Page 24 - ΝΑΥΤΙΚΑ ΧΡΟΝΙΚΑ - ΣΕΠΤΕΜΒΡΙΟΣ 2022

SHIPPING MARKETS

front of environmental protection and Ship Registry is not follow-
competitiveness, which will differenti- ing the same upward trend.
ate us in the next shipping cycle. For what reasons is there no
In addition, we have installed 18 scrub- significant increase in Greek-
bers, mostly on our bigger-sized Cape flagged ships?
and Post-Panamax vessels, which pro- Safe Bulkers believes that Greek-
vides a significant measurable potential flagged ship numbers can only increase
for increased earnings in this inflated in tandem with the growth of the
fuel price environment. Greek-owned fleet, provided there is
also a substantial increase in Greek
ã Do you think the Ukrainian seafarer availability.
crisis will slow down the A combined effort of all stakeholders
decarbonisation plans of is needed to achieve such a target. At
some states? the same time, we are happy to be fly-
Yes, definitely. We believe there is a ing the second-best alternative avail-
temporary halt in the decarbonisation able to any Greek shipowner, namely
front, despite the momentum it had the Cyprus flag, which we proudly fly
gained in 2021. The war has trans- on almost all our fleet’s ships, defying
formed the energy landscape and rap- the Turkish embargo, especially at a
idly shifted the discussion from energy time when the neighbouring country is
transition to energy security. Many demonstrating hostile attitude, taking
countries and economies are turning to advantage of the geopolitical instabil-
The war has coal or seaborne LNG as an alternative ity created by the Ukrainian war.
transformed the source to Russian energy. However, in
energy landscape the long-term, the climate crisis fight ë ESG has entered shipping
and rapidly shifted will have to be addressed again as a dynamically, yet despite the
the discussion from matter of top priority. great emphasis placed on
energy transition the E and the G, progress
to energy security. ç In the first half of 2022, regarding the S is not fol-
Many countries orders for dry bulk vessels lowing the same pace. What
and economies are decreased compared to the HR strategies does your
turning to coal or corresponding period in 2021. company follow to ensure
seaborne LNG as an What do you think is the rea- diversity and inclusion?
alternative source son for this downward trend? First, allow me to point out that we
to Russian energy. We have a record low orderbook and recently published our 2 Annual ESG
nd
expect minimal fleet growth for the Report for 2021. In summary, this report
years up to 2026 in all dry bulk vessel focuses on corporate governance: our
sizes. We believe that the main reason support to our seafarers during the
for that is the uncertainty surrounding COVID restrictions; our support to
alternative fuels and new vessel tech- local communities through our scholar-
nologies, which will have to comply ship program; the training we provided
with current and future environmental to our staff; our $371 million investment
regulations coming into force up to in 11 Tier III-compliant newbuilds ahead
2030. The supply fundamentals remain of our peers, and our verified AER and
positive for dry bulk sector as shipyard EEOI reports’ data for 2021.
capacity is occupied by other sectors’ In addition to the above, in 2022, we
orders, mainly containerships and LNG have made environmentally friendly
carriers. upgrades to our existing fleet worth
$2.2 million. By the end of May, we had
è The Hellenic Ministry of Mar- used about 2,000 tonnes of biofuels,
itime Affairs & Insular Policy which emitted 1,550 tonnes less CO 2.
has set the increase in the To conclude, let me share with you the
number of vessels flying the actions we have taken recently, includ-
Greek flag as a top prior- ing during the COVID-19 period, which
ity. However, it is observed we believe might be helpful as a guide
that while the Greek-owned for our company’s continued diversity
fleet is growing, the Greek and progress in years to come.

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