The Hellenic Marine Environment Protection Association or HELMEPA () is Europe's first private sector voluntary

marine environment A marine habitat is a habitat that supports 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 environmen ...

protection association. Politicians and notable Greek business men like Andreas Dracopoulos, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou,

Stavros G. Livanos Stavros George Livanos (; 1887 or 1890 – May 28, 1963), was a Greeks, Greek shipowner, native of the northern Aegean Sea island of Chios, and the founder of the Livanos shipping empire. He was also a rival as well as father-in-law to billionaire ...

and

Nikolas Tsakos Nikolas Tsakos (; born 1963) is a Greek shipowner. He is the Founder, President and CEO of Tsakos Energy Navigation (TEN) Limited, a pioneering company which is the longest established Greek shipping public listing. He was the former chairman of t ...

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 ( ; ; , Ancient: , Katharevousa: ) 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 Gulf in the Ath ...

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 (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

, the

Coastal & Marine Union (EUCC) Coastal & Marine Union (EUCC) is a nonprofit organization. It was founded in 1989 with the aim of promoting coastal management. In Europe, it had 13 national branches. EUCC's working area is Europe and its neighbouring regions, especially the Bl ...

, 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 i ...

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 dioxi ...

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 was a classification society based in 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 the merger, as a technical sup ...

and

DNV GL Det Norske Veritas (DNV), formerly DNV GL, is an international accredited registrar and classification society headquartered in Høvik, Norway. DNV provides services for several industries, including maritime, oil and gas, renewable energy, ...

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

HELMEPA 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 Greece, Greek politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament from 1999 to 2014, and served as Vice-President of the European Parliament, First Vice-President of the European Parliament from 2007 to 2 ...

, the Vice Chairperson of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two 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 ...

, 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 ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

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, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

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