BY STAS MARGARONIS
The 96th Annual Propeller Club convention, held in Athens, Greece between September 20th and 22nd , demonstrated the continued power of Greek shipping.
The convention was produced by the Propeller Club of Piraeus under the leadership of President Costis Frangoulis and General Secretary Danae Bezantakou.
INTERNATIONAL PROPELLER CLUB
The International Propeller Club of the United States convention was called to order by President Jim Patti and supported by Executive Vice President Joel Whitehead.
As a reflection of its increasingly international composition, the organization will now be known as the International Propeller Club.
This was reflected in the Propeller Club awards:
- The Port of Piraeus club was recognized by the International President’s Award for Excellence
- Geraldo Tiedemann, Port of Bilbao (Spain) was recognized as the Propeller Club Person of the Year,
- Melina Travlos, President of the Union of Greek Shipowners (UGS) was recognized as Maritime Person of the Year
- The Port of Seattle club was recognized as the Propeller Club Port of the Year
THE ROLE OF GREEK SHIPPING
Today, Greek shipowners control 5,514 vessels, or 21% of the global fleet in deadweight ton (dwt) terms, according to the Union of Greek Shipowners (UGS).
The UGS reported that current new shipbuilding orders from Greek shipowners total 173 ships. The amount of new orders is greater than last year’s 104 ship orders.
The Greek fleet composes:
*32% of the world’s oil tanker fleet
*25% of the world’s bulk carrier fleet
*22% of the world’s LNG fleet.
Speakers at the conference discussed:
- The importance of Greek ports and shipping to provide LNG supplies for Europe so as to mitigate the impact of cutbacks in energy supplies from Russia.
- The challenges of imposing sanctions on shipping to punish Russia for the invasion of Ukraine.
- The importance of the Northern Greek port of Alexandroupolis in expediting military supplies in the defense of Ukraine.
- The Alexandroupolis port is situated near the borders with Bulgaria and Turkey with a floating gas storage and regasification unit in the pipeline and could operate as an energy hub for Central Europe.[1]
- The increasing role of digitization in shipping.
- The efforts of Greek shipowners to decarbonize their fleets.
MODERNIZATION OF OPERATIONS
The impact of digitization, decarbonization and a more robust regulatory environment poses new challenges to Greek shipping companies. Already, as panelists at the Propeller Club convention described, digitization has become a hot topic. Executives and managers already monitor engine performance, fuel consumption and emissions.
Some companies are planning to install cameras in the engine rooms of their vessels to keep a better eye on operations. Weather forecasting and the use of machine learning are providing vessel operators with better real time data to avoid storms, hurricanes and typhoons.
The company StormGeo was mentioned by several participants as being a leading provider of weather forecasting services.
Big data is also used for inventory management and better just-in-time-maintenance.
Amelia Rocos, Senior Risk Management Analyst with the Diaplous Group, based in Piraeus, was a panelist at the conference and said that she sees digitization as a major growth area in shipping and one that will attract younger tech savvy workers to the industry. Already, she says, risk management has benefited from data and the digitization of shipping operations. Rocos, herself, is only 24 years old.
There are also changes going on to the old family-based operation that was common at many shipping companies. More are hiring people based on their abilities, rather than family connections, as exemplified by the changes required for digitization.
RISING ROLE OF WOMEN
Another major development is the growing number of women coming into the Greek shipping industry formerly heavily male-dominated.
Women were represented in all the Propeller panels and are increasingly leading Greek shipping companies as the election of Melina Travlos, President of the Union of Greek Shipowners (UGS) demonstrated.
Travlos receiving the “International Propeller Club Maritime Person of the Year” award from International Propeller Club president Jim Patti
Travlos became the first female president of the Union of Greek Shipowners (UGS) in its 106-year history.
Travlos heads vehicle carrier owner and operator Neptune Lines and dry bulk operator, Neptune Dry Management.
Neptune Lines was founded by Travlos’ father, Nikos, in 1975 and today operates a fleet of 18 car and truck carrier vessels.
