About the Expert

Captain Georgios Giannakouris is a Master Mariner Class A with more than 35 years of maritime experience, including extensive command experience on LPG carriers, crude oil tankers, VLCCs and MR2 tankers trading worldwide.

His seagoing career progressed from deck officer to Master, giving him direct operational exposure to navigation, oil tanker and LPG operations, cargo planning, cargo tank cleaning, loss control, custody transfer awareness, tanker safety, bridge team management, pilotage, port operations, emergency preparedness, inspections and commercial pressure at sea.

He has practical command-level experience in crude oil, product tanker and LPG cargo operations, including ship-shore interface, cargo quantity control, tank preparation, cargo compatibility, vapour management, operational precautions to reduce cargo loss, and the prevention or minimisation of in-transit losses.

Since transitioning ashore, he has served in senior marine, HSQE and Designated Person Ashore (DPA) functions, supporting fleet operations, vessel inspections, navigation audits, passage plan reviews, incident investigations, PSC / Flag / Class readiness and operational compliance oversight.

This combination of command experience and shore-based governance gives him a practical understanding of how operational decisions are made onboard, how records are created, and how evidence is later reviewed in claims, disputes, investigations and formal proceedings.

His technical focus includes operational causation, bridge team performance, navigation decision-making, tanker and LPG cargo operations, cargo loss prevention, SMS implementation, procedural compliance and evidence-based technical assessment.

Captain Giannakouris is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (ACIArb) through the ADR Pathway and continues professional development in maritime disputes, arbitration support and expert technical reporting.

His advisory work is grounded in practical seamanship, operational reality and structured evidence review.