On our last full day of activities, we visited Vassiliko Cement Works and Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC). The first hour of the visit to the cement plant was a presentation that was disappointing and disengaging. While Vassiliko detailed the process of creating cement starting from the extraction of the limestone, it was overall a presentation that covered similar topics that other company visits did. However, some notable facts that were interesting was that Vassiliko is the largest heavy industry in Cyprus. Another interesting note related to supply chain is that for a works to be competitive, it needs to be located near a port along with a quarry. Therefore, since Vassiliko has all of its own ports and quarries on site, this minimizes costs and makes it cheaper and easier to transport the cement.

What made the visit to Vassiliko worthwhile was the tour around the facility. We put on the hard hats and neon vests as we got to see some of the aspects of the facility. While even the tour was short and somewhat lacking, we got to see their clinker ship loader, an enviornmentally friendly yet expensive way to load clinker (a cement ingredient). Overall, Vassiliko is a supplier and a suppliers supplier, allowing them to be a stable cement works. 

The highlight of the day and my favorite company of the entire trip was Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC). It only took the first few minutes for us to notice the staff had a much more positive attitude than the other company visits. There was a large panel of people, including the CEO of the company (Mr. Prabhat Jha) all with plenty of energy. The presentations were engaging and brought involvement from us as they presented aspects such as their ship tracking software for us to explore and understand. MSC is the number one shipping company in the world and also has the world’s largest container ship, the MSC Irina. 

After the presentations, we had the chance to eat and mingle before leaving. I asked one of the staff members about their long term future goals to be more sustainable just out of curiosity for the technology they might be developing. I received a detailed answer and put shortly, the company’s focus is on solving and combating the problems of today rather than those in thirty of fifty years. This was pleasantly surprising to me because almost all of the other companies we visited outlined focusing on the technology and problems for the future. The other companies implied that they were doing “quick fixes” to barely meet the standards and regulations set for them. During the presentations, the CEO did a great job of going into high detail about what sustainable measures they are taking today. This mission and attitude showed me the maritime and shipping industry is growing rapidly as it is being completely reformed. What used to be a traditional industry needs to find completely new ways to become more sustainable.