100 years of the Union of Greek Shipowners

Greek President, Prokopios Pavlopoulos, the country's Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras, and three former Prime ministers, were among the some 1,800 guests who celebrated the founding of the Union of Greek Shipowners (UGS).

Held in the Athens Concert Hall 8 November was attended by the great and the good of Greek shipping and politics and had the opportunity to enjoy the singing of the children’s choir "Little Musicians" of the Conservatory of Athens, enjoy recitals by the Athens State Orchestra, and the film 'Seven Seas' by internationally renowned filmmaker Athina Rachel Tsagari, which reflected the greatness of Greek seamanship and shipping in the international shipping arena.

The speeches were restricted to two. Prime minister Alexis Tsipras described the establishment of the UGS 100 years ago as "a milestone for both Greek shipping and the Greek economy", going on to praise Greek shipowners, “who are recognised globally for their business acumen and their ability to make the right decision at the right time, by acting against the current”.

He said the "state will be a supporter and fellow traveler with the maritime sector in both stormy and calm days” and then invited them to invest and exploit the opportunities given to Greece ‘thus generating a spark of confidence".

Tsipras declared 2016 a year of stability for Greece saying that in 2017 "Greece will grow with high growth rates, enabling it to participate in the ECB's quantitative easing programme and stand alone in the markets". He said this is the estimate of most analysts and official institutional bodies in Europe and of the IMF ".

In his welcoming address UGS president, Theodore Veniamis declared: "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.”

Veniamis, said the union is the home of the Greek shipping family and "proof of 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".

He said over 100 years the union has "lived and closely followed all the turning points in the recent history of Greece".

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