ABS Strengthens Greek Presence with Key Appointments

ABS has further strengthened its commanding presence in Greece with the announcement of two senior managerial appointments. Dimitri Kostaras has been named to the newly created position of Director of Technology & Business Development for Eastern Europe. He will be located in the ABS office in Piraeus and report to ABS Europe Regional Vice President Dimitri Houliarakis. The 10 year ABS staff member is well known to the Greek and international shipping community from his previous activities as Manager Engineering for the ABS Europe Eastern Region and from previous appointments in Busan, Korea, working on newbuilding contracts. “ABS has maintained a very close relationship with the expanding Greek shipowning community for more than 50 years,” says Houliarakis. “More than 20 percent of our entire fleet is controlled by Greek interests and nearly 40 percent of all newbuildings contracted by Greek owners is to ABS class.” ABS was the first non-national classification society to establish a technical office in Greece to provide more immediate service to Greek shipowners. “This appointment significantly strengthens our ability to provide responsive, sophisticated technical advice to these clients as they evaluate new designs and assess the impact of new regulations,” Houliarakis adds. Kostaras holds both a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) degree from Athens University and a Masters in Engineering degree in the field of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering. Dimitrios Yamolas has been appointed Manager Engineering in the ABS Piraeus office. Yomolas makes the move to Greece from Busan, Korea, having served as a principal engineer in the ABS engineering office serving the leading Korean shipyards. “This first hand experience of current shipyard activity, including his close working relationships with the design offices of the major Korean shipyards, will be of tremendous benefit to our Greek clients who are considering newbuilding orders,” says Houliarakis. Yamolas has both a Masters in Mechanical Engineering degree from the National Technical University in Athens as well as a Masters in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering. “Service delivery to our clients has always been a differentiating factor in the success of ABS in the Greek market,” Houliarakis adds. “The very high percentage of all new tonnage on order for Greek owners to ABS class, reflects the superior level of technical expertise and responsive service that has been provided by our experienced engineering team in Piraeus. These two new appointments build on that technical competence and will further enhance our service delivery.”