London based P&I club Britannia said it has finalized plans to open its Greek office in Piraeus as part of an ongoing expansion of the club’s regional hub network.
The Greek office will be headed by David Harley who recently returned to the London office having established and worked for over five years as head of Britannia, Hong Kong. Harley will be assisted by newly appointed Konstantinos Samaritis, who joins from a Greek shipowner, having previously worked for both Standard and Skuld Clubs’ Greek operations. Britannia claims executives Denise Dellow and Vasilios Koukamakis will also relocate to Greece from London.
“As Greece is home to many of the world’s major shipowners, many of whom are Britannia members, it makes sense for us to have a base in the country. Opening a Britannia office in Greece will mean that we can enhance the personalised service to our current and future Greek Members,” said Andrew Cutler, CEO of Tindall Riley (Britannia) Ltd.
Greece now accounts for 10 percent of Britannia’s business with the Club recently welcoming Tsakos Energy and Ionic Holdings to the Members Representative Committee (MRC). Other key Greek members of the Club include, Atlantic Bulk Carriers, Neda Maritime Agencies, Diana Shipping, Olympic Shipping, Konkar, Star Bulk, Navios, Eastern Med, Minerva, Thenamaris, Sun Enterprises and ENESEL.
Britannia said it will soon open an office in Singapore, in addition to the upgrading of its presence in Japan and Hong Kong, as well as the recent opening of an exclusive Correspondent in Copenhagen.