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MELINA TRAVLOS: Greece. Frankly, I would add that the brain mal period of gaining experience until ping. Therefore, immediate interventions
“OUR SHIPPING INDUSTRY NEEDS of global shipping is here as well. We have 2026, we are taking advantage of it.” are needed before the situation becomes
A UNIFIED VOICE.” sent a resounding message in every direc- As far as the EU ETS is concerned, the UGS irreversible.”
On Wednesday, 8 February, the Annual tion,” said Ms Travlos. president noted that the recognition of the
Ordinary General Assembly of the Union of Ms Travlos also referred to the contribution responsibility of commercial operators is a A NEW PAGE IN THE REGULATORY
Greek Shipowners took place in a packed of shipping to the national economy, under- significant success, but the challenges of its FRAMEWORK OF GREEK SHIPPING
hall at the Eugenides Foundation. Once lining that Greece’s revenues from shipping implementation remain. The new Code of Private Maritime Law was
again, the Union's board of directors out- foreign exchange reached 20 billion euros The position of the president regarding the adopted by the Plenary of the Parliament
lined the shipping industry’s short and long- in 2022 and has historically created hun- transition of shipping to a green era was clear: on Thursday, 9 February, with the Minis-
term priorities, challenges, and prospects. dreds of thousands of jobs. Furthermore, “Greek shipping is committed to the green ter of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy
The priorities and challenges of the most she made extensive reference to the inter- shipping goal but has set two non-negotia- Giannis Plakiotakis expressing his total
important institutional and collective body national shipping environment: ble parameters: Firstly, there needs to be a satisfaction, stressing that “the new Code,
representing Greek ocean-going shipping “We have been following the international synergy of all parties involved in the mari- which was changed after 65 years, brings
in this period of international economic public debate on reducing greenhouse time activity chain, such as energy produc- the regulatory framework of shipping into
uncertainty and geopolitical turbulence gas emissions and working to reach an ers, engine manufacturers, and shipyards. the 21st century”.
are numerous and of vital importance. Ms agreement to revise the IMO strategy And secondly, and most importantly, the As Mr Plakiotakis pointed out from the
Melina Travlos spoke matter-of-factly and and choose realistic medium-term mea- safety of seafarers and ships must be guar- Parliament podium, the new Code of Pri-
clearly about her strategic aspirations as sures. At the same time, we support the anteed.” vate Maritime Law “is worthy of the dynam-
president but mainly underlined the collec- International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) Concluding on the central issues that ics of Greek shipping and creates, if not
tive priorities of UGS. She also emphasised proposal for the adoption in the IMO of a preoccupied UGS last year, Mrs Travlos the most innovative operating framework
the need for shipping to be represented by global financial measure based on a con- referred to a matter of the highest priority for a complex and special industry such as
a single, dynamic voice in Greece and inter- tribution system (levy) per ton of carbon for Greek-owned shipping, i.e., the protec- shipping, then certainly one of the most
national fora. dioxide emissions. Regarding the imple- tion of the seafaring profession and the modern worldwide”.
“Our supremacy in the seas is unquestion- mentation of the Carbon Intensity Indica- enhancement of the national registry. Mr Plakiotakis thanked Mrs Lia Athana-
able, as is our historical adaptability to tor (the well-known CII) from 1 January, we “Our competitive advantage is our people siou, Professor of Law, President of the
any new order of things. For me, this is due have said from the beginning that it needs working on our ships and in our compa- Legislative Committee, and all its mem-
to our unity, our individual and collective to be revised. We warned early on, along nies. Therefore, the further development bers, who worked without any remunera-
potential and, of course, our long-stand- with international shipping organisations, of our shipping sector requires suffi- tion under challenging conditions due to
ing expertise. Our superiority is universally that compliance with the CII would present ciently trained and well-qualified human the pandemic and finally delivered a legal
acknowledged. At the Posidonia Exhibition, weaknesses. Here, too, we had a positive resources. However, it is disappointing operating framework for shipping that
I heard from the foreign delegations that outcome: non-compliance will not have a that Greek seamanship is not developing incorporates every aspect of modern ship-
the heart of world shipping beats here, in punitive character, and as we have an infor- at the same rate as the rest of Greek ship- ping activity.

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