Reshaping shipping: Challenges and Opportunities head

The influence of Greek shipping in the global maritime community through initiatives in decarbonisation, overcoming challenges and the development of its shipbuilding and ship repairing industry was reiterated during the Greener Shipping Summit, organised by Newsfront / Naftiliaki under the auspices of the Marine Technical Managers Association (Martecma), at the Eugenides Foundation, in Athens, November 12.

In all some 32 panelists addressed the more than 500 delegates from 11 countries and 342 companies who spent the day discussing the challenges and opportunities facing the shipping industry today and in the years ahead.

Shipping has an irreplaceable role in global prosperity and geopolitical stability, the incoming president of Intercargo and treasurer of the Union of Greek Shipowners (UGS) John Xylas, said in his keynote address.

Emphasising Greece’s strategic role and ongoing innovations in maritime sustainability, Xylas highlighted the country’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions and support the global transition to greener shipping practices, stating: “We must acknowledge decarbonisation is not just an environmental goal but a fundamental shift in how we operate, collaborate, and innovate as an industry.”

He noted that approximately 90% of the world’s goods are transported by sea, supporting billions of people and securing essential supply chains. Regarding the influence of the Greek shipping industry, Xylas, who is also CEO of Ariston Navigation, said: “Greek shipowners hold the leading position in the global order book, with over 500 new ships on order. A significant portion of these vessels are equipped to use alternative fuels, and 35% of the existing fleet is already outfitted with energy-saving technologies.”

He added: “Greek shipping controls over 20% of the world’s commercial fleet by deadweight and more than 60% of the EU-controlled fleet. The Greek fleet, which is heavily focused on bulk cargo and tramp shipping, has proven crucial in responding to urgent needs, as demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic and the crisis in Ukraine”.

In closing Xylas said: “These statistics showcase Greece’s leadership in sustainable shipping and our commitment to decarbonisation. As we look to the future, we must recognise that decarbonisation represents a fundamental transformation toward a sustainable maritime future.”

The revitalisation of the Greek shipbuilding and ship repairing industry was a main theme of the Summit with Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, CEO of the Skaramangas Shipyards presenting the vision of shipowner / investor George Procopiou the new owner of the historic shipyard.

“Skaramangas Shipyards was, is and will be one of Greece’s largest industrial infrastructures and a vital asset for national defense,” said, Varvitsiotis an ex-Shipping minister.

“The goal and challenge for Skaramangas Shipyards is to be able to repair LNG carriers, being the only shipyard in Greece and one of the few in Europe that will serve these ships. Also, another of our goals is the creation of a new floating dock, which will be able to serve ships of smaller size than suezmaxes and aframaxes. All this will be achieved through improving their industrial capabilities,” said Varvitsiotis.

Reporting on other business of the revived shipyard, he said “Mega yachts are another pillar of focus of Skaramangas Shipyards, as well as ship construction and repair for vessels of the Hellenic Navy and the Hellenic Coast Guard. An equally important goal is to disseminate new knowledge and provide continuous training to shipyard employees.”

Varvitsiotis declared the Greek shipbuilding industry is in a phase of revival after the investments of fellow panelist Panos Xenokostas, President and CEO of Onex Shipyards & Technologies Group and Procopiou saying “this know-how and this workforce should be capitalised in order for modern ships to be built in Greece. This is our vision at Skaramangas Shipyards“.

Making an assessment of the current situation he said “the reaction we receive from the market is that we are competitive, especially in relation to the shipyards of neighboring Turkey, which increased their capacities in the last 15 years, when the Elefsina and Skaramangas shipyards were closed.”

Bringing the shipbuilding and ship repairing industry back to Greece and Europe was the main message delivered by Xenokostas who reported on how the revival of the Syros and Elefsina Shipyards was achieved. He underlined the impact of the reopening of the Neorion shipyard on the local economy of Syros as it currently employs 650 workers. In Elefsis, he said full ownership of the shipyard is still pending, but it has already served 120 ships in 18 months.

According to Xenokostas, the two shipyards have the capacity to serve over 200 vessels up to aframax size per year. Onex’s five- year plan includes investment of Euro 250m to increase the capacity of the shipyards’ tanks in order to serve up to 300 ships per year up to suezmax size.

