Successive crises have exposed the pressure on the shipping industry from geopolitical and political developments, Melina Travlos, the president of the Union of Greek Shipowners, said on Thursday.
“It took the Russia-Ukraine war for Europe to acknowledge its dependence on shipping, a sector it has treated very unfairly – if not punitively,” said Travlos, speaking to Kathimerini Executive Editor Alexis Papachelas at the “Εnergy Transition Summit: East Med & Southeast Europe,” organized by Financial Times Live in partnership with Kathimerini.
“Shipping has been instrumentalized,” she said, adding that “Europe has never understood” the sector’s importance because “it simply doesn’t bring in votes.”
Referring specifically to EU pressure for the industry’s decarbonization, Travlos described the Commission’s targets as “overly ambitious” and “untenable,” saying the policy “punishes” a sector that is not among the top contributors to global CO2 emissions.
The pressure on Greek shipping is particularly acute, she said, as it represent 61% of Europe’s fleet, which, in turn, represents 35% of global shipping.
