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Current Hypocrisies in Shipping and the Urgent Need for International Action

The third panel discussion of the 8th Slide2Open Shipping Finance 2025 Conference was moderated by Mrs Despina Travlou, IEEE Standards Association Maritime Ambassador and Managing Director, Slide2Open Communications. Panelists Mr Stratis Apergis, Co-founder and CEO, Levante Ferries, and Newsphone Hellas; Vice President of Coastal Shipping of the Association of Passenger Shipping Companies (SEEN), Mr Leonidas Dimitriadis Eugenides, IMO Ambassador in Greece, President of Eugenides Foundation, Dr Dimitrios J. Fafalios, President/Director, Fafalios Shipping SA, Secretary of the Board of Directors, Union of Greek Shipowners, Honorary Chairman, Intercargo, Mr Alpesh Shah, Managing Director, IEEE Standards Association, and Prof. Costas Synolakis, Professor of Engineering Technology and Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Southern California, had a lively discussion on "Overture to Complexity: Addressing Geopolitical Challenges and Regulatory Shifts in Shipping".
Prof. Synolakis talked about climate change and the need to decarbonize IMO's target for reduction of emissions, and the need to move towards alternative fuels. The EU emission trading system is now expanding to cover the shipping industry. Prof. Synolakis stressed that it is extremely important for the shipping industry to work proactively with the scientific community; all, speaking in one voice, can reach a realistic solution.
Mr Dimitriadis Eugenides started by explaining current hypocrisies in shipping and how international steps are required. For IMO, a top priority is the dark fleet, followed by the issue of piracy. The IMO cannot do much, it is a matter of international law and enforcement. He stressed the importance of collaboration (a win-win case) and gave an example of a collaboration that they had with the University of Southampton, which brought very impressive results.
Dr Fafalios noted that Intercargo represents the dry bulk sector, however these vessels do not have a fixed itinerary, and this poses a huge challenge: where are they to find safe, alternative fuel? Over the past years, shipping has become more efficient, without a single piece of environmental regulation. Regulators have to understand how shipping works; retrofitting can be great in one trade and very bad for another, and this is not always understood. COP28 is good to follow, but not really connected to shipping. We have to remember that we all try to reach a common goal. We may have different roads and different vehicles towards reaching this common goal, but we have to make sure that a particular solution cannot be imposed on all. Regulators have to be educated, so that they fully understand.
Mr Shah said that the purpose of a standard is to address a real problem; when everyone has a common understanding of the problem, then a solution can be found. For a standard to be adopted, the market has to embrace it. It is really important that all the right actors are involved and for that an open system is required. Having the policy makers and regulators help to create a closed loop, thereby reducing inefficiencies. Finally, all the actors that have a stake have to have a common understanding – everyone is affected.

Mr Apergis explained that, for passenger shipping, the current situation is like driving a car, approaching a dead end, we cannot stop, have to select a different road, maybe change cars, but all alternative roads require money and nobody knows which alternative road is the best. The GDP of islands will be heavily affected if the cost is passed on to passengers. Greek companies are willing to invest, but there is no clear picture on what will happen next. As for passenger shipping, it is crucial in supporting the insular character in Greece and collaboration is required towards this end – which, unfortunately, is not always obvious.
The afternoon session was opened by Mr George Sp. Alexandratos, the newly elected President of the Hellenic Chamber of Shipping, General Manager, Apollonia Lines SA, who noted that the maritime industry faces a wide range of challenges that have to be addressed. He greeted the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between IEEE and IMarEST and the invaluable collaboration that will evolve through it, while he praised the previous President of the Hellenic Chamber of Shipping Mr Pateras for his ethos! He assured participants that the doors of the Chamber are open, and it will keep on supporting the competitiveness of Greek shipping which, combined, supports more than 100 categories of jobs.