Characterizing the proposed “green contributions” as taxes and not as compensatory fees, while simultaneously expressing doubts about their compensatory nature, they emphasize that the final “tab” will reach the consumer, through the various high-sounding expressions and references to the environment.
Of course, in the “air” of the Maritime Cyprus 2025 Conference, the question lingered as to how the shipping world -and especially the Greeks, who do not fall into traps easily- did not perceive the game from the “hard collars” of Brussels, London, but also the big interests that anticipate enormous profits from the -of dubious development and quality- green growth.
There was, also, in the corridors, the question: Perhaps the shipping universe, at this moment, needs silence? Perhaps the heralds of green energy, for which we will have to burn much more oil and natural gas than what shipping consumes today -and consequently we will produce pollution for about… a hundred more years-, have achieved their goal and have now forced shipping to… apologize.
Shipping that, if it “stops” for three days, the planet will be disrupted and will take years to recover!
So, in yet another Conference, the course towards green shipping was challenged, now directly.
The Greek shipowners, George Prokopiou, Dr. Ioannis Koustas, Athanasios Martinos, Andreas Hadjiyiannis, Semira Paliou, in the presence of the IMO Secretary-General, Arsenio Dominguez, from the podium of the Conference, attacked -each in their own way- the proposed methods, the tax-laden measures (because it is about taxes, let’s leave aside the talk about compensation) of the “briefcase carriers”, which have been accepted -so far- by the IMO, in whose offices at least the stairs work more regularly than in the building of the “parent” UN…
And in the packed hall, which shook with applause whenever the speakers made sharp criticisms against the “greenness”, the shadow of Donald Trump, who has declared war on green energy, was circulating, but also that of… Alexis Tsipras, as George Prokopiou, to provoke the Class Societies, which “backpedaled” from their initial stance when President Trump started to… talk a lot, used the term “kolotoumba”, which… was internationalized by the former prime minister…
“We, the entrepreneurs, are practical people (doers). We act and choose the feasible and not the hypothetical and desirable, given that shipowners, on their own and always, move and always seek the most modern and most efficient solutions.
There are operational measures, which are already being implemented and in combination with the fact that new generation ships emit 35% fewer pollutants compared to older generation ships, provide the answer to this issue,” emphasized George Prokopiou, while mentioning that the group, which he leads, has 103 ships under construction and predicted that, next week, the general assembly of the IMO will not approve the new regulation of the Net-Zero Framework.
“It is misguided and a great injustice for ocean-going ships that transport goods to Europe and approach European Union ports for a few days to be called upon to pay exorbitant amounts, which correspond to the entire duration of their voyage,” pointed out Athanasios Martinos and embraced the view regarding the final bill, which will reach the consumer who is already burdened and protesting about the high cost.
According to Athanasios Martinos, “China is already the largest shipbuilding center with high quality in constructions, on par with the shipyards of South Korea and Japan, while India, due to low labor costs and high technology, will manage in the future to play an equally important role.”
The president of the Cyprus Union of Shipowners, Andreas Hadjiyiannis, mentioned that “as long as Europe remains divided, China will expand its dominance even more.”
Dr. Ioannis Koustas emphasized that “huge funds are being collected from the imposition of the environmental levy 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 mentioned that “only China is scaling up the production of green fuels and Cosco is investing in dual-fuel and methanol engines and not in LNG.”
“Decarbonization is a very expensive process. The funds that will be collected from the environmental regulations should be utilized for the green transition, given that huge amounts are required for the modernization of the fleet and for port infrastructure. The lack of clarity about the future creates uncertainty,” mentioned Semiramis Paliou.
