Cees van Noort: Greek shipping will have a bright future, change nothing

Despite the rough seas the international shipping industry is facing in recent years, a bright future is awaiting Greek shipping, according to Cees van Noort, a great philhellene who was honored during the Greek Shipping Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony & Dinner 2016 held last week in the Athens Concert Hall.

Cees van Noort,(R), Markos Kantzios, maritimes.gr

The retired official of the Port of Rotterdam, who has helped promote the image of Greek shipping through his collection of the thousands of Greek-owned ships he photographed in his lifetime, spoke to Maritimes.gr during the event.
 
Cees van Noort started shooting pictures of vessels docking at the port as a hobby. He focused on the Greek fleet once he started talking to crews and learning more about the ships and their owners. He was intrigued to find out how Greeks starting from small companies took over the world, he told Maritimes. gr.
  
Through his collection which has been acquired by the Greek Shipping Hall of Fame, the Dutch port inspector has helped change the image of Greek shipping, and is still helping.
 
Most Dutch today have a negative view about Greece because of the crisis, he explained.  He tries to change the image at least when it comes to Greek shipping because it is the fair thing to do, he said, pointing to the “first class Greek ships”.
 
The retired official does not view Piraeus port as a competitor to Rotterdam. He believes in cooperation and close friendship, he said.
 
Asked about the future of Greek shipping Cees van Noort is confident it will be bright. “Big container business in the past was dominated by the Germans and now you can see the Greeks taking over… Change nothing,” he noted asked for suggestions.
 
History speaks for itself, according to van Noort and recent history has shown that while major players in the international shipping industry in the past such as “the French and Scandinavians have disappeared,” Greeks have been left today competing with the Germans.