Agenda
1300: Welcome - Captain Robert Thompson, Presiding Officer, Houston Pilots Association
1305: Open - Joe Hughes, Chairman of NAMEPA and CEO/President of the Shipowners Claims Bureau (the American Club)
Up in the Air - Decarbonization for Shipping
1315: View from the Bridge - RDML John Mauger, Assistant Commandant for Prevention Policy, USCG
1330: Maritime Air Emissions - Keith Letourneau, Partner at Blank Rome LLC
1345: How We Get There - Moderated by DNV
Moderator - Simon Mockler, Director of Decarbonization and Transformation for Maritime Americas- DNV
- Collective Strategies - David Cummins, President and CEO, Blue Sky Maritime Coalition
- Report from COP26 - Carleen Lyden Walker, Co-Founder/Executive Director, NAMEPA; Meghan Reilly, 1st Class Cadet, Massachusetts Maritime Academy
1445: Coffee & Tea Break
1530: Digitalization Tools - Moderated by ABS
Moderator - Gareth Burton, Vice President, Technology - ABS
- Shipowner's Challenges - Bogumil Zurawik, Training Master, SIEM Ship Management
- Data in Maritime - Ananth Srinivasan, Vice President, V-TIC Services
- Digital Twinning Fuel for Ships - Darren Shelton, CPO, FuelTrust
- Going on the Offensive - Cynthia Hudson, CEO, HudsonAnalytix
1645: Why This is Important - Captain Anuj Chopra, Co-Founder and CEO, ESG+
1700: Closing Remarks
Speakers
Captain Robert Thompson, Presiding Officer, Houston Pilots Association
Captain Thompson began his maritime career nearly 47 years ago when he graduated from the National River Academy in Helena, Arkansas with a license for “the Ohio, Mississippi, and Western Rivers.” Starting out as a steersman for Patton Barge Lines, Captain Thompson quickly advanced to tug Captain and eventually was promoted to Vice President of Operations.
In 1987 at the age of 31, Captain Thompson joined the Houston Pilots and has since logged over 35,000 bridge hours piloting ships carrying bulk cargo, chemicals, and oil on the busiest and most challenging ship channel in the United States. As a Texas state pilot, Captain Thompson has a gubernatorial commission to “navigate vessels from the Houston Turning Basin to the Galveston sea buoy with safety as the highest priority, and when possible without sacrificing the interest of safety, act in the best interest of a vessel owner.”
In addition to being an active channel pilot, Captain Thompson also serves as the Presiding Officer of the Houston Pilots - one of three pilots on the Association’s leadership team charged with running the day-to-day operations of one of the largest Pilot associations in the United States. Captain Thompson served as Presiding Officer twice before his current term. Highlights of Captain Thompson’s pilot career include acting as presiding officer during preparations for and response to HURRICANE IKE, the fourth most costly hurricane in US history, working with key senior industry and government representatives to establish the Lone Star Harbor Safety Committee, and piloting the tow transporting one of the space shuttles up the Houston Ship Channel to its final destination at the Johnson Space Center.
Joe Hughes, Chairman & CEO of Shipowners Claims Bureau (SCB), Chairman of NAMEPA
Joe has served as Chairman and CEO of the managers of the American Club, an International Group mutual, for nearly twenty-five years. Joe also oversees the activities of Eagle Ocean Agencies, Inc., an affiliate of SCB, which operates the Eagle Ocean Marine and Eagle Ocean America insurance facilities. In addition, he is a director of American Hellenic Hull Insurance Company, Ltd., a Cyprus-based underwriting investment of the American Club. In addition to his corporate responsibilities, Joe is chairman of the North American Marine Environment Protection Association (NAMEPA), and a director (and former president) of the Maritime Association of the Port of New York and New Jersey.
RDML John Mauger, Assitant Commandant for Prevention Policy, USCG
Rear Admiral Mauger serves as the Assistant Commandant for Prevention Policy, and is responsible for the development of national policy, standards, and programs promoting Marine Safety, Security and Environmental Stewardship. Three Directorates carry out the mission: Inspections and Compliance, Marine Transportation Systems, and Commercial Regulations and Standards. Programs include waterways management, navigation and boating safety, ports and facilities, merchant mariner credentialing, vessel documentation, marine casualty investigation, commercial vessel inspections, and port state control.
