The head of the Greek Shipping Cooperation Committee in London is warning that the Greek flag risks becoming irrelevant ...

The head of the Greek Shipping Cooperation Committee in London is warning that the Greek flag risks becoming irrelevant to Greek-owned shipping unless the government cuts through bureaucracy fast. Charalampos Fafalios, reelected as president of the Committee at its recent general assembly, delivered one of the sharpest assessments of Greek maritime policy in recent memory. Fafalios called out ship registration and deregistration processes under the Greek flag as slow and unjustifiably complicated, adding that government offices need to operate beyond standard working hours to keep pace with an industry that never stops. He urged the Ministry of Shipping to move beyond incremental progress and make dramatic cuts to the regulatory burden, warning bluntly that actions, not promises, are what the sector needs. On the question of Greek seafarers, Fafalios was equally direct. He called them one of the greatest competitive advantages Greek shipping possesses, but said the country needs more of them, trained to higher standards, and serving on increasingly complex modern vessels. That means more study places in both public and private maritime academies, better-paid teaching staff, and upgraded facilities across the board. He also pointed to the longer-term stakes. The seafarers being trained today, he said, are the shipowners and managing directors of tomorrow. If Greece loses its edge in maritime education and flag competitiveness, that management responsibility will migrate to other parts of the world. Greek shipowners, Fafalios noted, continue to aggressively refresh their fleets, selling older and less energy-efficient vessels and replacing them with newer, higher-performing ships across all categories. The fleet is expanding and becoming more technologically complex, which only raises the bar for the crews needed to run it. #GreekShipping #MaritimeGreece #GreekSeafarers