“It’s a tight schedule,” says Andreas Zikos of Cosmatos Shipping Services
Have you ever looked at a position and decided to skip applying for the job due to a lack of experience? Have you second-guessed your decision? Second-guessing his decision is what brought Andreas Zikos into the industry. Now a Boarding officer for Cosmatos Shipping Services, Zikos works around the clock on a tight schedule.
A day could start by boarding a vessel in the early morning, taking care of its documentation and vessel’s clearance, submitting documentation for announcing the vessel’s arrival to the coast guard/customs/port authorities and proceeding vessel’s departure clearance.
“Basically what I do is the documentation for announcing a vessel’s arrival to the coast guard/customs/port authorities, vessel’s clearance, keeping up to date as required all parties about vessel’s arrival/departure/procedures or problems that may occur, preparing a list of services, taking care of husbandry issues such as crew changes, passengers’ embarkations/disembarkations on merchant’s vessels, entry permit formalities, medical visits, customs procedures for spare parts offloading/supply and informing all parties accordingly to avoid delays or problems that may occur.
A hesitant start
Having studied marine science, and holding a certificate of competency as a second officer on any type of vessel, Zikos is currently about to finish his master’s degree in business administration. His entrance into the industry was a hesitant one.
“Actually it all happened really fast! I was checking job positions online when I found this one. I was about to apply when I actually decided not to because a sufficient experience in the position was needed which I didn’t have. A few minutes later I thought that I should give it a shot. Worst case scenario I would be rejected and go on. So I
went ahead, and a few minutes later I received a call. After a couple of days, I was already started in my current
job position,” said Zikos.
Being part of the younger generation
Zikos could be considered part of the younger generation in the industry and is expecting the future to be paperless with all being done electronically. “We live in 2023 where everything can be done electronically using online authenticators, QR codes, smart technologies, AI, etc. A global database could be created allowing real-time information to be seen by all authorities,” Zikos said.
Keeping the younger generation around and bringing even more in, according to Zikos would not only need financial stability but also recognition for their work. “Youths are now looking more into job satisfaction from other factors; they want to be recognized, to feel appreciated, to know that their opinions matter, and to have a varied role/environment as doing the same thing repetitively can lead to boredom and being less inefficient,” he said.
Read also:
