PM, shipowners discuss shipping issues

Prime Minister George Papandreou on Thursday met with the leadership of the Greek Shipowners Union for talks, expectedly, on shipping issues.

Speaking to reporters afterwards, Maritime Affairs Minister Yiannis Diamantidis said the meeting was held in a very good and positive climate.

“In a difficult time for the country, shipping is primary tool of economic growth, and in this framework, the Union presented its views and demands, while the premier heard their views with a very open mind,” he said, adding: “we agreed in many things particularly the constant cooperation and contact between the government and the Union to achieve targets set”.

Greek shipowners reportedly requested an upgraded tertiary education system for future seamen, an issue that generated media attention this week after a visiting Israeli delegation in Athens broached the prospect of training Israeli merchant marine cadets in Greece. Shipowners also requested a clear decision on which ministry will oversee the coast guard — favouring the maritime affairs ministry, according to reports — while they also called for shipping capital invested in real estate projects in Greece to be considered as a foreign investment.

The government, according to sources, is preparing draft legislation for a framework to boost the port of Piraeus prospects as a major shipping centre in the eastern Mediterranean.