5,360 HELMEPA volunteers cleaned 130 km of coastline

Record of cleanups for HELMEPA, which in just two and a half months coordinated 196 cleanups all over Greece, covering 130 km of coastline, with the voluntary and active participation of 5,360 citizens.

With the aim to optimize the preparation of Seafarers and Vessels for PSC inspections in US ports, as well as to further enhance safety, pollution prevention and sustainability, representatives of managing companies-members of HELMEPA addressed their questions directly to Rear Admiral John W. Mauger, Assistant Commandant for Prevention Policy of the US Coast Guard.

Leadership on safety and environmental issues, soft skills, as well as compliance with environmental regulations during PSC inspections and risk management emerged as the most important training topics for seafarers and managing companies’ staff from a targeted participatory survey conducted by the Hellenic Marine Environment Protection Association - HELMEPA among its members within the shipping community.

HELMEPA endorses the educational program “Adopt a Ship” that builds awareness about the Seafarers’ life at Sea and influences young people to seek careers in the Shipping Industry at Shore and at Sea. To date, 1400 schoolchildren throughout Greece have learned about seafarers’ life with the support of 57 vessels from 24 Greek shipping companies. The program is implemented in Greece by PROJECT CONNECT.

The Hellenic Marine Environment Protection Association – HELMEPA has joined the Getting to Zero Coalition to further support the maritime industry with decarbonization efforts.

Every year we produce more than 350 million tons of plastic (approx. equal to the total weight of people on earth!). Most of the litter items that end up in the seas are single-use plastics and, if we continue to pollute at the same rate, it is estimated that by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in our oceans.

Incident and near miss reporting in the development of safety is recognized in many high-risk industries, including shipping.