Athens should do more to support the local shipping sector, reporters were told this afternoon at a press conference to highlight the opening of the 2016 edition of Posidonia, the world’s most famous shipping show.
Charalambos Fafalios, chairman of the Greek Shipping Cooperation Committee in London, said: “We believe that the government should continue to support the efforts of the maritime industry in every way possible because without its maritime heritage Greece would not be the proud country that it is.”
“The growth of Posidonia is the result of the resilience of the Greek shipping industry which has managed to cope with the current challenging conditions and maintains its leadership position thanks to its entrepreneurial spirit and by continuously upgrading and reinventing its product,” said Theo Vokos, executive director of Posidonia Exhibitions, echoing comments he had made earlier in the day on this site in an interview with Maritime CEO.
“In spite of fierce international competition, Greece’s ocean-going shipping sector maintains the highest ranking in the world and we continue to expand as our current newbuilding order book contains 350 ships under construction,” said George Pateras, president of the Hellenic Chamber of Shipping, during the official Posidonia Press Conference.
Currently, the Greek owned fleet’s average age is 11.2 years and comprises 4,585 ships, representing 19.63% of the global fleet in dwt.
Theodore Veniamis, president of the Union of Greek Shipowners, said: “Posidonia is here to project in the best possible way the significance of the shipping industry and the indispensable service it offers to international trade and the world economy. This impressive exhibition is equally a clear manifestation of Greek shipping’s invaluable contribution to the national and the EU economy. At a crucial period for the Greek economy and under adverse conditions stemming from both global market pressures and misguided recent EU policy approaches, Greek shipping maintains the first position internationally with 20% of the
world deadweight capacity and 50% of the EU fleet, and proudly hosts the most prestigious shipping trade event internationally.”
Splash reporters will be reporting live from Posidonia bringing exclusive, unrivalled news for the next nine days.
