spent most of that year on the operations. Ultimately, the vessel snapped in two due to impact of another typhoon, resulting to me staying even longer for the wreck removal. Once in a life time experience!

8. One of the most challenging cases I attended:
   A bulk carrier touched bottom in Pakistan and permanent repairs were effected at a Chinese shipyard, where I attended during the course of repairs. The most challenging part was cost review / analysis to assist Owners’ with negotiations with shipyard, as the Yard’s bill was exorbitantly high with various unjustified charged items. Finally, after 15 days of detailed study on more than 1,500 rows for identifying all those unjustified items, the final invoiced amount was successfully negotiated down from USD 5.9 million to USD 3.4 million!!!

9. Inspiring words from people I have encountered in my line of business:
   “Keep learning and acquire good surveying capabilities, marine industry is your second university in your life”, memorable inspiring words from one of my fellows.

In this exciting new section discover the heart of Evdemon & Partners, our people. In candid interviews, our Surveyors open up about their journeys, aspirations, and the meaningful challenges they embrace with passion.

Stefanos Antoniadis | Senior Surveyor

1. My first job in the Maritime Industry:
   Marine Consultant/Surveyor in Marine Technical Consultancy Office 

2. What inspired me to become a surveyor:
   Nothing specific at first place!…the marine industry just opened a door for me in the surveying field…but my daily working experience is what has inspired me to remain in the surveying sector of our industry for nearly 15 years now.

3. The aspect I enjoy most about my job:
   Never-ending learning job, never-ending experiences, never boring.

4. One of the top locations I traveled to for a survey:
   Difficult to distinguish…stunning scenery in Ghent, Belgium and Tallinn, Esthonia…but strong cultural experiences in India, China and Africa. 

5. One of my most unexpected trip for work:
   Attending unexpectedly three (3) vessels on the same trip in Malta, Duqm and Dubai…from 10°-15° C to 30°-35° C… “re-clothing” with summer clothes in Istanbul airport was a must!

6. One of the most striking experiences during a work trip:
   3 days to travel from Athens to Durban due to flights complications, including 1 overnight stay in Istanbul and 1 overnight stay in London…Fortunately the vessel I was scheduled to inspect was still in port on my arrival!

7. One of the most memorable casualties I have ever dealt with:
   Explosion in an Oil/Chemical Tanker at Lome/Togo. Thankfully, no casualties or injuries! Several cargo tank bulkheads collapsed, the hull side shell plating bulged and the E/R was flooded. The inner bottom of the vessel could be easily converted to a soccer field!

8. One of the most challenging cases I attended:
   A Chemical Tanker experienced initially fire in Engine Room, subsequently electrical black-out and finally grounding at Spanish rocky coastline during heavy weather. Access on board was achieved with the assistance of the Spanish SAR helicopter.  Also, challenging exercise was to establish the full extent of damage (steel, machinery, electrical). Lengthy negotiations followed for more than 2 years between Insurers, Owners and Salvors as an “unrepaired damage” claim which finally ended in court.

9. Inspiring words from people I have encountered in my line of business:
   Although some supporting words are echoing in my mind, I wouldn’t point out any specific words…but I would rather admit that any words of support and kindness are always inspiring to continue “running” in our working field…especially when these words are part of a generally inspiring stance of colleagues.

10. One of my favorite photos from work:

After a sudden loss of propulsion during a laden voyage, the crew discovered that the propeller was missing! The tailshaft had been instantaneously fractured and propeller lost to sea. Extensive repairs were required lasting almost 6 months.

A Panamax bulker carrier encountered sudden loss of propulsion and M/E overspeed, during a laden voyage. After the necessary checks done by vessel’s crew, it was discovered that the tailshaft had been instantaneously fractured and propeller, along with shaft’s taper were lost to sea.

The vessel was towed to disport for unloading all of her cargo, and subsequently towed to Piraeus for carrying out permanent repairs. The repairs commenced initially afloat and subsequently in drydock for final assembly and commissioning.

Permanent repairs consisted of the following main works:

• Fabrication new propeller and tailshaft by specialised workshops, including hydraulic nut and propeller boss cap
• Cold cutting of damaged tailshaft section, in order to retain the physical properties for further metallurgical analysis by lab. The cutting of the shaft by steel saw took some 3 days to complete
• Renewal of intermediate and stern tube bearings
• Alignment check of propulsion shafting and stern tube arrangement
• M/E inspection for any potential issued due to overspeed.
• Final sea trials

Some 6 months were required for repairs to complete afloat and on keel blocks at Piraeus, including some 3 months waiting time for new propeller to be delivered by sea freight.

Instructed on behalf of H&M Underwriters, our Piraeus Head Office surveyors mobilized in assisting Owners and Underwriters during the time of damage occurrence, providing insights from their vast knowledge of the local and global market in order to proactively seek quotations and monitor costs ahead of time, resulting in less expenditure from all parties.

