The Hellenic Marine Environment Protection Association or HELMEPA ( el, Ελληνική Ένωση Προστασίας Θαλασσίου Περιβάλλοντος) is Europe's first private sector voluntary

marine environment Marine habitats are habitats that support marine life. Marine life depends in some way on the saltwater that is in the sea (the term ''marine'' comes from the Latin ''mare'', meaning sea or ocean). A habitat is an ecological or environmental ...

protection association. Politicians and notable Greek business men like Andreas Dracopoulos,

Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou ( el, Στέλιος Χατζηιωάννου, translit=Stelios Hatziioannou; born 14 February 1967) is a Greek Cypriot entrepreneur. Born into a wealthy ship-owning family, he is best known for founding the low-cost ai ...

Stavros G. Livanos Stavros George Livanos ( el, Σταύρος Λιβανός; 1891– May 28, 1963), was a Greek shipowner, native of Chios, and the founder of the Livanos shipping empire. He was also a rival as well as father-in-law to billionaire Greek shipping ty ...

and Nikolas Tsakos actively support HELMEPA.

History

The organization was initiated by Greek seafarers and ship owners in 1982, to safeguard the seas from ship-generated pollution. The pioneering, at the time, voluntary commitment was undertaken in

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saronic ...

under the motto “To Save the Seas”. The organizational founders have consistently supported their initiative till date. Throughout the years, it has been awarded by Club

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

, the

Coastal & Marine Union (EUCC) Coastal & Marine Union (EUCC) is a nonprofit organization with a membership of around 500 institutions, NGOs and experts, in 40 countries. Its network at large involves about 2500 professionals involved in coastal and marine management issues. Fou ...

, the Hellenic Institute of Marine Technology,

Lloyd's List ''Lloyd's List'' is one of the world's oldest continuously running journals, having provided weekly shipping news in London as early as 1734. It was published daily until 2013 (when the final print issue, number 60,850, was published), and is ...

and many others for its efforts and services.

Mission

HELMEPA supports governments in ratifying and implementing international conventions on the protection of the marine environment. It aims to eliminate ship-generated

marine pollution Marine pollution occurs when substances used or spread by humans, such as industrial waste, industrial, agricultural pollution, agricultural and municipal solid waste, residential waste, particle (ecology), particles, noise, excess carbon dioxid ...

and enhance safety at sea. The Association trains seafarers and executives so that they are aware of safety and the protection of the marine environment". Some of the world’s largest cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean, register their vessels with HELMEPA.

Maritime Training Center

The Maritime Sector of HELMEPA, is certified by

Germanischer Lloyd The Germanischer Lloyd SE was a classification society based in the city of Hamburg, Germany. It ceased to exist as an independent entity in September 2013 as a result of its merger with Norway's DNV (Det Norske Veritas) to become DNV GL. Before ...

and

DNV GL DNV (formerly DNV GL) is an international accredited registrar and classification society headquartered in Høvik, Norway. The company currently has about 12,000 employees and 350 offices operating in more than 100 countries, and provides ser ...

, as a “Maritime Training Center for Pollution Prevention, Safety at Sea and Environmental Awareness”.

HELMERA Junior

HELMEPA has launched public awareness campaigns and several environmental projects for the environmental awareness and education of schoolchildren through HELMEPA Junior. Since 1993, the program gives the opportunity to over 7,000 children throughout Greece, to become voluntarily Members, and be informed on how to take action towards the protection of the marine environment. In 2007,

Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou is a Greek politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament from 1999 to 2014, and served as First Vice-President of the European Parliament from 2007 to 2009. She is the current Regional Governor of the ...

, the Vice Chairperson of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

, praised the efforts of the children of CYMEPA, HELMEPA and TURMEPA and awarded them with commemorative diplomas at a ceremony at the office of the European Parliament in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

Clean Islands

The special program aims to prevent pollution and protect the marine environment in islands by informing fishermen, local stakeholders and the wider public about the environmental effects of human carelessness. A protocol based on European and international standards, is used to record litter, in order to help improve scientific knowledge of garbage on coasts and the seabed of island regions in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

.‘Let’s Clean-up Europe’ Underway, Greek Volunteers Set Example
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References