The proceedings of Posidonia 2026 came to a close with the Press Conference of the Union of Greek Shipowners.

The highly anticipated Press Conference of the Union of Greek Shipowners (UGS), held within the framework of Posidonia 2026, brought the proceedings of the global gathering of the shipping community in Greece to a close.

In a packed room, with strong attendance by representatives of Greek and international media, the President of the Union of Greek Shipowners, Melina Travlos, answered questions covering the full spectrum of the shipping industry at national, European and international level.

Responding to a journalist’s reference to the largest orderbook of Greek shipping in 25 years, comprising 931 vessels, Ms Travlos stated that “we are leading fleet renewal and environmental performance.”

On decarbonisation, the President of the UGS argued that shipping had been “dragged” into unattainable targets set by the EU, which distorted the IMO’s 2050 objectives. With regard to the Net Zero framework, she described it as a “revenue-collection mechanism for the IMO”, with funds to be directed towards purposes unrelated to shipping. She also noted that Greece abstained from the October 2025 vote on the regulation in question. She further stressed that global, rather than regional, measures are essential.

On the shadow fleet, the President of the UGS highlighted, through specific arguments and data, the unfair targeting of Greek shipping. Sanctions without global reach “inevitably distort competition,” Ms Travlos said.

On freedom of navigation, she described the instrumentalisation of vessels in conflict zones as an existential threat and reiterated the critical importance of safeguarding it, as she had also done before at the Security Council of the United Nations.

Responding to a relevant question, the President of the Union of Greek Shipowners placed particular emphasis on the UGS’s social welfare contribution, noting that education and the new generation have consistently been at the core of its work. Announcing the most expanded scholarship programme in the country, which this year amounts to 365 scholarships — one scholarship every day — she sent a strong message of empowering the new generation, every day.