By George Fokianos

Prominent Greek shipowners levelled against the measures proposed by international organizations and the “bureaucracy” regarding green shipping during the Maritime Cyprus 2025 Conference.

The Greek shipowners, including George Prokopiou, Dr. Ioannis Coustas, Athanasios Martinos, Andreas Hatzigiannis, and Semiramis Paliou, expressed their disapproval of the proposed methods, in the presence of the Secretary-General of the IMO, Arsenio Dominguez.

“It is inappropriate and a great injustice for ocean-going ships that transport goods to Europe and approach European Union ports for a few days to be asked to pay exorbitant amounts, which are proportional to the entire duration of their journey,” pointed out Athanasios Martinos.

On his part, Dr. Ioannis Coustas said, “Huge funds are being raised from the imposition of the environmental fee and we do not know where these funds will be channeled and how much will be returned to shipping for the modernization of the companies’ fleet.”

“Decarbonization is a very expensive process. The funds raised from environmental regulations should be used for the green transition, given that huge amounts are required for fleet modernization and port infrastructure. The lack of clarity about the future causes uncertainty,” he said.

Concerns over the “roadmap” for decarbonizing shipping

Some of the largest shipping groups in the world expressed serious concerns about the “roadmap” for decarbonizing shipping – Net-Zero Framework (NZF) – which is expected to be put forward for adoption in mid-October at the International Maritime Organization, in particular, 19 companies, including Greek stakeholders--collectively operate more than 1,200 ocean-going ships with a total carrying capacity of over 150 million dwt. Their concerns highlight the significant practical problems that a compromise could create, not only for for the shipping industry, but also for the broader global economy.

“Our aim is to ensure that the voice of the industry is heard and taken into account by decision-makers,” they noted.

The joint statement said: “It is essential that the IMO NZF implements greenhouse gas (GHG) measures that are fit for purpose, providing incentives for available transition options and giving the right signals to the market to enable the decarbonization of the shipping sector, while avoiding excessive financial burdens and inflationary pressures on the end consumer.”

“These fundamental issues cannot be resolved through post-adoption guidelines. We believe that critical amendments to the IMO NZF are required, including consideration of realistic targets and limits, surplus allocation and incentives to support transition and SMEs, with transparency in the management of funds, before the adoption of the regulation is considered,” said the statement.

Major investments

The shipping industry has already undertaken particularly costly initiatives, with major investments to reduce the environmental footprint of ships.

“Collectively, we have made significant investments to improve the efficiency and carbon footprint of our existing fleets, in addition to orders for state-of-the-art new ships. It is vital that we continue to be encouraged to invest in this direction, while ensuring safe, reliable and competitive operations,” they noted in their joint statement.

And they added: “Recognizing the importance of a global framework for the shipping sector, we wish to highlight that the IMO NZF, as currently drafted, lacks a comprehensive impact assessment and, most importantly, intermediates fuel availability checkpoints – comparable to previous regulatory changes on fuels, such as IMO 2020. As it stands, we do not believe that the IMO NZF will work effectively to decarbonize shipping in line with the IMO 2023 strategy, nor that it will ensure a level playing field, as intended. This is of deep concern to us.”