His prior flag assignments include the Assistant Commandant for Capability, and the Director of Training and Exercises (J7) at U.S. Cyber Command.
Keith Letourneau, Partner, BlankRome
Keith Letourneau focuses his practice on maritime and energy transactions and litigation matters. Keith’s government contract experience includes shipyard bid protests, labor standards disputes, and appeals of contracting officers’ final decisions before boards of contract, as well as solicitation and bid reviews and evaluations. He has also defended document-intensive shipyard and oil rig repair contract disputes.
He is co-chair of the Firm’s Blockchain Working Group. He has published recent articles about the industry, specifically as it relates to maritime matters, and presented on Blockchain issues at the Firm’s Litigation Department CLE program in Philadelphia in November 2017.
Keith served as a trial attorney for both the U.S. Coast Guard’s Procurement Law Division and the Admiralty Section of the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Division. He is a retired commander of the U.S. Coast Guard. His military service included assignments as a deck watch officer aboard a medium-endurance cutter that engaged in drug law enforcement efforts in the Caribbean Basin and as commanding officer of a Coast Guard patrol boat stationed along the southeast Texas coast.
Keith is a member of the Order of the Coif, an honorary academic society that recognizes law students, teachers, judges, and lawyers for their scholarly or professional achievements.
Keith is ranked by Chambers USA for his work in shipping litigation matters, which notes that clients describe him as a “very steady and thoughtful attorney” and that he is “very studious, measured and looks at the overall structure of a case, and what may happen several steps down the road.”
Simon Mockler, Director of Decarbonization and Transformation of Maritime Americas, DNV
Mr. Simon Mockler, Business Development Director, Decarbonization and Digitalization, Advisory Americas. As a member of the Region Americas Business Development team, supporting DNV’s maritime customers in addressing the challenges of maritime decarbonization, meeting ESG expectations and leveraging the benefits of emerging technology and digitalization.
Mr. Mockler received a Masters of Engineering (Hons) Ship Science with Naval Architecture, University of Southampton. He joined DNV in 2011 and has worked in consulting roles across multiple industry segments specializing in safety & risk management.
David Cummins, President, Blue Sky Maritime Coalition
David Cummins is President of the Blue Sky Maritime Coalition, a non-profit, strategic alliance formed to accelerate the transition of waterborne transportation in Canada and the United States toward net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Prior to his current role, Cummins worked as an executive with Shell with more than 35 years’ experience covering many locations around the world as well as many diverse businesses and skill areas. Cummins was Shell’s Commercial and Business Development Manager for Shipping & Maritime, Americas, and before that served as Vice President of Shell Korea Limited, managing relationships with Korean shipyards and heavy industry. Cummins previously contributed to Shell’s success in technical management, global strategy development, commercial deal making, new business development, strategic customer account management, divestment and portfolio deal teams, capital project planning & execution, and change management/corporate redesign.
Cummins is a frequent speaker with various organizations on topics including Shipping Sectoral Decarbonization, Global/International Account Management, Strategy Development, Negotiation/Deal Making and Cultural Differences between Western and Asian Countries. In his personal time Cummins is an avid golfer and photographer and is also sole proprietor of a timber tract operations company in the US.
Carleen Lyden Walker, Co-Founder and Executive Director, NAMEPA
Carleen Lyden Walker is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of NAMEPA (North American Marine Environment Protection Association) leveraging off her experience as a marketing and communications professional in the commercial maritime industry with over 40 years of experience. She works to develop strategic alliances between industry, regulators, conservation groups and educators to “Save Our Seas”. In 2015, Ms. Lyden Walker was appointed an Ambassador by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Ms. Lyden Walker is also Chief Executive Officer of Morgan Marketing & Communications, is Chief Evolution officer of ShippingInsight, founder of CARIBMEPA and the Co-Founder/Executive Director of the Consortium for International Maritime Heritage.