Travlos founded Neptune Dry Management five years ago, which has a fleet of five bulkers.[2]
Travlos is a Member of the Board of Directors of the Hellenic Chamber of Shipping, a Member of the Greek National Committee of DNV-GL Classification Society. She is also Member of the Executive Committee of Malta International Shipowners Association and served as the Honorary Consul of Denmark in Piraeus.[3]
THE PORT OF PIRAEUS
Photo: Port of Piraeus
On September 21st, Propeller Club convention attendees were given a bus tour of the Port of Piraeus.
An October 2021 Financial Times report highlighted concerns about the decision by the Greek government to sell majority ownership of the Port of Piraeus to China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO):
“The Chinese-lettered banner hanging over the entrance (to the Port) is one of the few signs that Beijing now controls Europe’s fourth-biggest container port.
Yet this month the Piraeus Port Authority handed a further 16 per cent of its shares to Cosco, cementing its control by the Chinese state-backed shipping group, which bought 51 per cent of the Greek port in August 2016.
The deal has intensified unease in the EU over China’s increasing involvement in European infrastructure and met a wall of opposition over environmental and social concerns, and China’s unmet investment pledges.
“I want the Chinese, but I want them to invest in the right way,” said Vassilis Kanakakis, president of the Greek shipbuilding and ship-repair contractors’ union. “Stay in Greece but work with us.”
The transfer of the additional shares caps five years of negotiations that frequently hung in the balance amid pushback by local interest groups, Greek bureaucracy and diplomatic tensions.
Under a preliminary 2016 agreement, Cosco was to receive the extra shares if it completed 11 investment projects worth about €300m by 2021. The list included expanding the port’s capacity to receive more cruise ships and improving its shipbuilding infrastructure.
But most remain incomplete.
China has blamed the delays on Greek bureaucracy and local opposition. Piraeus residents have launched a series of lawsuits, claiming Cosco has failed to follow environmental protocols and damaged the marine environment …
“They haven’t spent a dime here; even when they need to change a lamp, they bring it from China,” said Kanakakis.
The port deal has come under wider EU scrutiny at an awkward time in its relations with China. Faced with an increasingly assertive Beijing, the EU has sought to better protect strategic sectors from Chinese influence.
Analysts say the Piraeus deal is frequently cited by officials as a cautionary tale when pushing states to privatise (sic) assets.”[4]
Last July the Port of Piraeus ranked 9th internationally on the Xinhua-Baltic International Shipping Centre Development (ISCD) Index.
Piraeus Port Authority Chairman, Mr. Yu Zenggang noted: “We are very proud that the Port of Piraeus is included for the third time in the row in this significant global shipping index … A position among the top 10 in the world signalizes … projects based on a comprehensive plan for the port upgrade and modernization could successfully increase the port’s global competitiveness.”[5]
PortSEurope reported that Piraeus Container Terminal (PCT) (operated by China Ocean Shipping Company) saw July (2022) traffic down -12% and a year-on-year drop of -9.9%. In July 2022, PCT handled 391,500 TEU compared to 444,700 in the same month of 2021, a decrease of -12%. The year-to-year change was 2.53 million TEU in year to July 2022, compared to 2.81 million TEU in the same period of 2021.[6]
The Port of Piraeus bus tour for Propeller Club delegates included a briefing by a Port spokesman who explained:
“The Port of Piraeus is the first stop in the Mediterranean for ships coming from Asia via the Suez Canal. It is used for cargo being dropped off the mothership and onto feeder ships for deliveries of containers to other Mediterranean and Black Sea ports. There are three pier operations at the Port.
Pier One is operated by the Piraeus Port Authority.
COSCO began operating Pier Two and went on to construct a new terminal, Pier Three. This resulted in a major expansion of container volumes.
Piers Two and Three are run by Piraeus Container Terminal, a subsidiary of COSCO Shipping. The expansion into new container terminals began ten years ago when COSCO Shipping was the winning bidder and undertook the expansion of the Port. Ten years ago, when COSCO arrived, the Port’s container throughput was 2 million TEUs. In less than 10 years, the Port reached 5.3 million TEUs making Piraeus the largest container port in the Mediterranean and one of the top five container ports in Europe. Major advantages of the port are that the terminals can take ships of up to 23,000 TEU capacity.
A new interesting development is a vessel-to-rail service transporting about 150,000 containers. The rail project is a recent development over the last few years and links the Port to a national rail network to the Balkans and up to the Czech Republic.
