Prominent Greek shipowners levelled against the measures proposed by international organizations and the “bureaucracy” regarding green shipping during the Maritime Cyprus 2025 Conference.
More specifically, the Greek shipowners, George Prokopiou, Dr. Ioannis Coustas, Athanasios Martinos, Andreas Hatzigiannis, Semiramis Paliou, in the presence of the Secretary-General of the IMO, Arsenio Dominguez, expressed their disapproval of the proposed methods.
“It is inappropriate and a great injustice for ocean-going ships that transport goods to Europe and approach European Union ports for a few days to be asked to pay exorbitant amounts, which are proportional to the entire duration of their journey,” pointed out Athanasios Martinos.
The president of the Cyprus Shipowners’ Association, Andreas Hatzigiannis, said that “as long as Europe remains divided, China will expand its dominance even further.”
On his part, Dr. Ioannis Coustas stressed that “huge funds are being raised from the imposition of the environmental fee and we do not know where these funds will be channeled and how much will be returned to shipping for the modernization of the companies’ fleet.”
He stated that “only China is scaling up the production of green fuels and Cosco is investing in dual-fuel engines and methanol consumption and not in LNG.”
“Decarbonization is a very expensive process. The funds raised from environmental regulations should be used for the green transition, given that huge amounts are required for fleet modernization and port infrastructure. The lack of clarity about the future causes uncertainty,” said Semiramis Paliou.