Meghan Reilly, 1st Class Cadet, Massachusetts Maritime Academy
Meghan Reilly is a 1st Class Cadet at Massachusetts Maritime Academy. She is currently studying to earn a Bachelors of Science in Marine Science, Safety, and Environmental protection with a minor in Marine Biology and will graduate this June. She joined NAMEPA this past winter as an Education and Outreach Intern. While working with NAMEPA she has worked on the Chapter Outreach along with completing several other social media projects. Prior to joining NAMEPA, Meghan was the Assistant Camp Director for the Young Mariner Program with the Cape Cod Maritime Museum. She hopes to continue to educate individuals on best industry practices and saving our seas.
Gareth Burton, Vice President, Technology
Gareth Burton is Vice President - Technology
for ABS. He began his career with a consulting engineering company before joining ABS in
2001. During his time with ABS, he has held various leadership roles in engineering, business management and product development in the U.S., Mexico and Singapore. In his current role, he is responsible for the development and execution of the ABS research program.
Gareth holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Manchester, England and master’s and doctorate Engineering degrees from the University of Ulster,
Belfast, Northern Ireland. In addition, he has completed the Executive MBA program at Texas A&M University.
Bogumil Zurawik, Training Master, SIEM Ship Management
Captain Bogumil Zurawik acts on behalf of SIEM Shipping as a Fleet training Master since joining in 2011. He has more than 30 years of experience in the maritime industry, primarily as an officer on various types of vessels, where he went through all stages in his officer's career, including Captain's position which he held for many years.
He is focused on the implementation process of the safety culture on board of the ship and is responsible for inspections, conducting audits, and training.
Ananth Srinivasan, Vice President, V-TIC
Ananth currently serves as the Vice President at V-TIC Services, a Viswa Group Company. The V-TIC Services team focuses on the Supply side of the Fuel supply chain and this team is intimately involved with helping fuel suppliers get ready for the fuels of the future. From helping suppliers develop fuels for the future, to helping them develop the basis of design of their refineries, the V-TIC Services team was developed to be at the cutting edge for the next challenge of the customer.
Ananth Srinivasan has over eighteen years of experience working at Baker Hughes and in a startup, in a variety of roles including P&L Management, Sales, Operations, Engineering, Product Development, and Project Management. His breadth of experience spans the Oil and Gas sector from Upstream operations to the Marine Shipping business. His main skill sets are P&L Management and solution selling. In his last P&L role at Baker Hughes, he led his team to the best financial performance across all product lines during the oil recession.
He has an Executive MBA from Texas A&M and a Masters’ in Chemical Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and is able to combine his technical knowledge with his commercial acumen to help clients win at the marketplace.
Ananth has served as the President of the Houston chapter of the Association of India’s Development, a volunteering organization focused on addressing change at the grassroots in India. As an active proponent of the Oil and Gas industry, Ananth has spoken at National Society of Black Engineers, Rice University, and the University of Houston.
Darren Shelton, Chief Product Officer & Co-Founder, FuelTrust
Darren Shelton is a 26-year veteran of the maritime industry having managed multiple shipping agencies, serving as lead auditor in ISO quality management systems and most recently being tasked with driving their digital initiatives for a premier global maritime agency. In 2018 he envisioned a blockchain startup for the downstream energy sector which led to his co-founding FuelTrust, a data science company with greentech SaaS solutions. Darren studied at Stephen F. Austin State University and Hope International University, has received honorary degrees from Alvin Community College and presently serves on the Board of Regents at ACC. He is Chairman of both the Lone Star Harbor Safety Committee and the Alvin-Manvel Area Chamber of Commerce, in addition to serving on the boards of several other community organizations. He and his family reside in the Houston suburb of Alvin TX.
Cynthia Hudson, CEO & Founder, HudsonAnalytix
Cynthia A. Hudson is CEO and founder of HudsonAnalytix, Inc., a global maritime risk consultancy serving the maritime transportation sector, headquartered in the Philadelphia region in the United States, and with offices across the United States and in Greece, Italy, and the United Kingdom. She is a forward-thinking leader in the industry, providing leadership on risk management challenges within the maritime transportation sector including cyber security risk management for shipping, ports, and terminals.
