Nikos Kakalis Appointed Managing Director of the Maritime Emissions Reduction Centre

Nikos Kakalis assumes leadership of the Maritime Emissions Reduction Centre (MERC). With many years of experience at Lloyd’s Register as Global Bulk Carriers Segment Director, he succeeds Stelios Korkodilos in leading the Athens-based non-profit industry collaboration.

MERC’s Mission and Objectives

The MERC was co-established by the Lloyd’s Register Maritime Decarbonization Hub and leading shipowners Capital Group, Navios Maritime Partners, Neda Maritime Agency, Star Bulk and Thenamaris (Ships Management) Inc., with enabling support from Lloyd’s Register. The center is focused on accelerating the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions of the global shipping fleet by identifying, validating and promoting technology and operational solutions that can deliver efficiency and scalable impact and ensure existing vessels contribute to global decarbonization efforts.

Since its inception, the MERC has developed its impact strategy around several research and development pillars, including optimizing hydrodynamic efficiency, benchmarking wind assisted propulsion solutions, exploring alternative auxiliary power generation, and scoping a data program to integrate technical and commercial use of performance data to drive emissions reduction optimization and benefit sharing.