In addition, there was constant monitoring of repairs progress and obstacles encountered in the way whilst vessel was in our Head Office’s vicinity, timely reported to our Principals with continuous updates on repair costs and time.

Be part of the repairs through our gallery!

Stern Tube Seals / Bearing & Tailshaft Damage – Repairs Afloat

A 35K DWT Bulk Carrier lost propulsion with subsequent water ingress in E/R through stern tube seals! Emergency towage was arranged and vessel was safely towed to repair berth at Hambantota Port, Sri Lanka.

Cargo was temporarily discharged and vessel was trimmed by the bow in order to allow works to be carried out afloat. The propeller and the entire propulsion system including intermediate and tail shafts were removed.

Complete set of S/T seals boxes (fwd and aft) were renewed, tailshaft machined and all bearing wiped material attached to shaft was removed.

Fwd and aft S/T bearing were renewed as they were found heavily damaged.

Our Gibraltar Office was instructed to undertake the case on behalf of H&M Underwriters, assisting on emergency towing arrangements, continuously monitoring repairs progress, and providing proactive guidance for minimizing costs and repair time.

In an unfortunate event, one of the pistons seized in the cylinder, causing the connecting rod to part and move freely, consequently fracturing the entire engine block prior shutdown.

The engine block, crankcase, crankshaft, camshaft as well as a number of units were condemned due to the incident.

Repairs for this kind are always long lasting, consisting of extensive removals in way of the yacht’s accommodation / saloon, tricky maneuvers with mobile cranes in tight spaces, and almost compete renewal of engine components (which in many cases have long delivery times).

Having long-term experience in such damages, our Piraeus Head Office Surveyors were appointed on behalf of H&M Underwriters, closely monitored repairs, assisted Owners with local market knowledge for acquiring competitive quotations, and continuously reported developments thereof.

A look at the history, current status and future endeavors of the shipyard.

The history of the Elefsis Shipyards goes back in the days of 1962 when its construction began. The shipyard finally began commercial operations and servicing ships 7 years later in October 1969 under the helm of perhaps the most powerful business personality in Greece at the time, Stratis Andreadis. In the half of a century that followed, up to present days Elefsis Shipyard has had a tormented history. In 1975 the Shipyard is nationalized and finds itself in decline for decades. In the early 1990s it gets privatized again and changes several hands in ownership but does not manage to escape several millions of accumulated debt in the following years, eventually shutting down commercial operations/services in the recent economic crisis of Greece.

A new era for the Elefsis Shipyards has finally begun in 2022 under the privatization and investment policies of the current government. ONEX a company of Greek-American interests, which has recently acquired Syros Shipyard and which has the support of the International Development Finance Corporation of the American government (DFC) together with the renowned Italian group Fincantieri. The two organizations have joined forces to take over the Shipyard and gradually revive all operations by also upgrading facilities/infrastructure, investing on optimism for the shipyard future.

The commercial part of the shipyard is already considered secured by Onex’s excess customer potential, which can no longer be served by the Syros shipyards. It is realistically expected to soon be able to increase repair capacity to about 150 vessels per annum, while the long-term goal is to build 2-3 navy war ships per year, as well as undertake maintenance/ repair contracts for the Hellenic Navy and the US 6th Fleet

Elefsis Shipyard is located in the bay of Elefsina, less than half hour drive from the port of Piraeus and currently occupies an area of 250,000 sq.m. Its facilities include three floating docks, the largest having a berth of 252 m length and 45 m width where ships of 120,000 DWT can be repaired or built. The floating docks are also outfitted with cranes ranging 5-20 tons capacity and are presently in the process of re-activation. Elefsis Shipyards anticipate that the Shipyard’s PANAMAX floating dock will be able to accommodate vessels from June 2023 and the following two floating docks will be able by the end of Summer 2023

Evdemon & Partners Piraeus office surveyors were proud to participate in the inaugural ceremony by the Ministry on 25th November 2022 and subsequently attend on board the very first vessel that entered the yard upon re-activation on behalf of H&M Underwriters, for carrying out repairs which lasted 4 months. The vessel recently shifted to the affiliate Syros Shipyard for dry-docking and completion of repairs.

Following the success of the first vessel, a number of vessels of various types also proceeded to Elefsis Shipyards for maintenance or repairs. In this respect, we attended on board an oil/chemical tanker which and was successfully repaired as well as recently on a bulk carrier for both H&M and P&I inspections.

An extremely rare ocurrance – The tailshaft of a 112K DWT crude oil tanker found fractured within the stern tube!

Vessel was trimmed by the bow in order to allow works to be carried out afloat. The tailshaft was renewed and entire repair process was carried out afloat.

Our Panama Office was instructed to undertake the case on behalf of H&M Underwriters, continuously monitoring repairs progress, and providing proactive guidance for minimizing costs and repair time.