After almost a whole year of not being able to meet due to the circumstances and challenges we are currently experiencing and facing, on the 6^th of April 2021, the Cyprus Marine Club organized its First Meeting in 2021 with its members at Epsilon, Limassol Marina, the Home of the Club. The President of Cyprus Marine Club, Capt. Eberhard Koch, welcomed the members with his opening speech and warmly announced the special guest, former Board Member of the Club, of the evening, Mr. Zacharias Siokouros, CEO of the Cyprus Marine & Maritime Institute (CMMI).

Mr. Zacharias Siokouros delivered a speech on the Cyprus Marine & Maritime Institute (CMMI), its Strategic Goals and Objectives, its Research & Innovation Centres and its current activities in the marine and maritime sectors. He specifically mentioned that:

“We have achieved to set up a Centre of Excellence that has a structure, vision, mission and values with a strong identity of a Research and Innovation Centre of Excellence that focuses on the marine and maritime sectors. Our vision is to drive sustainable blue growth and our mission is to be driven by the needs of the industry and society”.

His speech corroborated that Cyprus’ connection to the sea is fundamental to who we are, both as a nation and an economy. Cyprus has a proud maritime history and we must ensure that this continues into the long-term future. To achieve this, we must continue to act and proactively drive progress on both a regional and international level. In this context, CMMI aims to become a partner of choice for all relevant blue economy research and innovation activities at the local, regional, European and international level. His speech stimulated a vivid discussion among the members of the Club.

During the evening, Capt. Eberhard Koch proudly presented the Club’s new product for its members – the Mobile Application “CMC”. This was the successful result of hard work during the last 6 months. The application will improve communication between members, speed up the process of exchanging messages and up-to-date information and manage payments remotely. The Head of the project Nikolay Esin (“W.L.Shipping”) and administrator, Elvira Ribas, made short speeches, presented the application and offered members the opportunity to download the application during the event on their mobiles. The Club members showed great interest in the application, which solves communication issues during these difficult times we are experiencing.

After the presentation of the application, all guests were invited to raise any questions and a rich buffet was offered at the Home of Marine Club, Epsilon.