Panos Xenokostas, chairman and CEO of ONEX Shipyards & Technologies and president of the Hellenic Shipyards Association, proposed the creation of a new transatlantic cooperation framework between Europe and the US aimed at rebuilding the Western shipbuilding industry, developing advanced technologies through Project NEXUS, and using revenues from the European Emissions Trading System to finance new shipbuilding infrastructure.
He called for a new “Transatlantic Shipbuilding Pact” with a 10-year horizon. According to Xenokostas, the objective should be for Europe and the US to regain one-third of global shipbuilding production, equivalent to roughly 33% of the market.
These proposals were presented during his speech at the 5th Trading in US Waters Seminar, held on Thursday as part of Posidonia 2026.
According to Xenokostas, shipbuilding should be treated as a critical component of economic and national security infrastructure. He argued that the concentration of a large share of global ship production in a limited number of shipbuilding hubs creates geopolitical risks and dependencies for Western economies and supply chains.
