George Koumoutsakos is a regular member of the Greek Propeller Club

Yesterday, May 31, 2022, the New Democracy MP and former minister Mr. George Koumoutsakos was announced as a regular member of the Greek Propeller Club.

The event was attended by important figures of Greek shipping, such as Captain Pan. Tsakos, the shipowner G. Prokopiou, and the former G.G. of IMO Efthymios Mitropoulos, while the new American ambassador to Greece, Tz. Tsounis took over the role of honorary president of the Club, as provided by its statutes.

During his speech, Mr. Koumoutsakos referred to the Russian-Ukrainian war and its consequences, both at the political level and in the field of shipping.

More specifically, the MP and experienced diplomat stressed that this is a geographically limited conflict that, however, at a geopolitical, economic and energy level is taking on global proportions, while talking about the risk of a possible food crisis, emphasizing that an international redistribution of power, influence and interests.

At the same time, Mr. Koumoutsakos noted that “it is unclear when the war will end, with the military operations being prolonged, but even when it comes to an end, it will remain unclear what the new state of equilibrium will be the next day. “.

Speaking of the Atlantic Alliance, he referred to its enlargement, and in fact to countries with close proximity to Russia, such as Sweden and Finland, which quickly sought accession to it, abandoning many years of neutrality policies.

Regarding the European Union, George Koumoutsakos focused on the coherence shown by the EU throughout this period, which “instead of being divided over how to react to Russia, unanimously and in a short time, adopted a strict policy of sanctions and took decisions on energy independence from Russian gas and oil “.

At the same time, he described Europe as “obviously injured by the war” and stressed that it is called to face the following 3 + 1 serious consequences:

1. the energy since it must in a short time become independent from Russia with large and costly changes in the energy mix and the corresponding infrastructure.

2. The economic due to accuracy and inflation.

3. Refugees due to the wave of millions of desperate people fleeing war-torn Ukraine to seek refuge in the EU.

4. At the same time, for its security, Europe is obliged to dramatically increase its defense spending.

As for Russia, Mr. Koumoutsakos expressed the assessment that “for many years it will suffer a serious reduction in prestige, weight and influence it had on the international chessboard, but this does not mean that it will cease to be a viable force.” He went on to say, “Putin as an invader must be defeated. But Russia’s Russia can not and should not be excluded from international life. Any long-term marginalization will push her into the arms of China. “After the war, the challenge we have to face is to keep Russia closer to Europe and further away from China.”

The ND MP stressed that the world has changed in these hundred days, not only for international diplomacy, but also for international shipping. He spoke in support of the US Alliance, but said that maintaining some independence was not the answer.

At the same time, he noted that “the challenges extend to the safety of sailors”, stating that “we look forward to the end of the adventure of the two illegally occupied Greek-owned ships in the Persian Gulf”, while also referring to sailors who lost their lives in shipwrecks. in the Black Sea and in Ukrainian ports.

Closing his speech, George Koumoutsakos praised the unparalleled insight of Greek shipowners, who, in recent years, have already invested large sums in the construction of LNG tankers and today have the most modern fleet of such ships in the world, controlling almost 22 35% of the global liquefied natural gas (LNG) transport fleet, almost 14% of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and 32% of the global oil tanker fleet, which shows that Greek shipowners have a leading position in the global energy market.

Also, George Koumoutsakos stressed that “the Greek-owned fleet has the power to be an important helper in the transport of food and humanitarian aid, given that it accounts for 25% of the global fleet of bulk cargo.”

Before coming down from the podium, George Koumoutsakos took care once again to emphasize the need to create a chair of maritime science at the Academy of Athens, especially now that Greece excels in world shipping.