Greenwashing or green giant? Demystifying decarbonisation in the maritime industry

Andreas Chrysostomou FIMarEST

Executive Director, Clean Shipping Alliance

With a background in Naval Architecture and Shipbuilding, Andreas Chrysostomou has contributed immensely to the various aspects of the shipping industry throughout his career, ranging from safety and security to the protection of the marine environment. He has served as Chairman of the Design and Equipment Subcommittee of the International Maritime Organisation and for the decade 2003-2013 has served as Chairman of the organisation’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC). Beyond his work with the IMO, Andreas has also worked with other UN agencies such as the International Mobile Satellite Organisation where he was elected Chairman of its Assembly twice consecutively. Furthermore, he served as member of the Board of Governors of the World Maritime University and he is one of the Past Presidents of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science & Technology.

Nakul Malhortra FIMarEST, FRINA, FNI, FCILT

Vice President - Emerging Opportunities Portfolio, Wilhelmsen

As Vice President for the Emerging Opportunities Portfolio, Nakul is deeply engaged in the company’s corporate venturing endeavours across the venturing spectrum. This includes internal venture building, external innovation partnerships and venture capital investments in early-stage maritime startups. He is an avid proponent of bridging industry domain expertise with new age technology capabilities.

Nakul advocates an Open Innovation philosophy to solve the big maritime challenges by leveraging a deep sense of eco-system thinking and the ability to collaborate with permeable organisational boundaries through equity and non-equity structures.

With an industry involvement of almost 30 years, Nakul combines a wealth of international maritime commercial, operations and management experience, with qualifications in marine engineering, business management and direct seafaring experience.

He is active in the maritime VC space, serves on a number of boards and advisory boards for maritime start-ups and mentor in several incubators and accelerators globally in the maritime domain. In addition he is a Fellow of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science & Technology, Royal Institution of Naval Architects, Nautical Institute, Institute of Marine Engineers (India), Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Logistics and Transport; a member of the Digital Transformation Committee of the Singapore Shipping Association, Maritime Innovation Committee of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects, Investment Committee member for the Maritime Port Authority of Singapore MINT Fund and a keen commentator on maritime innovation and digitalisation.

Alexander Walster CMarTech MIMarEST

Head of ESG, Navigator Gas

Alex is an ESG professional working in London. He has just over 20 years of experience in the maritime industry, including several years at sea as a deck officer. Having worked with several ship owners and managers around Europe, he is an experienced maritime professional and an expert in occupational health and safety, risk management, ESG and sustainability.  

Alongside his day job, Alex is a postgraduate research student working on his doctorate in ESG communication. He has successfully completed two master’s degrees, a diploma in occupational health and safety and a diploma in business continuity management. Alex is a Chartered member of IOSH, a Chartered Marine Technologist, a Chartered Environmentalist, and a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations.

Mike Watt CEng., CMarEng., FIMarEST

Director - Innovation Centre of Alternatives & Renewable Energy (iCARE), Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore

Mike Watt is the Director of the Innovation Centre of Alternatives & Renewable Energy (iCARE) at Bureau Veritas Marine and Offshore, formulating partnerships and providing clients with a bespoke end to end service supporting and advising them on their decarbonization journey focusing on innovative technologies, digitalization, alternate fuels and renewable energy.  

He is the Chairman of the Joint Branch of RINA & IMarEST (Singapore), Chartered Marine Engineer and Fellow of IMarEST. He has over Twenty-Five years of experience in the Marine Industry in various roles with Chemical and Oil Majors, Ship Management/Ownership and Classification Society. These positions throughout his career have included seagoing roles, new build construction, technical superintendency and business and project development.

He holds a Master of Science in Engineering for Marine Professionals and MBA from the University of Plymouth and is a Chartered Engineer with the British Engineering Council.