In a letter, Greek shipowner Panos Laskaridis quit the Union of Greek Shipowners (UGS), after a controversial documentary which analyzed the relationship between the shipowning community and the Greek government.
More specifically, Mr. Laskaradis sparked controversy with the recent release of Black Trail, which investigates the environmental impacts of the shipping industry.
During the documentary Mr. Laskaradis states that:
People who are in shipping don’t need the Greek government, don’t need the ministry, don’t need the IMO, don’t need the prime minister
After this statement, Theodore Veniamis, the president of the Union of Greek Shipowners (UGS), stated the following:
As President of the UGS and representing its Board of Directors in its entirety, but also personally as a Greek citizen, I feel obliged to unequivocally state that, in any event, what Mr. Laskaridis has claimed express his own personal views, which we, in any event, unambiguously condemn and which do not reflect the genuine and deep patriotic feelings of the UGS
UGS also added that the Greek shipping community respects and honours the Greek Prime Minister, the members of the Greek government and its officials, ”advocating consistently the politically impartial character of shipping as a national asset for the country.”
As for Mr. Laskaridis, he blamed journalists for taking his comments out of context, but apologised to the Greek prime minister and the minister of shipping.
However, he did not hesitate to blame the Greek shipowner association for questioning his patriotism.