Xenokostas said the vision is to turn the shipyards into hubs providing a wider range of services, such as construction of tugs and other special ships, building and maintaining Hellenic Navy vessels and the construction and operation of floating generators for offshore wind farms.” He reiterated the need to revive the industry in Greece and Europe but also the need to develop legislation and regulatory frameworks in order to limit unfair competition from Asian shipyards.

Donald Trump’s re-election as President of the United States and the incoming impact his second term will have on the shipping sector is causing debate among shipowners.

This was clear during the session devoted to the owners voice which was moderated by Panos Kourkountis, Technical Director, Sea Traders SA and Chairman of Martecma.

The Principal of Tsavliris Salvage Group, George Tsavliris said: “The second term of Trump has a tremendous impact on the market” when referring to the tariffs the US president-elect has promised to impose. Moreover, Tsavliris commented about Trump’s ‘drill, baby, drill’ policy on fossil fuels by saying “the fossil fuel is still the best alternative we have” as a sector.

Leonidas Polemis, CEO of Empire Chemical Tankers, highlighted the impact Trump’s re-election will have on the tanker market. “Trump will produce more oil and gas than Biden, which is good news for tanker shipping”. However, Polemis emphasised that should president Trump impose tariffs, this will affect negatively global trade and especially the dry bulk and container ship segments. “Trump will probably help the tanker market, the situation with the wars is helping the tanker market” said Polemis, by but added the Houthis attacks in the Red Sea benefited rates by adding tonne-miles. Referring to recent developments in the tanker market, Polemis concluded by saying: “The newbuildings will be the only thing that will affect the tanker market for the next 2-3 years.”

In addition, the Principal of Common Progress Compania Naviera SA, George Papagiannopoulos, highlighted the uncertainty, which he described as a ‘key-word’ for shipping,  that governs international shipping by commenting: “Tariffs affect demand mostly and geopolitical tensions are mostly affecting the supply side.”

George Souravlas, CEO of Load Lines Marine SA, commented about developments that mostly affect handysize to ultramax dry bulk ships. Souravlas believes the war between Russia and Ukraine is going to end in 2025, something that will benefit bulk shipping due to the need of Ukraine’s reconstruction. “The ports have been destroyed to a great extent and have to be rebuilt”, he said, adding “the reconstruction will take several years”. Souravlas continued expressing his thoughts about the dry bulk sector and potential upcoming geopolitical tensions, such as the crisis between China and Taiwan: “The elephant in the room, in my opinion, is the escalating tensions between China and Taiwan. In a case of a conflict, a lot of things will change”, including the change in geopolitical balance.

Panel moderator, Kourkountis, referred to the Northern Sea Route as an alternative passage for shipping, stressing the fact that ships choose to pass through it even though they are not ice-class vessels.

Despite the enormous uncertainty faced by shipping more information is coming available on crucial issues as was highlighted  by the 23 panelists who took part in the Summit’s three 90-minute  technical sessions.

Whether continuous design improvements are realistic options and utopias were presented charting a course from traditional fuels to carbon neutral alternatives. Energy saving devices; optimising ship propulsion; Design dreams vs reality looked at practical tweaks and wild ideas and mid-terms measures that actually makes waves as was a dual fuel electric solution for LNG carriers.

Under the title ’Improve efficiency and navigating the geopolitical turmoil’ Session II discussed efficiency improvements for 2-stroke engines by upgrading the turbocharger; Off-hire risk reduction; Measuring digital maturity; The full hull management picture and revolutionising vessel efficiency by combining low-friction hard coatings with grooming robots, while the Tsakos Group representative looked at energy efficiency measures generally.

Session III focused on decarbonisation and the transition to cleaner energy. The session was opened by a look at what to expect when using biofuels based on an in-depth analysis of biofuel quality. The role of energy in the pathway to sustainable shipping and an update on ammonia engine development were presented while how green are the alternative forms of energy that could replace fossil fuels in shipping was examined with the proposal the key to the fuel solution is ‘flexibility’. Regulatory developments and their impact was also presented.

Indeed, the over 5oo delegates had plenty to talk about during the two coffee breaks and there was a real buzz during the luncheon.