SEA

The Sea, a source of power and prosperity for Greece
21/09/2017

On the 21st of September our students' Executive Committee participated in the event of Eugenides foundation with the subject : << The Sea, a source of power and prosperity for Greece>>.

Through the event we were given the chance to hear from 20 people who are involved in a lot of different ways with the maritime and the shipbuilding industry , about the subjects that are now on the cutting edge of the Greek marine business.

The main line of the event and commonly accepted fact from all the speakers , was the contribution of the marine business to the Greek economy and culture. There was also pointed the necessity to develop it , modernize it and achieve an effective cooperation with the state in favor of the Greek seaman and all those people who are directly or indirectly employed in the industry and of course for the maintenance of our marine tradition.

An important problem that has to be solved in the next few years is the lack of Greek seamen. Indicatively today that we have approximately 5000 ships there are 15.000 Greeks in the industry and the one third of them is in the field of coasting. In contrast when the Greek ships were only 1000 , the number of seamen was tenfold. As a result the public education has to be enhanced and probably the creation of some private Maritime Academies and Universities would be helpful.

One of the speakers, Mr. Lyridis, Professor in the school of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering NTUA, was referred to the decline of the shipbuilding industry in Greece but also expressed his hopes and beliefs that with the appropriate developments and the help of the competent authorities the shipyards can operate sufficiently again.

Finally the chairwoman of our student’s Executive Committee , Ms. Lydia Kougioumoutzaki mentioned the opportunities that the maritime business has to offer to young people who think about following a career in the field of marine engineering and shared the students' hopes for the recovery of the Greek Shipbuilding Industry.