Maria Kouboura is a Senior Technical Adviser in the Department of International/EU Affairs of the Union of Greek Shipowners (UGS). With 20 years of experience in the maritime industry, she has developed an extensive knowledge of shipbuilding and plan approval processes, newbuilding specification reviews and negotiations. Through her previous employment at the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST), she dealt with engineering and technology projects on energy efficiency and acted as the Head of Delegation at the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Committees and Sub-committees. In her latest appointment to the Department of International/EU Affairs of the Union of Greek Shipowners, Maria continues to build on her experience of working at an international level in the field of energy efficiency, sustainability, air pollution and decarbonisation.
Since she joined UGS, Maria has been actively participating in the work of the ICS Marine Committee and Construction & Equipment Sub-committee and has been a member of the Energy Efficiency Panel since its establishment (previously named the Short-term Measures Working Group). She also participates in the IMO working groups on air pollution and the reduction of GHG emissions from ships, promoting sustainability in the maritime sector, and in the safety of alternative fuels and new technologies. She has been contributing with her expertise to the work of the European Community of Shipowners’ Association (ECSA), the European Sustainable Shipping Forum (ESSF) on Sustainable Alternative Power for Ships and the Renewable and Low-Carbon Fuels (RLCF) Initiative, among other groups.
Maria holds a B. Eng and MSc. on Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) and an MSc. on Maritime Studies from the University of Piraeus. She is also a Chartered Marine Engineer.