As the shipping industry navigates one of its most transformative and challenging periods, calls are growing for a global regulatory framework that reflects the sector’s realities.
Melina Travlos, president of the Union of Greek Shipowners (UGS), has said there is a need for a global regulatory framework grounded in realism, one that enables fair competition, supports decarbonisation efforts, and fosters innovation, rather than stifling it.
Speaking at the ‘Shaping the Future of Shipping’ Summit in Athens last week, Travlos emphasised a core principle that “policymakers cannot regulate shipping without shipping.”
The European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, gave a nod to this approach, saying, “We are not asking the shipping industry to carry this burden alone. Strategies of this magnitude must be built and delivered in collaboration with policymakers, financiers, and logistics stakeholders, all on board from day one.”
With maritime transport supporting more than 90% of global trade, discussions centred on the growing challenges posed by an evolving geopolitical landscape, including intensifying strategic tensions, the spread of unilateral trade actions, and a more complex regulatory environment.
“Only through teamwork will we ensure the future of shipping. Governments and shipping communities need to work side by side to achieve this,” Vassilis Kikilias, Greek Minister of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy, said during his address, inviting “all stakeholders involved in the future of shipping to continue the dialogue in a spirit of openness.”
Shipping needs global rules and the level playing field it deserves, he added.
Reframing the role of shipping
The Summit, co-hosted by the Greek Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and the Union of Greek Shipowners (UGS), brought together over 350 senior delegates from more than 30 countries, including ministerial representatives and chief executives from the global maritime and energy sectors.
As Travlos noted, however, formulating the future of shipping can only occur with respect for the industry’s deep know-how.
The president of the UGS underlined the vital yet often unseen role of shipping in securing global supply chains and supporting countries’ food and energy independence. In times of crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical tensions, it has proven to be a lifeline, delivering reliable and effective support through action rather than words.
“Despite its [very] tangible contribution to our everyday life, shipping largely remains out of sight, out of mind, for both policymakers and the wider public,” Travlos argued, calling for a shift in how the sector is perceived to achieve effective policymaking.
Enhanced collaboration
She said, the industry’s expert input must be reflected in maritime policymaking at the national, regional and global levels.
“This also stands for our industry’s global regulator, the IMO,” Travlos remarked, adding that “the decisions taken at the IMO should be more than a mere balancing act among the interests of its Member States. They should be rooted in a real understanding of how the industry truly operates.”
For that to be possible, decisions should incorporate the industry’s institutional voice, “which, unfortunately, was not the case during the recent IMO deliberations on the greenhouse gas emissions reduction measures,” the head of UGS argued.
As Travlos observed, the IMO regulates only ships. It cannot directly regulate the other stakeholders, whose contribution to decarbonisation is, however, a “sine qua non”.
“Without safe, scalable, and globally available alternative fuels, decarbonisation will remain a theoretical goal. Funds raised must be directed back to the industry to support its decarbonisation,” she added.
Efficiency aims
As she stated in her speech, the sector pursues greater efficiency and invests in safe alternative technologies, but policymakers “must remember that no transition and no growth are possible on the back of stranded investments.”
Regulatory decisions and policies cannot be introduced without the sector’s institutional input. “Collaboration is the key to adopting and implementing pragmatic solutions to every challenge we face,” Travlos stated.
Commissioner Tzitzikostas also emphasised the importance of collaboration when designing decisive strategies, especially in times of heightened security concerns, geopolitical events, global competition, and environmental pressures.
“With long-term vision, cooperation and decisive action, we can shape the future in our terms,” he said during his speech, adding that the maritime transport sector has a vital role to play in ensuring Europe’s security.
Preparedness strategy
He referenced the EU’s preparedness union strategy as “a forward-looking, whole-of-government and society approach to strengthening Europe’s ability to prevent and respond to emerging threats.”
“It’s time to translate vision into action. We need today more than ever coordinated actions, strategic investments, strong collaboration,” he added.
The Commissioner welcomed the IMO Net Zero framework, emphasising the importance of unity within the sector and its determination to “move forward without leaving anyone behind.”
Stressing the EU’s role as a “multilateral player,” he urged support for the formal adoption of the agreement at the upcoming IMO session in October. “It is a landmark agreement, and I cannot overstate the importance of its formal adoption,” he said. He concluded by underscoring that long-term global competitiveness depends on “a level playing field framework for everyone.”
Ioanna Procopiou, incoming President of BIMCO and Deputy Secretary of the Union of Greek Shipowners, questioned the feasibility of the IMO’s new Net Zero regulation, noting that from 2028, the shipping sector is expected to contribute $15–30 billion annually to the IMO, rising to $100 billion by 2035, figures “comparable to the trade volumes between the world’s strongest economies.”
She cautioned that without realistic compliance pathways, such financial burdens amount to punitive taxation rather than effective decarbonisation.
Protectionism concerns
Touching upon global trade patterns that are becoming increasingly fragmented, with tariffs and unilateral trade measures contributing to growing uncertainty, Emanuele Grimaldi, Chairman of the ICS, warned about the threat of unilateralism and protectionism to the sector’s ability “to deliver goods, growth, and, most critically now, solutions.”
Grimaldi underlined the unnecessary complexity that unilateral trade barriers introduce in the shipping industry, “however well-intentioned.”
“They drive up consumer costs, create inefficiencies, and undermine the spirit of cooperation that global trade depends upon,” he added, and alerted to tariffs and other unilateral actions risk damaging the very foundations of global commerce.
“They erode competitiveness, create regulatory fragmentation, and can entirely change trade flows. This is why we must continue to think and act on a global scale,” he said, reminding that shipping, by its very nature, is a global industry.
Both the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the EU Commissioner were generally aligned with this approach.
“Protectionism, in the form of tariffs, cargo preferences, and unilateral regulations, risks fragmenting supply chains and reversing decades of poverty-reducing trade,” Mitsotakis said during his address.
“The European Commission sees tariffs as what they really are. Taxes. They are bad for business and even worse for consumers,” Tzitzikostas said, adding that the EU “will always seek negotiated solutions while safeguarding our economic interests and protecting our workers, businesses and consumers.”
He additionally called for more harmonised regulations, as it means less fragmentation, noting, “Less obstacles is how we will keep Europe’s maritime transport sector competitive.”
[Edited By Brian Maguire | Euractiv’s Advocacy Lab ]
