Posidonia hears of regulation uncertainty

Uncertainty among shipowners and investors regarding the regulations imposed on the shipping industry by regulators within it and outside leads to investment reluctance from all parts, a leading shipping forum heard on Tuesday at Posidonia 2022, currently under way next to Athens International Airport.

In view of uncertainty surrounding long-term regulation and policy-making, Ioannis Martinos, who left his position as co-chief executive of Thenamaris, the Greek shipping company founded by his family, to venture out on his own as CEO of The Signal Group, said: “Policy-makers should be more decisive. Shipowners need clarity, they are not chemists. Scientists and policy-makers need to guide them and tell them which direction they should move toward.”

Regulatory and social pressures to improve carbon efficiencies are driving owner and operator interest in the accelerated adoption of new technologies that improve competitiveness and fuel efficiencies

Spyros Karampampas of the Association of Innovative Application Companies (SEKE) said: “The speeches and remarks of the prime minister, the president of the UGS and the EU commissioner for transportation at the official opening ceremony of Posidonia 2022 made it abundantly clear that the shipping industry must focus on digitization and new innovative technologies for decarbonization and optimization purposes.”

On the occasion of Posidonia 2022, British valuation and market intelligence company VesselsValue published a report on the evolution of Greek ship ownership in the four years since the previous version of the fair, revealing the doubling of the Greek fleet’s value.

The report showed Greek-owned merchant vessels have increased by 11% or 474 to reach 4,766 to date (from 4,292 at Posidonia 2018), while their value has soared 92% to reach $158.97 billion, from $82.85 billion four years earlier.

On Wednesday – Day 3 of Posidonia 2022 – the Hellenic Marine Environment Protection Association (HELMEPA) is hosting its conference at the Posidonia Conference Hall from 10 a.m. to 2.30 p.m.

Also on the day’s schedule is the BIMCO conference titled “No Turning Back: Decarbonization in Practice” at Seminar Room Central from 11 a.m. to 2.30 p.m., followed in the same room by the 3rd Korean-Hellenic Maritime Cooperation Forum, from 3.30 to 7 p.m.