Posidonia 2022: Ships worth $ 18.8 billion ordered by Greek shipowners in Korea

A large part of the new Greek-owned fleet is being built in South Korea, with the value of the ships of Greek shipowners that are in the order books of the Korean shipyards amounting to $18.8 billion.

In fact, as the chairman of the Board of the Foundation for Economic & Industrial Research-IOBE Mr. Panagiotis Thomopoulos stressed, at the Korean – Hellenic Maritime Cooperation Forum 2022 organized in the framework of Posidonia, by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Greece and IOBE, in the first quarter of 2022, 22 Greek-owned ships were logged in the order books of Korean shipyards.

Challenges

“Shipping is in our blood,” said Minister of Shipping and Island Policy Giannis Plakiotakis, addressing the Korean delegation. As he characteristically said, countries that have common ties in history and culture, are connected over time by the oceans.

At the same time, Mr. Plakiotakis referred to the challenges faced by the shipping industry, noting that the dependence on fossil fuels and the lack of qualified officers on ships are issues that the wider community must find a solution. “Everyone involved must work together to meet these challenges.”

For his part, the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Greece Mr. Jung Il Lee quoted poet Odysseus Elytis: “If you deconstruct Greece, you will in the end see an olive tree, a grapevine, and a boat remain. That is, with as much, you reconstruct her.” Ships are, therefore, what unite the two countries, said Mr. Jung Il Lee, emphasizing that Korea is the best shipbuilder and Greece the best shipping country.