Financing for carbon offshore needs creative solutions and shipowners want to be heard

Shipping is called upon to meet the complex challenges posed by the gradually stricter environmental legislation of the IMO and the EU. and the financial issues related to it, according to the Greek Minister of Shipping and Island Policy, Mr. Ioannis Plakiotakis.

In his keynote address this morning, at the opening panel of the HELMEPA Conference, which kicked off the conference program of the third day of this year’s Poseidon, Mr. Plakiotakis referred to carbon emissions exemption as a “burning issue” and “one of the greater challenges for shipping “. As he said, “shipping must ensure, in the very near future, the global availability of safe low- and zero-carbon alternative fuels and the corresponding technological infrastructure. However, we are still far from that goal.”

The Minister stressed the importance of new financial instruments and resources to finance the process of decontamination of shipping: “The highest standards of safety and environmental efficiency often come from different organizations, but always with significant financial costs. Funding for innovative solutions to reduce pollution from ships and enhance the energy efficiency of ships, including the installation of innovative technological equipment or the construction of ships of innovative design and systems, presupposes the existence of financing mechanisms beyond the traditional ones “.

He added: “The transition to a carbon-free future requires a gradual shift from current uncertainty to a secure environment that will guide future investments and ensure that these investments have the expected benefits for the environment, including a mix of targeted and flexible, private and public resources “.

Finally, he called on the EU and the International Maritime Research Council Fund to generously support and contribute to the required funding through sources such as the EU Structural Budget. and other industrial initiatives.

Addressing the public via video message, the Director-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Kitack Lim, said: Our goal is to finally get rid of coal shipping and that is why we need to work with everyone involved to develop sustainable solutions. I very much hope for your support for our efforts. “and leave no one behind.”

In her speech, the President of the Hellenic Shipowners ‘Association, Ms. Melina Travlou, said: “The Hellenic Shipowners’ Association will continue to work consistently and with dedication, in order to adopt realistic and feasible solutions that will lead our industry to the new era.”

This was followed by a discussion on ESG (Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance) issues in the shipping sector, in a strong panel of representatives of six of the largest shipping companies in Greece, with a combined fleet of 354 ships, which corresponds to about 7% of the total Greek-owned fleet. The panel consisted of: Susanna Laskaridis, CEO of Laskaridis Shipping, Milena Pappas, Commercial Director of Starbulk Carriers, Athanasios Martino, CEO of Eastern Mediterranean Maritime Limited, Aristides Pitta, CEO & CEO, Eurose of Diana Shipping Inc., and Nikolaos Tsakos, President & CEO of TEN.

Ok. Tsakos said: “Greece is the Silicon Valley of Shipping. We do not want to be just the guinea pigs for any new legislation, without first consulting us. The state of shipping has not yet been assessed, because as a sector we are fragmented. It took a “We need a pandemic to make people realize the importance of our industry and its contribution to world trade. We need help to continue to reduce our footprint from 2.5% to 2.8% today, to lower levels.”

For his part, ok. Pittas stressed: “We put too much emphasis on the ‘E’ (Environmental) of the term ESG, because I think it is the easiest to deal with. But putting too much energy in the ‘E’ we can lose the ‘S’ (Social) , and the first thing we need to take care of is society and social inclusion for all.We are trying to get rid of carbon emissions faster than society as a whole, especially in developing countries, we forget society and the importance of good governance principles and practices for our companies “.

The importance of carbon sequestration for the shipowners ‘agenda was also reflected in the discussion organized by BIMCO, the largest shipowners’ organization in the world. The panel discussed the obstacles to transition, as it is the most important issue facing the shipping industry in its path to carbon emissions, while discussing options for new trade solutions and common challenges for charterers and shipowners.

The event was moderated by Nikolaus H. Schues, President of BIMCO, and was attended by: David Loosley, General Secretary & CEO of BIMCO, Lars Robert Pedersen, Deputy General Secretary of BIMCO, Eman Abdalla, Global Operations Director of Cargill Ocean Transportation , Dimitrios Patrikios, CEO of Kyklades Maritime, Jerry Kalogiratos, CEO of Capital Maritime and Ioanna G. Prokopiou, CEO of Prominence Maritime SA & Sea Traders SA

Both events took place specifically today, June 8, which has been designated by the UN as World Oceans Day.

The organizers of the Exhibition confirmed that yesterday (June 7) was the busiest Tuesday in the history of Poseidonia, with a total of 5,945 visitors touring the four halls of the Metropolitan Expo, which is full of 1,948 exhibitors from 88 countries.

“We are excited to see the impressive return of the global shipping community to the homeland of shipping,” said Theodoros Vokos, CEO of Poseidonia SA Exhibitions. “This year, Poseidonia is very special, as it is the largest in size in our history and we are very close to surpassing any previous record of visitor attendance,” he added.

The Poseidonia 2022 Exhibition is under the auspices of the Ministry of Shipping and Island Policy, the Hellenic Shipowners Association and the Maritime Chamber of Greece, with the support of the Municipality of Piraeus and the Hellenic Committee for Maritime Cooperation.