This remark was made by Mr. Charalampos Fafalios during the proceedings of the general assembly of the Hellenic Committee for Maritime Cooperation of London (Committee).
Mr. Fafalios, who was re-elected to the position of president of the Committee, focusing on the leading position of the Greek-owned fleet globally, added that at the same time Greek shipowners are continuously selling older and less energy-efficient ships of all categories, replacing them with newer and more efficient in-service ships.
The president of the Committee did not fail to mention Greek seafarers as well as the Greek flag.
“Greek seafarers constitute one of the greatest advantages of Greek shipping. We must continue to train new generations of Greek officers and crews, capable of handling the ships of today and tomorrow and of providing the quality of management required by the modern environment,” Mr. Fafalios emphasized.
Regarding the Greek flag and the Greek state, he clarified that it is an integral component of the strength and importance of the shipping industry.
However, he added, “the Greek state must do more to make the Greek flag more attractive, and this will not be achieved unless the bureaucracy accompanying
ships under the Greek flag is substantially reduced.
Currently, ship registration and deregistration are time-consuming and unjustifiably complicated procedures. This must change, as must the operation of the competent services outside of regular hours.
Equally critical is the field of maritime education. We need more and well-trained Greek officers and seafarers to serve the ever-expanding and technologically more complex fleet that is part of Greek shipping.
We need more study places in state and private maritime schools, better paid and more numerous teaching staff, so that high-level seafarers graduate, as our fleet requires. The schools themselves must be upgraded.
Today’s seafarers are tomorrow’s shipowners and CEOs. Greece must strengthen its position as an international ship management center; this responsibility must not be transferred to other parts of the world.”
Specifically, Mr. Fafalios called on the Ministry of Maritime Affairs – without overlooking the progress that has been achieved, as he said – to proceed with a drastic reduction of the bureaucratic burden associated with ships under the Greek flag.
Otherwise, “the Greek flag risks losing its significance for Greek-owned shipping.
Actions are needed, not promises. Without recognizing the strength of this relationship, the Greek shipping cluster would not be so prominent.
This bond must be maintained and strengthened, in order to ensure a dynamic and sustainable shipping sector in the future.”
According to the results of the elections of the Committee, the new Board of Directors is as follows:
Elected as members of the board were: Dimitris Dragazis, Nikolaos Empeirikos, Vasileios Goulandris, Fragkiskos Kanellakis, Alexandros Kedros, Diamantis Laimos, Vasileios Mavroleon, Dimitris Monioudis, Antonios Palios, Michail Papaioannou, Michalis Pateras, Dimitris-Frank Sarakakis, Andreas Tsavliris, Nikolaos Chatzigiannis, Alexandros Chatzipateras, Ioannis Chatzipateras.
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