German Press: Greek shipowners and Russian oil

FAZ is mentioned in the lucrative contracts of Greek shipowners for the transport of Russian oil. Central bankers’ estimates of inflation in Handelsblatt.

Her extensive reporting Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) in Athens begins by describing the difficulties of the German journalist in obtaining official information, for example from the Angelikousis group. As the publication states, “in the seas of the world, Greece’s largest shipping group is in its element. Every day it crosses the oceans with 150 huge tankers. But at the same time, it wants to avoid any publicity. Phone calls from journalists do not bring results, e-mails emails go unanswered, while not a single visit in person is useful. At the reception, the staff of a private security company invites the visitor, in a polite but clear manner, to leave. The same applies to the Union of Greek Shipowners. Journalists’ questions are unsolicited . The Greek shipowners ‘live happily because they live in secret’ as a French proverb says”.

Following these, the German journalist resorts to the experts’ assessments. “Russian oil is the core of the trade conducted by Greek shipowners and they will keep it as long as possible, says analyst Maria Bergeletou. This does not change even with the appeals of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who last week participated via video conference in economic conference near Athens. The (American) house S & P Global estimates that in recent weeks 51% of Russian oil is transported by Greek shipowners, 19% by Russian tankers and 6% by Chinese.”

1.6 million euros for one “small“ load

As the Frankfurt paper goes on to say: “Shipbrokers estimate to Bloomberg that to transport a cargo of crude oil from the Russian terminal of Kosmino, east of Vladivostok, to China, a smaller ship can earn $1.6 million , i.e. three times the pre-war prices. Some suppliers, such as Angelikousis, are refraining from these transactions, according to what they themselves announced in February, in order not to tarnish their name. Others, such as Greek shipbuilding groups Avin International Ltd. and Estoril Navigation Ltd., participate”.

“Avin belongs to one of the largest industrial groups in Greece, the Vardinogiannis family business, which is mainly active in refineries. However, according to the industry magazine Lloyd’s List, today the largest Greek transporter of Russian oil is the billionaire Giorgos Oikonomou with the shipping company company TMS Tankers. In the last two months it is said to have had 25 sailings. Only the Russian group Sovcomflot has more. Economou is followed by Thenamaris Ships Management of Greek businessman Konstantinos Martinos. According to Lloyd’s List between May and June Greek shipowners have increased Russian oil shipments by 41% So today Russia exports about the same amount of crude oil as it did before the invasion of Ukraine.

The ECB, interest rates and exchange rates

The financial audit Handelsblatt refers to the estimates of three central bankers at a recent economic conference in Athens. This is the governor of the Bank of Greece, Yannis Stournara, his Cypriot counterpart, Konstantinos Herodotou, as well as the Portuguese Mario Sentenos. Handelsblatt notes Mr. Herodotos’ assessment that the European Central Bank (ECB) does not focus on the exchange rate (s.b. obviously meaning the fluctuation of the euro against the dollar). “‘What the ECB mainly calculates is the effects of exchange rate volatility on inflation,’ Herodotos said. ‘The rise in inflation, for the most part, is due to energy and not exchange rate volatility.'” In June, eurozone inflation reached to a record rate of 8.6%, intensifying pressure on the ECB. In fact, energy prices rose by 41.9% compared to the previous year. The euro recently fell to twenty-year lows (against the dollar) and is getting closer and more the absolute parity”.

In addition, the Dusseldorf newspaper notes the optimism of Yiannis Stournaras that “the ECB will agree to a mechanism that will limit the unwanted rise in spreads” in the eurozone periphery. As mentioned in the publication, “the ECB has already announced a new tool, with which it will prevent the unwanted widening of spreads. In this context, the Frankfurt Bank speaks of ‘mitigating fragmentation episodes’. It justifies the project by saying that the monetary policy should have the same effect, the same effectiveness for everyone who participates in the eurozone”.

Giannis Papadimitriou

SOURCE: Deutsche Welle