InterManager, the international trade association for in-house and third party ship managers, has appointed Roberto Giorgi as its new President.
Mr Giorgi, who was elected unopposed at yesterday’s InterManager AGM in Singapore, succeeds Ole Stene, Managing Director of Aboitiz Jebsen Bulk Transport Corporation, who has completed his two-year appointment in the role.
The appointment of Mr Giorgi is a significant and positive move in the growth of InterManager. As President of V.Ships, the world’s largest ship management company, Roberto Giorgi has the necessary experience and industry respect to drive the association to even greater heights.
He kicked off his InterManager Presidency by immediately urging ship owners to place training at the top of their manning agendas despite having to deal with the effects of the credit crunch on the global shipping industry.
Mr Giorgi said the industry must not replicate the mistakes of the downturn in the mid-1980s when ship owners cut back on all areas of cost including seafarer training.
“Seafarer training has to be a priority for the industry, because the age profile of the average seafarer is increasing and the industry needs to invest in a future that has as its backbone, adequate numbers of well trained seafarers,” he said.
While some in the industry believe the crewing shortage could improve in the medium to long term because of the cancellation of ships on order and an increase in the numbers of ships being scrapped, ship managers were expressing continued concerns over the lack of trained officers for the immediate future.
InterManager now has a membership of 73 – both full and associate members – representing a worldwide fleet of some 2,500 vessels and more than 100,000 crew.
Welcoming his election as President, Roberto Giorgi said: “Taking the helm of InterManager at a time when the industry is changing radically will be both a great challenge and a great honour.”
Mr Giorgi highlighted his initial key objectives as President by pledging to represent the views of both owner-managers and third party managers throughout the global shipping industry; protect the welfare and well-being of seafarers, particularly by addressing the issue of criminalisation and by encouraging consistently high standards for training within the industry; and uphold the values of the new InterManager KPI system to make sure they are adopted fully by the entire industry
Monaco-based Roberto Giorgi has a wide breadth of knowledge of the shipping industry. He has been with the V.Ships/Vlasov Group since 1980 and has occupied various positions. His first shore-based position was in 1980 when he was working for Amarline, a joint venture between the Vlasov Group and a Saudi Company.