In 1986, Ms. Hudson founded what became HudsonAnalytix to provide emergency response, maritime project management, and maritime consulting services to maritime transportation interests; oil and energy, vessel owners/operators and insurers for more than 100 oil and hazardous material response incidents. Ms. Hudson led the firm into maritime security for ports and vessels, providing port vulnerability security assessment work at hundreds of ports and facilities worldwide. In 2016, she expanded the HudsonAnalytix cyber security initiative to design and deliver cybersecurity and cyber risk management solutions to maritime clients and provide cybersecurity expertise to governmental agencies. She has created and spearheaded projects such as CyberLogix and PortLogix, both of which are tools providing tailored cyber threat intelligence to senior port and shipping executives around the world.
Throughout the maritime transportation industry, she is well-known and highly regarded for her work and contributions in her field. In 2016, Ms. Hudson was honored by the Organization of American States (OAS) Inter-American Committee on Ports with the Maritime Award of the Americas: Outstanding Women in the Maritime and Port Sector. Ms. Hudson serves on a number of Industry Boards such as the American Caribbean Maritime Association and the Maritime Academy High School in Philadelphia. She is President of WISTA Delaware River & Bay Chapter and a Director of the North American Marine Environment Protection Association (NAMEPA). She has been a speaker, panelist, and moderator at conferences across the globe.
Captain Anuj Chopra, Co-Founder & CEO, ESG+
Captain Anuj Chopra is an international executive, enterprise risk manager, and big data
champion who has successfully forged client relationships in the maritime industry for over three decades. His experience developing ethical, customer-focused EQ cultures has led him to conclude high-value contracts with some of the largest shipping companies in the world.
Captain Chopra cofounded ESGplus LLC, an international consulting firm focused on bringing resiliency, efficiency, and independent board advisory to clients invested in the global maritime supply chain. ESGplus promotes sustainability, increased safety standards, and reducing the environmental impact of the maritime industry as a whole. Captain Chopra guides ESGplus as a diversity-focused company, providing client value by promoting exemplary, transparent customer solutions for a sustainable and resilient maritime supply chain.
Before his time at ESGplus, Captain Chopra spent nearly a decade as a Vice President of RightShip, negotiating high-level due diligence and compliance agreements in developing business across North and South America leading to over 500% growth. Prior to his time at RightShip, he served as the President of Anglo-Eastern Houston, with direct oversight of all fleet vessels visiting US ports, risk evaluation, and government relations.
Captain Chopra began his seafaring career as a deck cadet, working his way up to Captain. He has commanded large bulk carriers and tankers and holds a Commonwealth Extra Masters Certificate of Competency and Shipping Management from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
Captain Chopra currently serves as a Fellow of The Nautical Institute (Chairperson of the U.S. Gulf Branch), an Ambassador for the Sailor Society, and on the Board of Directors at the Houston International Seafarers Center. He was elected President of the Industry Advisory Board for the Supply Chain & Logistics Technology Degree at the University of Houston, where he has served as a lecturer or teacher for more than 25 years. Captain Chopra is also a Board Member and Treasurer of the North American Marine Environment Protection Association (NAMEPA) and a member of NOAA’s Hydrographic Services Review Panel.
He continually mentors’ students and professionals in the maritime supply chain and is an Adjunct Professor for the Supply Chain Program at the College of Technology, University of Houston. He is the Co-Author and Assessor for NAMEPA’s ESG/CSR Maritime Sustainability Passport Program.
Sponsors
ABS, a leading global provider of classification and technical advisory services to the marine and offshore industries, is committed to setting standards for safety and excellence in design, construction and operation. Focused on safe and practical application of advanced technologies and digital solutions, ABS works with industry and clients to develop accurate and cost-effective compliance, optimized performance and operational efficiency for marine and offshore assets. From its world headquarters in Houston, ABS delivers survey and engineering services and solutions to clients through a network of local representatives working from more than 200 offices in 70 countries.
The American Club’s mission is to provide its Members with a broad and financially secure range of P&I and related insurance services which most effectively meet the imperatives of their day-to-day business and which are delivered in an attentive, efficient, courteous and focused manner.
