“Greece’s port infrastructure, ocean-going shipping and energy are creating a new framework for security and development for the country, as American and Greek national interests converge,” stressed the Minister of Shipping and Insular Policy, Vasilis Kikilias, in an interview with the newspaper “Kathimerini tis Kyriakis” and journalist, Elias Bellos.
As he noted: “Following the recent agreements with American companies for hydrocarbon extraction in Greece and the import of American liquefied natural gas, the cooperation between Greece and the US now seems to be moving to port infrastructure. America is extracting shale gas, which it wants to export through Greece and its infrastructure to friends and allies in Europe. Greece has the strongest fleet in the world, especially in LNG tankers, which can transport it from the United States to Greek ports and through pipelines to other European countries. At the same time, our country is proceeding with drilling south of Crete and in the Ionian Sea, in collaboration with Greek and American companies to find natural gas and oil. Thus, port infrastructure, ocean-going shipping and energy create a new security framework in the region, which will also be accompanied by the strengthening of economic growth and employment for our country.”
“Therefore, another ‘heavy industry’ of the country can be developed,” he said, characterizing liquefied natural gas as “the fuel of the present, but also of the immediate future, that is, the transitional fuel, until technology can give us the next safe form of energy. At the moment, there are no alternatives, neither in terms of quantities, nor in terms of safety, nor at competitive prices.”
Asked about Greece’s stance on the agreement on the new zero-emission framework of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the Minister clarified that the agreement in question grossly unfairly treated the only widely used transitional fuel, LNG, noting that “the prospect of imposing fines, even in the billions, from 2027 onwards, would essentially lead to its ban without any alternative option. In addition, the fines that would be imposed on the sector would be passed on to the charterers and – make no mistake – from there to the real economy. That is, to an increase in inflation, a further increase in the prices of energy and transported products”. And he continued: “If one considers that over 80% of world trade is carried out by sea, one understands the potential impact on the cost of living for the average citizen. “There were, therefore, consultations and meetings with the shipping industry, diplomats and other countries, in order to make the right decision. The Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, very rightly decided that Greece should abstain from voting on this agreement.”
Mr. Kikilias made it clear that our country played a de facto leading role in postponing the adoption of the agreement on the new special framework for carbon emissions. As he stated, “our correct position is to proceed with new consultations, in order to shape the conditions for the transition to green fuels, in a safe and smooth manner. The alignment of Greece’s position with the US position is indeed valid and indeed, the framework of the energy agreements between America and Greece would have become clearly more difficult if this understanding had not existed.”
Regarding the possibility of using nuclear energy in ocean-going shipping, the Minister noted that it cannot be ruled out in the coming years. “It will be a realistic alternative for a global fleet with zero emissions. It will require, first, a safety framework, second, the regulatory framework for operation and, of course, social acceptance. The technology of SMRs, small modular reactors, makes nuclear fuel relevant again.
“It now seems possible to create a regulatory framework for the safe use of nuclear energy for global shipping, which will clearly define safety standards, competition and licenses between states,” he said characteristically.
Responding to the prospect of American interest in port infrastructure in Attica, Mr. Kikilias, referring to his recent trip to Washington and the successive contacts he had in Greece and the US with the US Secretary of the Interior and head of the National Energy Sovereignty Council, Doug Bergham, pointed out that the agenda includes the prospect of investments in Greek ports. As he pointed out, “Given that the Prime Minister approved the start of talks for such a mutually beneficial perspective, areas with a key geostrategic position are being examined. For example, ports with the ability to be served by a nearby airport and a railway line in the wider region. A port with such characteristics could be that of Elefsina, where the upgrading of the ONEX shipyard has already progressed, with investments from the American state development bank US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC).
Finally, when asked about the consequences that the accuracy and the OPEKEPE affair have had on the government, Mr. Kikilias made it clear that “New Democracy is accountable to society, the middle class and the popular strata. It draws its strength from there and not from some two hundred factorists, intermediaries and opportunists, wherever they may be in Greece. They do not fit into our party in terms of values, they tarnish half a century of struggles alongside society and the people of toil and work. When we get rid of them, I feel that hundreds of thousands of citizens who are wary of us will trust us again, waiting to see how we will handle issues of meritocracy, transparency and a just society”. And he continued: “Having said this, I would like to add that the governments of New Democracy have handled in recent years successive global crises, pandemics, wars, natural disasters, supporting society, making critical decisions for the future of the country and its citizens. Political effectiveness is judged by hard work, reforms and pro-people, but not populist, policies. We must continue to support society, reduce taxes, increase salaries and pensions, implement policies of opportunity for the many and hope for the young. We will be judged by these when the time for elections comes, compared to the lump-sum and case-by-case handouts of the opposition.”
