Ladies and gentlemen, dear Melina, dear President Grimaldi, Excellencies, distinguished guests,
Few countries could better host a conversation on the future of shipping than this one: a country whose history was first written on the waves.
From the triremes that linked the city-states of antiquity to the high-tech LNG carriers berthed in Piraeus today, the sea has been and remains Greece’s passage to a shared prosperity.
This tradition is not nostalgia, it is a modern reality. Greek-controlled vessels now account for one-fifth of the entire world fleet, with even greater shares of bulk carriers, tankers, and LNG ships. Last year alone those vessels served the needs of 176 countries, carrying the grain, energy, and raw materials that underpin global growth.
Today nearly 90% of global trade moves by sea. When the “Ever Given” wedged itself in the Suez Canal in March 2021, $9 billion dollars’ worth of cargo a day stalled and global freight rates doubled within a week. In short, no shipping equals no global economy.
Four years on, and this sector is navigating different converging storms. Geopolitical conflicts continue to touch both the Red Sea and the Black Sea, and remind us all that freedom of navigation may be a right, but it still, at times, comes at a cost, which is why, earlier this year Greece used its role as rotating President of the UN Security Council to convene a high-level debate on maritime security, precisely to focus attention on keeping global sea-lanes open.
Protectionism, in the form of tariffs, cargo preferences, and unilateral regulations, also risks fragmenting supply chains and reversing decades of poverty-reducing trade.
And, of course, there is climate action. Society expects shipping to reach net-zero, even though the fuels, ports, and finance we need to do so, depend on so many more actors than sit in this room.
The theme of this year’s Conference: ‘Navigating global megatrends, mitigating risk, and delivering economic security and prosperity’ perfectly captures these converging challenges. Let me set out three priorities to help meet this moment.
First, we must safeguard open trade and the rule of law at sea. Greece will continue to work through the IMO, the European Union, and the G7 to uphold UNCLOS, defend innocent passage, and coordinate naval escorts where necessary. A predictable security environment benefits us all.
Second, we should accelerate, but also coordinate the energy transition. Decarbonisation must be global, or it will be ineffective. That is why Greece joined the ICS-led Clean Energy Marine Hubs initiative, linking producers, ports, shipowners, and financiers to scale alternative fuels.
That is why the IMO’s recent agreement on GHG emissions reduction, which is not without challenges itself, must be respected by all countries, avoiding piecemeal regulation.
Third, there is a need to invest in people and skills. Ships are advanced floating factories. They need engineers, as comfortable with ammonia fuel cells as they are with AI-enabled navigation. Which is why my government places great emphasis on enhancing maritime education and on the retention of the maritime expertise and know-how in our country.
But no international body, no government, no shipowner can deliver these goals alone. Instead, we need policymakers who resist protectionist reflexes and negotiate genuinely global standards, banks and export-credit agencies who reward first movers with lower-cost capital, we need fuel suppliers who guarantee availability, whether in Rotterdam and Singapore, or in Lagos, Colombo, or Montevideo, we need technology firms who bring digital solutions that cut emissions and improve safety. And, above all, we need a shipping community moving in one direction. Your presence here in Athens is proof that such unity is within our grasp.
Under my leadership, we will remain committed to sustaining the global competitiveness of Greek shipping with an innovative and financially robust fleet. And we’ll press for recognition of shipping’s vital role, in every multilateral economic or climate forum we attend.
Dear friends, in 1836, a young Spetses shipowner named Anastasios Potamianos mortgaged his house to build a single wooden barque. By the end of the century his sons operated steamers on four continents.
The lesson is simple: if we are bold at sea, we are capable of creating opportunity far beyond our own shores.
I wish you a productive discussion and, in time, a safe passage home.
Thank you.
