Panos Xenokostas, President of the Hellenic Shipyards Association, Chairman & CEO of the Hellenic Shipyards Group, referred to the growth course of the ONEX Shipyards (Syros and Elefsina) in the last five years, the national success of the sector's renaissance, which was considered by many to be impossible, and the upcoming investment plans of the ONEX Group, in a discussion at the Delfi Economic Forum IX, in Delphi.

Specifically, speaking about the Syros shipyard, he said that "just before 2019, Syros Shipyards had debts of almost €80 million. Their activity had stopped for almost 7 years, the facilities were damaged, and the 180 workers were unpaid.

The workers there have received around €10 million, from the debts of the previous ownership, while annually around €20 million is returned to the island, around €35 million of investments have already been made, and EUR 25 million has been repaid to the state and the relevant funds, just as was foreseen in the restructuring plan.

A new cycle of investments is already under way at this moment with the aim of bringing the Syros shipyards into their next day. At the same time, in cooperation with CISCO and the South Aegean Region, we have created the New Technologies Innovation Centre for island and shipping. CISCO's first one outside the US," he said. On the Elefsina shipyard, he noted that "until two years ago and for about seven years, the workers were unpaid, with debts reaching 44 million euros. At the same time, two of the tanks were sunk and the whole facility was in disrepair.

PLANS

In the coming years, we aspire for the ONEX Group's shipyards in Neorio and Elefsina to acquire an integrated culture of cooperation, operating in harmony as a single enterprise. Size counts in an internationalised market such as the shipping industry and for this reason it must be made clear that we compete daily with countries such as Malta, Turkey, Italy and France. This was our competition when we signed the contracts with Algeria, an agreement that for the first time was given to our country," he pointed out.

On the upcoming agreements and investments, he stressed that "in the merchant shipping part, we aspire to become a hub of industry transformation and green transition for the whole region. We are very close to acquiring new technologies related to fuel emission reduction and carbon capsule systems."

In the new shipbuilding sector, Panos Xenokostas said that within the next two months, the first contract for the construction of 100-metre ferryboats will be signed with Attica. At the same time, an agreement is in the pipeline, also with a Greek owner, for the construction of two tagboats, as well as a third contract for the construction of a 45-metre vessel.

On the defence side, our aim is to design and build ships here in Greece that support the fleet. The under-construction part is not our concern. Greek shipyards are not the machine shops of other shipyards," he said. Finally, as far as the energy part is concerned, "we aspire and we are prepared to proceed with the project of floating wind turbines, which will be entirely manufactured at the Elefsina Shipyards. This market by 2050 in our country is valued at over €billion", explained Mr. Xenokostas.