‘Greek navy has not broken any embargo’

Her Anastasia Vamvaka

President Melina Travlou sent a message of condemnation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine but also of support for the Greek navy in the full-length press conference she gave together with the Presidency of the Hellenic Shipowners’ Association in the context of the International Exhibition of Poseidonia 2022.

“As the most powerful shipping on the planet, owning more than 30% of the tanker and LNG carrier and around 80% of the European fleet, we are the subject of good or bad criticism. “But from Russia to Ukraine, but at the same time we can not comment on any legal business. Because the Greek navy is not doing anything illegal, it is not breaking an embargo. for the transport of Russian oil from Greek-owned ships.

As Ms. Travlou clarified, the European Commission does not investigate the tax system for shipping. “No formal investigation has been opened by the Competition Commission for Greek shipping. Greek Shipping and the State have signed a joint agreement which is in force and state law. There were some clarifying questions. The Competition Commission needed some answers which were given. from the Greek State and we do not have any concerns “he said characteristically

Priorities

“Our priority as the Hellenic Shipowners’ Association is to defend the interests of the Greek shipping industry and to prevent the wrong texts,” said Mr. Travlou, answering a question.

“In our mandate is for the world to understand at national, European and global level the importance of shipping not Greek but shipping in general in our lives. Shipping is not a business sector. It is a strategic partner in countries, in international organizations Therefore, the importance of our shipping is not clear, we need to correct this, at European level we want Europe to understand how strategically important Greek shipping is, which controls over 50% of the European fleet, and especially now with the problem it has “Europe understands the need for its energy dependence. Shipping will play a big and crucial role. After the recent meeting with the Transport Commissioner, this has begun to be understood.”

Persian Gulf

Particularly strong, once again, was the President’s speech on the need to condemn the occupation of Greek-owned tankers in Iran.

“We can not criticize the government’s actions. They have more knowledge. Diplomatic moves are being made. Many things are being done silently without us realizing it. We condemn, like all international organizations, the Iranian act of seizing our ships. It is completely illegal. “An act that reaches the limits of piracy and even by a state. It is not a Greek issue but an international one. We hope it will not be repeated.”

Green transition

The President of the EUSR, disagreed with the political will of the European Commission to impose regional measures affecting the competition of European shipping and supported the adoption of measures of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). He emphasized that the solutions for carbonation must be practical and sustainable, taking into account the competitive advantage of shipping.

“The actions we take are multifaceted. As the Hellenic Shipowners’ Association, we are present in all organizations, whether European or international, and we always try to help them formulate the right policies. Now Europe insists on Fit55 measures and we as a shipping company insist that the solution What we are trying to explain to Europe is that decisions must be guided by the competitiveness of European Shipping, so when it takes action that only concerns Europe, all they are doing is actually hitting the European Shipping competitiveness and competition does not come from Europe Competition comes from the East as we all know and it would be good to be careful about how we handle European shipping.

“Any new fuel has a cost, this cost necessarily, we must all know that it is ultimately passed on to the final consumer. Greek shipowners support carbonation. The questions that need to be answered is what is feasible, sustainable and safe.”

Mr. Fafalios also took the floor, adding that “if the fuel actually existed today, we would have already used it yesterday. There is a great will of the Greek shipping not only for carbonization but also for the improvement of the existing fleet”.

Support for Public Maritime Education

Regarding the attraction of young people in the maritime profession, the President said that “the main goal is the consolidation of maritime education. Together with the Eugenides Foundation, we have submitted a holistic study on maritime education that is moving in this direction. I think beyond “The Ministry of Shipping and the Ministry of Education should be involved. We are proud of Greek shipping and we want to continue the efforts to integrate more and more children into the profession. We will certainly continue to actively support the naval academies.”

Answering another question, he noted that “We do not want our sailors to decrease. Every year children enter the Naval Academies, who graduate and who do not face unemployment in the naval profession. And we are anxious that as the number of Greek-owned ships increases, so do the Greeks. sailors in them .. That is why the state and we must intensify our efforts so that our sailors’ education system and our schools are consolidated to become more modern so that more ships have more children “.