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Displaying items by tag: ESPO Reelect chairman

#EPSOchairman - Santiago Garcia-Milà has been unanimously elected for a second term as Chairman of the European Ports Organisation (ESPO) following a vote of the organisation's General Assembly held in Brussels this afternoon.

The General Assembly also elected Annaleena Mäkilä and Eamonn O'Reilly as Vice-Chairs.

Mr. O'Reilly, who serves as the Chief Executive of the Dublin Port Company, will now start a second term in the role. Ms. Mäkilä is currently Executive Director of the Finnish ports Association.

Santiago Garcia-Milà starts his second term as Chairman of ESPO, following his tenure for the years 2012-2014.

Upon his re-election, Mr Garcia-Milà said "the last two years were quite challenging for ESPO, both with a new port regulation proposal on the table and the development of a new TEN-T policy framework. On both topics, ESPO has succeeded, notwithstanding the diversity of its ports, in taking a solid position and work in a professional way with EU policy makers towards a better policy".

The work is not finished, he added. "I hope we can continue on this path, explain to EU policy makers how ports function, share our knowledge and our experience and convince Europe's decisions makers that Europe's ports work. I am happy to contribute to this work for two more years and would like to thank ESPO members for this vote of confidence".

Mr.Garcia-Milà is currently Deputy General Manager of the Port of Barcelona, in addition to being Vice-President of the International Association of Ports and Harbours (IAPH), the President of Barcelona's Port Community System, PortIC, Chief Executive Officer of tmZ, Zaragoza Inland Terminal and associate lecturer in International Marketing at the University of Barcelona.

The election of Mr. Garcia-Milà coincides with the publication of ESPO's Annual Report 2014, which outlines the activities of the organisation over the past year. A copy of the report can be downloaded HERE.

In addition, tonight will see the awarding of the sixth annual ESPO Award on Societal integration, as previously reported on Afloat.ie. The winner will be announced by Joao Aguiar Machado, Director General, DG MOVE, at a ceremony at the Albert Hall in Brussels.

The theme of this year's ESPO Award is 'Innovative Environmental projects'. The shortlisted candidates are the Ports of Huelva, Koper, Lisbon, Marseille and Rotterdam.

 

Published in Ports & Shipping

The Half Ton Class was created by the Offshore Racing Council for boats within the racing band not exceeding 22'-0". The ORC decided that the rule should "....permit the development of seaworthy offshore racing yachts...The Council will endeavour to protect the majority of the existing IOR fleet from rapid obsolescence caused by ....developments which produce increased performance without corresponding changes in ratings..."

When first introduced the IOR rule was perfectly adequate for rating boats in existence at that time. However yacht designers naturally examined the rule to seize upon any advantage they could find, the most noticeable of which has been a reduction in displacement and a return to fractional rigs.

After 1993, when the IOR Mk.III rule reached it termination due to lack of people building new boats, the rule was replaced by the CHS (Channel) Handicap system which in turn developed into the IRC system now used.

The IRC handicap system operates by a secret formula which tries to develop boats which are 'Cruising type' of relatively heavy boats with good internal accommodation. It tends to penalise boats with excessive stability or excessive sail area.

Competitions

The most significant events for the Half Ton Class has been the annual Half Ton Cup which was sailed under the IOR rules until 1993. More recently this has been replaced with the Half Ton Classics Cup. The venue of the event moved from continent to continent with over-representation on French or British ports. In later years the event is held biennially. Initially, it was proposed to hold events in Ireland, Britain and France by rotation. However, it was the Belgians who took the ball and ran with it. The Class is now managed from Belgium. 

At A Glance – Half Ton Classics Cup Winners

  • 2017 – Kinsale – Swuzzlebubble – Phil Plumtree – Farr 1977
  • 2016 – Falmouth – Swuzzlebubble – Greg Peck – Farr 1977
  • 2015 – Nieuwport – Checkmate XV – David Cullen – Humphreys 1985
  • 2014 – St Quay Portrieux – Swuzzlebubble – Peter Morton – Farr 1977
  • 2013 – Boulogne – Checkmate XV – Nigel Biggs – Humphreys 1985
  • 2011 – Cowes – Chimp – Michael Kershaw – Berret 1978
  • 2009 – Nieuwpoort – Général Tapioca – Philippe Pilate – Berret 1978
  • 2007 – Dun Laoghaire – Henri-Lloyd Harmony – Nigel Biggs – Humphreys 1980~
  • 2005 – Dinard – Gingko – Patrick Lobrichon – Mauric 1968
  • 2003 – Nieuwpoort – Général Tapioca – Philippe Pilate – Berret 1978

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