In the presence of Greek shipowners, shipping executives from around the world, and the company’s personnel, the discussions were opened by the founder and CEO of TEN Dr. Nikos Tsakos, while his son Panagiotis Tsakos, who followed, focused on seafarers.
As Dr. Nikos Tsakos characteristically said, shipping is a pillar of stability. “It remains one of the few sectors of the global economy that continues to operate with rhythms, principles, and values that transcend crises,” he noted and added: “When energy, food, and basic goods travel unimpeded across the seas, societies maintain their calm. It is the invisible contribution of shipping to peace and stability.”
Regarding the sector’s green transition, he stressed that it cannot be done against the market. “It must be done with the market,” he noted and added: “To adapt, without losing the core of its competitiveness.”
The head of TEN did not fail to mention the human factor, pointing out: “The values and skills of shipping people are the only fixed point in an unstable environment.”
According to Mr. Tsakos, “the role of shipping today is simultaneously economic, social, and national.”
For his part, Panagiotis Tsakos focused on the “heart” of shipping, the seafarers. As he said, “the shortage of officers at an international level has reached worrying levels, while at the same time the demands of the profession are becoming increasingly complex.”
“Technology is evolving,” he mentioned and stressed, “ships are becoming ‘smarter’, but nothing can replace the judgment, intuition, and decisiveness of an experienced officer at sea.”
Systematic investment in education and training is needed, he added, not only on a technical but also on a psychological level.
Mental resilience, managing isolation, communication with multicultural crews, and understanding new environmental regulations constitute, as he said, “the new tools of the 21st-century seafarer.”
Referring to the initiatives of the Tsakos Group – from “Maria’s Home” in Chios to the TEENS Nautical High School and the TEENS Merchant Marine Academy – he noted that the goal is to create a new generation of seafarers “who will not only know the sea, but also themselves.”
He noted that there are already over 100 cadets at the Academy, and women make up about 20%. “Proof that shipping is opening up to new chapters of equality and prospects,” he emphasized, concluding his address by recalling what his grandfather, Captain Panagiotis Tsakos, who was watching him, has said:
“A ship can be built in two years. A captain, however, needs at least seven to be ‘built’ by the sea and his experience. In shipping, our people will always be our greatest investment.”