With more than 600 attorneys serving clients across the globe, Blank Rome represents businesses and organizations ranging from Fortune 500 companies to start-up entities around the globe. The Firm’s practices cover areas including business tax; commercial and corporate litigation; employment benefits and labor; financial services; bankruptcy and financial restructuring; government relations; health law; intellectual property; maritime, international trade and procurement; matrimonial; privately held and emerging companies; product liability; public companies and capital formation; public finance; real estate; trusts and estates; and white collar, internal and government investigations. Blank Rome also represents pro bono clients in a wide variety of cases and matters.
DNV is the world’s leading classification society and a recognized advisor for the maritime industry. We enhance safety, quality, energy efficiency and environmental performance of the global shipping industry – across all vessel types and offshore structures. We invest heavily in research and development to find solutions, together with the industry, that address strategic, operational or regulatory challenges.
Dorian LPG is a liquefied petroleum gas shipping company and a leading owner and operator of modern VLGCs. Dorian LPG currently owns and operates 22 modern VLGCs. Dorian LPG has offices in Connecticut, USA, London, United Kingdom and Athens, Greece.
At Fairfield Chemical Carriers we provide our customers with superior chemical tanker services that are creative, proactive and always client focused. We maintain the highest standards for safety and efficiency with our state-of-the-art, stainless steel fleet that travels to over 450 ports worldwide. We can carry 600+ grades of cargoes – if you need to move product we can transport it. We are known for expertly tailoring logistics solutions to our customers’ needs.
Houston Pilots is a voluntary association of 97 ship pilots providing pilotage services to vessels navigating the Houston Ship Channel. A leader in navigation safety and innovation since 1919, the Association’s goal is to safeguard the interests of the citizens of Harris County by ensuring the safe navigation of deep draft vessels transiting to the over 150 public and private docks along the 52 mile Houston Ship Channel. As exclusive agents commissioned by the Governor of the state of Texas, Houston Pilots oversaw over 20,000 safe vessel transits last year, moving more than 147 million metric tons of cargo and stimulating $178 billion in economic activity.
HudsonAnalytix is a US-based international business risk solutions company providing expertise and support to the world's leading commercial shipping, ports and terminals, oil and gas, finance, insurance, manufacturing, and government sectors. HudsonAnalytix provides risk management solutions to the maritime sector galvanized by more than 30 years’ experience. Our comprehensive services, global insight, and depth of experience enable our clients to meet their regulatory, commercial and operational needs efficiently, effectively, and profitably.
For more information, visit www.claymaitland.com/about/
Morgan Marketing & Communications is a client-based, retained marketing and communications firm committed to providing its clients with the highest quality professional marketing and communications services available. Our mission is to partner with our clients to meet their needs and exceed their goals.
Morgan Marketing & Communications services the commercial maritime industry. We will only accept clients in non-competing industry sectors (i.e. product tankers, crude, chemical, bulk, LNG/LPG, container, and passenger carriers, ports, shipbuilders, major manufacturers and service providers).
Scorpio Group is a global provider of marine transportation services. Scorpio Tankers Inc. and ENETI Inc. own product tankers and wind mill installation vessels respectively. Scorpio Services Holding provides services to Group companies and third parties including pooling and technical management. Scorpio has its principal offices in Monaco and New York.
SIEM Ship Management core values focus on being an environmental leader. We are investing in the latest generation green maritime technologies. Our unique new buildings, ocean trading PCTC vessels, LNG fuelled, which recently joined our fleet, proved that we are promoting positive environmental changes in shipping industry. Our business delivers a cost effective and reliable shipping service working in partnership with manufacturers of automobiles, heavy equipment, trucks, and project cargo. We are pioneering the environmental conservation movement of the shipping industry by reducing harmful emissions by use of our Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) fuelled vessels.
Viswa Group has been in existence since 1991. Viswa Group consists of Viswa Lab, Viswa Scrubbers, VEEMS and VTIC. Viswa Lab is a problem-solving lab focused on our customers. Viswa Scrubbers, an innovative scrubber provider to meet customer needs and IMO regulations. VEEMS, a center to integrate the large amount of data gathered from a lot of sources including the fleet, the engines, the hull, voyages, trim, which can be seen by the ship and by the office. VTIC, an organization focused on a wide range of testing and inspection.