ZeroNorth Greece: Supporting Greek Shipping with Digitalisation and Decarbonisation

Athens, Greece, 18 February 2021

ZeroNorth’s newly opened Greek office will allow us to support owners and operators in one of shipping’s key markets

ZeroNorth is expanding overseas with the addition of a new office to our operations, in Piraeus, Greece.

The new office is an important step in ZeroNorth’s journey to digitalise shipping for the climate. Unlocking operations in this key market will allow Greek ship operators and owners to have first-hand experience of our vessel optimisation software, Optimise, enabling them to enhance vessel performance, increase TCE earnings and reduce CO2 emissions.

The news comes as we celebrate our first anniversary as an organisation, in a year where we all saw remarkable change, challenges and growth in digital solutions across shipping.

Key maritime market

Boasting the world’s largest national fleet, the Greek market has long played a vital role in shaping the industry’s onward trajectory. The unique needs and characteristics of such an influential maritime market made having a Greek presence a clear next step for ZeroNorth.

“This move means that we can work closely with Greek tramp shipping market leaders to explore how Optimise can generate increased revenue and reduced emissions,” said our CEO, Søren Meyer. “I am confident that Greece’s vibrant and close-knit maritime community will immediately understand our vision of digitalising shipping for the climate and join us in our efforts to create more economically and environmentally sustainable operations.”

Recent evaluations of the shipping market estimated that the Greek fleet is worth of US$100bn. This, combined with the market presence of Greek shipping leaders, proves how integral the nation is to the maritime economy, and also highlights the leadership role that Greek owners can take on digitalisation and decarbonisation.

Increasing accessibility and availability to Optimise

The office is headed by Panayotis Bachtis, General Manager for ZeroNorth Greece. Panayotis has deep roots in shipping and has a wealth of experience and knowledge in the industry — from technical and commercial, to operational.

Indeed, for the greater part of his career, Panayotis has worked closely with Greek shipping companies providing solutions to optimise bunker procurement and mitigate the risk from oil price fluctuations, becoming an expert in the planning and execution of fuel management strategies.

Speaking about the new office with ZeroNorth’s Sales Director, Joachim Gerlach, Panayotis highlighted that Greek shipping – and Greek industry in general was embracing digitalisation in greater force: “Greek companies are embracing technology with increasing pace, and some companies are true pioneers in performance optimisation and the journey towards a sustainable future. Of course, there is always room for improvement, and the time to implement change, if Greek shipping is to meet IMO 2030 and 2050 decarbonisation targets is now.”

“By having a local office, we can be close to our Greek clients and support their efforts to digitalise, as well as offer actionable insights to optimise their operations and to profitably decarbonise.”

Panayotis finished the conversation by extending a welcoming hand to the Greek market. “Tramp shipping is a large part of the Greek market, and we are very excited to explain how Optimise can support Greek owners in their journey to becoming digitalisation and decarbonisation leaders.”