On Friday, January 13, 2022, approximately 160 guests gathered at the Parklane Luxury Collection and Spa to celebrate the New Year’s Gala of Cyprus Marine Club.

Among the guests, Cyprus Marine Club was honoured by the presence of Deputy Minister of Shipping to the President – Mr. Vassilios Demetriades  and  Permanent Secretary of  the Shipping Deputy Ministry  – Mrs. Eliana Charalambou Tanou as well as the evening’s special guest, President of WISTA HELLAS and newly elected President of WISTA International, Mrs. Elpi Petraki.

In their short, opening speeches to Guests, President, Capt. Eberhard Koch and the Secretary General, Mrs. Julia Paczkowska, welcomed all warmly with New Year’s wishes and thanked Gala Sponsors: Island Oil Holdings and Oesterreichischer Lloyd Seereederei (Cyprus) Ltd. for their generous support.  The President also thanked all annual sponsors for renewing their offers of support to the club for the coming year.

The Minister delighted guests with a personal note of welcome, underlining the importance of Cyprus Marine Club as an invaluable contributor to the promotion of the shipping industry and for excellence as a networking opportunity.

The guest speaker, Mrs Elpi Petraki, was elected president of the Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association (WISTA International) in October 2022, replacing Mrs. Despina Theodossiou who held the post for an impressive five years. Mrs. Petraki is also President of WISTA Hellas, Second Vice President of the Hellenic Short Sea Shipowners Association, and Chartering, Operations and Business Development Manager at ENEA Management in Greece.  In her speech, Mrs Petraki highlighted the way WISTA International is promoting diversity and inclusion in maritime, going on to stress the need for greater collaboration between industry stakeholders, and the sharing of knowledge and experience as the basis for addressing maritime challenges and creating a more sustainable future. Given that it would be the next generation which curated shipping’s future, it was also vital that the industry prepared by prioritising strategies to recruit and retain the most talented personnel, Mrs Petraki added.

The ballroom  of the hotel was beautifully decorated, and guests could enjoy not only a splendid menu but also a magician,  saxophonist and singer and later in the evening some exquisite singing  performances by guests.

The Cyprus Marine Club is a non-profit organization that embraces and encourages a plethora of maritime industry stakeholders for friendly membership. Ship Owners, Ship Managers, Crew Managers, Service Providers & Suppliers, Agents, Terminal Operators, Legal and Financial and more, come together with a focused effort to promote and celebrate the Cyprus maritime industry and share experiences.