Vassilis Kikilias warns of uncertainty due to the Gulf of Persia crisis, while shipping holds steady amid growing shipping pressures.
In a highly volatile international environment that is testing the resilience of shipping, Vassilis Kikilias sends a signal of caution about developments in the Persian Gulf, as the governmenttries to contain ferry ticket prices ahead of the winter season; geopolitical tensions, increased energy costs and the pressures in the international supply chain are forming a composite scenery of uncertainty, with direct impact both on the operation of Greek ships and on the daily lives of passengers and businesses, while at the same time the challenges of decarbonisation and the need to attract young people to the maritime profession are emerging.
So far, ferry tickets remain at last year’s levels, Minister of Shipping Vassilis Kikilias told the 11th Delphi Economic Forum, while expressing his concern over the Persian Gulf crisis, ProtoThema reported.gr.
The plan
Kikilias said there are 11 Greek ships in the Persian Gulf and more than 90 Greek-owned ships are exposed. “No one can predict when and how this story will end,” he said.
On ferry tickets, he said the government has taken measures to hold down prices, although this year “conditions are much more difficult.”
On carbonization, he agreed with the industry’s criticisms of Brussels: “Don’t talk to us about biofuels. We cannot talk about 2050 if we are not living today,” he said, noting that Europe wanted “to implement things that were not being done.”
Kikilias referred to maritime professions, calling on young people to get involved in them. He said that unlike in the public sector, the salary in shipping is “enough and enough” while there is career security. He announced that the ministry would go to schools and the region to attract young people.
Laskaridis: It is not true that if there is a war, shipowners will make money
Accusing Europe of inaction and bureaucracy, shipowner and head of Laskaridis Shipping and Lavinia Corporation Panos Laskaridis accused Europe.
“As much as we don’t like Trump, he is telling the truth: Europe has not done, cannot do and is waiting,” he said at the 11th Delphi Economic Forum, speaking on a panel with Vassilis Kikilias and Antonis Schroiter. “I experienced the misery of Europe’s bureaucracy that leaves no one to progress,” he said, commenting on the issues of carbonization of shipping, adding that Europe sets goals without having the solutions.
Laskaridis also referred to the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, with dozens of Greek-owned ships exposed. He appeared optimistic that the anomaly is temporary. “The long-term course of shipping will not change much. We have seen crises, shipping has comfortably overcome them,” he said. At the same time, he called it a myth that war brings profits to shipowners: “It is not confirmed. Some classes benefit, but it is not true that if there is a war they will make money.”
He also noted that the armada operating in the Strait of Hormuz “will not solve the problem from a military point of view, but it is going for other reasons.” Now, he said, the game is being played elsewhere: “They are moving to economic strangulation.”
According to the shipowner, the real problems are different. The first problem is carbonization. Shipping, he said, is responsible for 2.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Carbonisation, he said, was based on the wrong positions. “There is climate change, action must be taken, but you cannot solve the problem with solutions that don’t exist,” he said.
Another problem is the shortage of seafarers. “The younger generation is not getting into it. It is a global phenomenon, we saw it in Britain, Norway, Japan, Korea, and now in Greece. We shipowners are not making as many efforts as needed,” he said.
Laskaridis emphasized the need for a coalition of Greek shipowners. “With more than 60% of European shipping, we can block any proposal that is not in our interests. In coalition with Cyprus and Malta, we can impose our own views,” he said.
He also made a specific reference to the Armed Forces, where he advocated their strengthening. “In recent years, Greece has in practice become an air force. The navy must be strengthened because now our borders are in a different area from where the army used to prevail. We hear a lot of blah blah blah. We need strong armed forces.”
