Renewables Team

Mr. Blenk joined IRI in April 2017 as Safety & Technical Manager working out of the North Asia region. In December 2017, he opened the Busan, Republic of Korea regional office for IRI. For nearly 20 years prior to joining IRI, he was employed by the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) where he served in various survey, management, and global corporate positions in Asia, the Middle East, and the Americas. Mr. Blenk also served as a USCG Licensed Engineer on board US flagged merchant vessels. Mr. Blenk holds an Executive Education Degree from Harvard Business School, an M.B.A. from Rutgers Business School, The State University of New Jersey, and holds a B.S. in Marine Engineering from the United States Merchant Marine Academy.

Ms. Bouchard has nearly 30 years of experience in the maritime policy and regulatory fields. She joined IRI as Maritime Policy Advisor in the fall of 2008 and was promoted to Senior Vice President, Regulatory Administration in 2014. Prior to joining IRI, Ms. Bouchard co-founded The SEALAW Group, a maritime and environmental regulatory compliance firm providing services to oil majors, independent vessel operators, and clean-up contractors. Early in her career, Ms. Bouchard held the position of Policy Analyst and then Director of Vessel Operations and Maritime Initiatives for the Transportation Institute, a US based maritime trade association. Ms. Bouchard has served as a liaison between industry and government, including serving on various US state and federal negotiating committees to craft more favorable legislation and regulations for the shipping industry. Ms. Bouchard received her B.A. in Biology with Honors from Kenyon College and her M.A. in Marine Affairs with a concentration in Maritime Transportation from the University of Virginia. Ms. Bouchard is a member of WISTA.

Mr. Bozenovici joined IRI as Vice President, Technical – Offshore in April 2018. Based in Houston, Mr. Bozenovici oversees technical service and support for offshore vessels around the world. Prior to joining IRI, Mr. Bozenovici spent seven years with Noble Corporation, which owns and operates a technologically advanced fleet in the offshore drilling sector. As their Lead Naval Architect and Project Manager, Mr. Bozenovici’s team was responsible for engineering and project support of four new ultra-deepwater drillships and six latest generation jack-up units. Prior to working with Noble Corporation, he spent five years with American Bureau of Shipping in marine surveying and engineering roles. Mr. Bozenovici earned an M.B.A. from Temple University and a B.S. in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering from the University of New Orleans. He is a member of The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME).

Mr. Dias joined IRI in March 2007. He spent most of his seagoing career with Denholm Ship Management Ltd. serving on various vessel types trading worldwide, with multinational crew up to the rank of Chief Engineer. He moved to the position of Technical Superintendent and then Senior Superintendent with Denholm Ship Management Ltd. where he was responsible for the safe operation of various vessels. Mr. Dias was responsible for the technical management of the vessels, as well as investigating accidents and processing insurance claims. He has supervised over 30 dockings in Central and South America, Europe, and Asia including routine repairs, special surveys, life extensions, and modifications to various vessels. Mr. Dias has completed the ILO's course on the “training of trainers and maritime inspectors on the application of the ILO's MLC, 2006 at the ILO International Training Centre in Turin, Italy and he currently serves on the Committee of The Hong Kong Joint Branch of The Royal Institute of Naval Architects and The Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology. Mr. Dias is a registered Chartered Engineer with The Engineering Council, UK and was elected Fellow of The Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology in 1995. He holds a Marine Engineer Officer Certificate of Competency Extra First Class, from the Department of Transport UK.

Ms. Engel joined IRI’s Hamburg office in September 2016 as a Maritime Operations Assistant rising to a Flag State Inspector in January 2019. Drawing on over a decade of experience performing nautical inspections and internal International Safety Management (ISM) and International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code audits, Ms. Engel also engages with clients handling technical inquiries and liaising with Classification Societies, among other stakeholders. Ms. Engel began her career at sea working for Reederei Manfred Draxl on container vessels between 3,900 and 9,990 gross tons and then went onshore conducting nautical inspections and shipboard internal audits on both container and bulk vessels for Herm. Dauelsberg GmbH & Co. KG. In 2014, she became Hochtief Offshore’s Nautical Superintendent including the roles of the Designated Person Ashore and Company Security Officer and performed shipboard internal audits. She received her Master License in Nautical Sciences from the Centre of Maritime Studies in Bremen, Germany. She is a certified ISO 9001:2015, ISM, and ISPS auditor, and Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 inspector.

Mr. Georgs was hired as Office Manager of IRI’s Hamburg office in April 2008 and was appointed Regional Manager in December 2009. Prior to joining IRI, he apprenticed at Peter Döhle Schiffahrts-KG in Hamburg, which led to a position in their Containers Chartering / Operations department. Afterwards Mr. Georgs worked as a competitive broker with F.H. Bertling KG Hamburg, where he concentrated on bulk cargoes and time charter contracts. He later worked out of the company’s offices in Singapore, Tokyo, and Shanghai, concentrating on newbuildings and sale and purchase activities besides the chartering activities. Mr. Georgs holds an executive MBA in Shipping & Logistics (Blue MBA) from CBS Copenhagen Business School in Copenhagen, Denmark and is a fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (ICS) in London.

Mr. Kamitsis joined IRI's Piraeus office in March 2009 as Safety & Technical Manager. Before joining IRI, Mr. Kamitsis held various positions in the technical departments of Greek shipping companies, including Superintendent, Engineer, and Technical Manager. He was responsible for Class and statutory survey matters, third party inspections, defects/damages restoration, dry-docks, and proper implementation of safety and environmental goals. He received his Bachelor of Science Honors in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Sunderland and his B.S. Honors in Mechanical and Marine Engineering from Liverpool John Moores University, where he also completed his Master of Science in Design and Simulation of Mechanical Systems.

Mr. Krijger joined IRI in 2004 as a Nautical Inspector, was promoted to Technical Marine Manager in 2007, appointed Fleet Operations Manager in 2009, and General Manager in 2015. For 10 years prior to joining IRI, Mr. Krijger had been working in ship management as a superintendent for Vroon Shipping and later at a dredger company. Mr. Krijger graduated from the Maritime Institute,Vlissingen as a marine engineer and rose to the level of Chief Engineer after sailing a variety of ships including general cargo, tugboats, reefer and passenger ships.

Mr. Porter joined IRI’s Hong Kong office in December 2013 as Business Development Manager. He began his career in the banking industry, working on the Ship Finance team of the Bank of Ireland as a Relationship Manager for six years before moving on to various business development roles with Maritime Cook Islands, the Irish Maritime Development Office, and JLJ Maritime Hong Kong Ltd. Mr. Porter graduated from the University of Auckland with a Bachelor of Commerce, double majoring in Commercial Law and Business Management.