Page 204 - ΝΑΥΤΙΚΑ ΧΡΟΝΙΚΑ - ΟΚΤΩΒΡΙΟΣ 2024

MARITIME EDUCATION

The island of Chios, celebrated for its rich maritime heritage and as the
birthplace of numerous shipowners and seafarers, is now emerging as a central hub
for the advancement of modern Greek seamanship.

CHIOS

LEADING THE WAY

IN GREEK

SEAMANSHIP

On Saturday, 7 September 2024, the inauguration
of Greece’s first private Merchant Marine Acad-
emy (MMA) TEENS took place in Chios under
the auspices of the “Maria Tsakos” Foundation
- International Centre for Maritime Research and
Tradition.
The event was graced by the presence of His
All-Holiness, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bar-
tholomew, who bestowed his blessing on the
Academy, and attended by institutional represen-
tatives of the Greek state, the Republic of Cyprus,
entities and associations of the Greek maritime
community, other distinguished guests, as well
as students and their families.
The inauguration of the new Merchant Marine
Academy marks the establishment of the first
non-profit private initiative for maritime educa-
tion in Greece, notably outside of Athens. This
is the third educational unit founded by Capt.
Panagiotis N. Tsakos in his birthplace, preceded
by the “Maria’s Home – Education and Culture
Campus”, founded in Kardamyla in 2013, and the
“Tsakos Enhanced Education Nautical School”
(TEENS), founded in the capital of Chios in 2018.
In his emotionally charged welcome speech, the
founder of the Tsakos Group, Capt. Panagiotis

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