John Kokarakis
Technical Director, SEEBA Zone 
Bureau Veritas


Dr. Kokarakis a 1979 graduate of National Technical University of Athens, holds PhD (1986) and Masters degrees in Naval Architecture (1983) and Mechanical Engineering (1984) from the University of Michigan. His doctoral dissertation was in the area of deep-water drilling and the study of nonlinear riser dynamics.

He worked in the USA as a consultant undertaking technical problems worldwide. His specialization was in the area of technical investigation of marine accidents. In that capacity he participated in the technical investigation of the grounding of Exxon Valdez, the explosion of Space Shuttle Challenger, the capsize of drillship Sea-Crest, the fire and explosion of Piper Alpha platform, the foundering of Aleutian Enterprise in Alaska as well as many other accidents of less notoriety. For over twenty years, he works in Greece, in the area of classification. He is currently the Technical Director of Bureau Veritas in the South East Europe, Black Sea & Adriatic Zone. In his duties Dr. Kokarakis is responsible for the smooth technical operation in the Zone. He is a member of SNAME since 1976 and a Fellow of the Society. He is the Chairman of the Greek Section since 2014.