Posidonia Brings the Brookes Bell Team to the Centre of Maritime

The biannual Posidonia event in Athens, Greece, remains the biggest event of the maritime calendar and the 2024 edition was no different.  More than 50,000 maritime professionals from over 80 countries converged in the Greek capital at the beginning of June, offering attendees the opportunity to meet clients, colleagues and friends at the heart of the Hellenic shipping community.

For Brookes Bell, the week-long event presented the chance to meet key clients and partners face-to-face and to highlight Brookes Bell’s services to the shipping and energy professionals who had travelled from all over the world to be at Posidonia.

“This year’s Posidonia provided a good opportunity for members of Brookes Bell to see clients we have worked with, are working with on ongoing cases, and reaching out to potential new partners making sure they are aware of Brookes Bell and the services we can offer,” said Conan O’Driscoll, Principal Marine Engineer. 

“It is important for us to show the team on the ground and not always behind emails.  Posidonia was the perfect chance to do that,” he added. 

Conan was joined in Athens by Alistair Roaf, Principal Master Mariner in Liverpool, and Karwei So, Managing Scientist in Hong Kong.

For all three members of the Brookes Bell team, their Posidonia agenda was packed with activities, from meetings with clients and social events with some of the biggest names in shipping, to sporting activities and award ceremonies. 

This included events with major P&I Clubs, such as Gard, UK P&I Club and West of England P&I Club, as well as major Flag States such as the Marshall Islands.  In addition, the team met with a number of leading maritime law firms and shipowners to discuss possible training for staff on matters that Brookes Bell regularly deal with, including fuel/bunkering issues, exhaust gas scrubber systems and cargo-related matters. 

Conan noted that meeting with clients throughout the week gave the team the opportunity to discuss ongoing case work, as well as understand what clients were experiencing and offer advice on ongoing issues affecting them and the wider maritime community.

“With Greece being home to so many of our clients, we used our time in Athens to engage with them and to ensure we keep offering support with their ongoing cases and reinforce our position as the leading multi-disciplinary technical and scientific consultancy to the maritime sector.”

With this year’s event being his first Posidonia, Conan reflected well on his experience.  “Posidonia was an incredibly busy but fulfilling event, not just for me but the wider Brookes Bell team.  Meeting clients in person and putting a face to a name is always key to building strong relationships with clients and we were able to do that with so many of our contacts in Greece,” he noted.