About 85% of containers coming to the Port are transshipped to ports in other countries. About 15% of containers are bound for Greece and the local market.
Recently the Port has replaced straddle carriers with new ones operated with electricity.
A new car terminal expansion is handling 400,000 vehicles of which 75% are redirected to ports outside of Greece. Cars destined for Greece total about 120,000 vehicles.
MARITIME EDUCATION
The keynote speaker at the Propeller Club convention was Peter Economides, Brand Strategist at Felix BNI, whose topic was “IMAGINE … The Full Potential of Shipping On Future Generations In Greece” that included a video demonstrating the role of shipping in the Greek supply chain.
Robert Hawn, Vice President, Maritime Affairs, West Gulf Maritime Association and a Propeller Club Regional Vice President, said the Economides video was the type of public education that should be emulated by U.S. ports and maritime stakeholders:
“Our industry is invisible to most people. The Port of Houston is a driving force in the State of Texas for all the economy and nobody knows it.”
Economides has worked for Apple, Pepsi, Coca Cola, Heineken, Audi, Volkswagen, the International Olympic Committee developed a branding campaign to give Greece a new positive image following the negative publicity and high unemployment that Greeks suffered during the economic crisis of a decade ago.
One of the efforts that Economides has publicized is that of Irene Notias, Co-founder and Director of Project Connect who developed the ‘Adopt a Ship’ program and was a luncheon speaker at the Propeller Club convention.
Echoing the Economides pro-Greece marketing campaign, Project Connect was established in 2012 “to help enhance young adults employability in Greece and minimize the Brain Drain, promoting excellence and work pride values …”[7]
According to Project Connect, the ‘Adopt a Ship’ program has increased awareness of the role of shipping in Greek schools:
“The “Adopt a Ship” program connects primary and junior high school pupils with seafarers, aiming to educate youngsters about the seafaring profession and the maritime sector … Throughout this period, pupils communicate with the crew weekly and gain first-hand knowledge of life at sea by sharing their experiences. Students get the opportunity to “travel” with the crew by tracking their voyage on a world map and engaging in interactive learning activities.”
The program is directed toward “primary school (third, fourth, fifth and sixth grades) and to junior high school (first, second and third grades) and is introduced in the context of different courses…”
Courses include:
- Life onboard vessels
- Cargo carried by ships
- Trading patterns
- Geography
The goals include:
- Highlight the importance of the contributions seafarers and shipping companies make to the world and society
- Enhance students’ knowledge about seafarers, ships, shipping, geography, culture and commerce
- Offer opportunities to the young generation to pursue a maritime career[8]
Maryanne Richards, Propeller Club International Vice President of Student Ports, is the Director of Career Services at Massachusetts Maritime Academy. Richards noted that Massachusetts Maritime Academy is reaching out to high schools to emphasize the importance of the maritime industry and additional disciplines such as emergency management, marine biology, anti-terrorism and energy management.
FOOTNOTES
[1] https://allaboutshipping.co.uk/2022/09/22/greek-ports-acquire-global-strategic-prominence-and-western-sanctions-on-russian-energy-exports-cause-major-disruption-for-shipping-industry/ and https://www.greeknewsagenda.gr/topics/business-r-d/7691-greek-shipping-remains-the-world%E2%80%99s-leading-maritime-force#:~:text=Greek%20shipowners%20control%20more%20than,deadweight%20ton%20(dwt)%20terms.
[2] https://greekreporter.com/2022/02/10/melina-travlos-greek-shipowners/
[3] https://www.ics-shipping.org/person/melina-travlos/#:~:text=Melina%20Travlos%20is%20the%20Chair,the%20field%20of%20dry%20cargo.
[4] ft.com/content/3e91c6d2-c3ff-496a-91e8-b9c81aed6eb8?shareType=nongift
[5] https://www.olp.gr/en/news/press-releases/item/12906-ppa-s-a-piraeus-among-the-top-10-global-ports-in-2022-shipping-index
[6] https://www.portseurope.com/piraeus-container-terminal-saw-july-traffic-down-12/
[7] https://maritime-executive.com/index.php/corporate/adopt-a-ship-educational-program-a-success
[8] https://www.project-connect.gr/projects/adopt-a-ship/