Union of Greek Shipowners
Centenary Celebration

On November 9th, 2016, at 20.00 hrs, the anniversary of one hundred years since the foundation of the Union of Greek Shipowners was celebrated in the Athens Concert Hall (Megaron) (“Christos Lambrakis” Hall) with the participation of 1800 guests. The event was honoured by the presence of the President of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Prokopios Pavlopoulos, and the Prime Minister, Mr. Alexis Tsipras.

The guests had the opportunity to enjoy the singing of the children’s choir "Little Musicians" of the Conservatory of Athens and the Athens State Orchestra, which performed excerpts from the Greek contemporary folk music. Moreover, they watched the film "SEVEN SEAS" of the internationally renowned filmmaker Athina Rachel Tsagari. The film reflects the greatness of seamanship and shipping of Greeks in the international shipping arena.

The President of the Union of Greek Shipowners, Mr. Theodore Veniamis, in his welcoming speech stated, inter alia:

 

“Our Union, the “house” of the Greek shipping family, has completed one century of existence, one hundred years of progress and of dynamic presence. Through its historic process, indeed it proves the importance and the superiority of collective action over the years in defending the institutional interests of Greek shipping, a difficult, demanding but also honourable task.

It has always represented and continues to represent a balance between the interests of all the members of the shipping community, without discrimination between small and big shipping enterprises, operating under the fundamental principle that Greek shipping encompasses the entirety of its members, the elected members having the moral duty to defend the interests of all through the power conferred by our collective institutional instrument”.

“Our shipping, has won per se a leading position in a competitive global market”.

“I would like to give the message from this podium today that Greek shipping is a national asset, beyond political parties, with a decisive and multifaceted economic, political and strategic importance for our country, and it sincerely wants to maintain its presence in its homeland”.

 

 

 

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in his warm address noted:

 

“Since the foundation of the Union in 1916, the innovation, leadership and insight of Greek shipowners in investment and decision-making have laid the groundwork for conquering the top of the international arena.

The challenges for the future are great. But the state will continue to be a supporter and a fellow traveller in storms and in the calm. It will continue to defend the interests of Greek shipping in international organizations. It will continue to improve policies in the interest of the Greek economy and, by extension, the Greek society.

We must not forget that the Greek-owned fleet ranks first in the world in terms of tonnage capacity, with Japan, China and Germany lagging behind.

The sizes are, if anything, impressive. The Greek population represents only 0.15% of the world population while at the same time the ships that carry 25% of the global seaborne trade are controlled by Greeks”.