Mr. President,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear friends,
I would like to begin by expressing my warmest thanks to the Propeller Club.
It is an institution with a longstanding contribution to the shipping community and a meaningful role in promoting maritime thinking and international cooperation.
As an honorary member, I feel particularly honored, and I also hold in deep esteem the role it plays as a bridge between shipping, entrepreneurship, and the strategic understanding of the seas.
Our topic today is not merely timely.
It is critical.
Shipping and geopolitics are no longer two parallel realities.
They are two sides of the same strategic equation.
Navigation has always been a fundamental axis of power and order in the international system.
The seas are not merely routes of trade.
They are fields of influence, competition, and cooperation.
Today, in a world that is changing rapidly, their importance is returning forcefully to the forefront.
International balances are being challenged.
New rivalries are emerging.
Traditional certainties are receding.
And in this environment, maritime security is acquiring decisive importance.
It is no longer merely a technical issue.
It is a geopolitical issue.
An economic issue.
A strategic issue.
The seas are the arteries of the global economy.
The flow of energy depends on them.
The transport of raw materials depends on them.
The adequacy of markets depends on them.
Their stability is a prerequisite for international stability.
In this context, Greece has a distinctive role.
Greek shipping is one of the strongest expressions of our country in the world.
It is not merely an economic activity.
It is a national strength.
It is a cultural expression.
It is an element of identity.
The relationship of Hellenism with the sea is timeless.
From antiquity to the present day, the sea has been a field of creation, outward orientation, and influence.
Greek shipping is the tangible vindication of the idea that the sea enlarges a nation, whereas the land, with its natural and geographical constraints, often tends to confine it.
For a people rooted in a mountainous and geographically limited land, the sea was never an obstacle.
It was an endless path of creation, extroversion, and influence.
Where land imposes stillness and inwardness, the sea offers the horizon as a field of action.
Through its fleet, Greece transcends its narrow land borders.
It transforms the need for survival into a global economic and cultural presence.
This constant movement gives the nation a stature far greater than its geographical size.
And ultimately, Greek shipping proves that the true homeland of a seafaring people is not defined only by the territory it possesses, but also by the freedom it conquers on the open horizon of the seas.
The Greek merchant fleet, the largest in the world in terms of carrying capacity, plays a decisive role in the functioning of the global economy.
It transports energy.
It transports food.
It transports critical goods.
This is not merely an economic advantage.
It is geopolitical power.
And yet, this power has not been fully utilized.
Greek shipping remains, to a significant extent, outside the broader framework of foreign policy strategy.
The structure of our maritime strategy must now be freed from outdated stereotypes.
A new approach is required.
An approach based on mutual respect and on the clear recognition of both the common and the distinct spheres of action between the state and Greek shipping.
I stress this because Greek shipping has a broader international footprint and field of activity than that traditionally covered by state policy.
The convergence of the two, without any confusion of roles but with strategic complementarity, is a prerequisite for national strength.
Greece can and must place shipping at the core of its strategy.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The concept of maritime security is now at the center of attention.
Sea lines of communication are the main arteries of the global economy.
When they are disrupted, the consequences are immediate.
We can already see this.
From the Strait of Hormuz to the Red Sea, and from the Black Sea to the Eastern Mediterranean, threats are increasing.
Attacks on ships.
Asymmetric threats.
The politicization of navigation.
Attempts to control maritime corridors.
Disruptions to freedom of navigation.
And this development is not abstract.
The Eastern Mediterranean and the maritime corridors that connect it to the rest of the world are already being tested by a new reality of instability.
Attacks against ships, including Greek vessels, in the Strait of Hormuz are the clearest possible reminder that freedom of navigation cannot be taken for granted.
It is a cornerstone of the international economy, of energy security, and of geopolitical balance.
The same applies to the Black Sea, where war, the militarization of the region, attacks on commercial infrastructure, and the constant risks to navigation reveal how easily a maritime space of vital importance can be transformed into a zone of uncertainty with international consequences.
The instability there does not concern only the coastal states.
It affects trade flows, food security, the energy balance, and ultimately the strategic stability of the wider region itself.
Faced with this challenge, Greece cannot be a mere observer.
With its naval tradition, its geopolitical position, and its commitment to the International Law of the Sea, it can act as a force for stability, cooperation, and responsibility.
Because maritime security does not concern ships alone.
It concerns peace, prosperity, and international stability.
Shipping is increasingly becoming an instrument of pressure.
Energy security is affected.
Supply chains are disrupted.
Transport costs rise.
Uncertainty spreads through the markets.
The sea is no longer a neutral space.
It is a field of strategic confrontation.
The security of navigation is not limited to the physical protection of sea routes.
Nor only to the security of ports and infrastructure.
It touches deeper issues.
The resilience of international rules.
The limits of power.
The very architecture of global stability.
In a world where borders are shifting and security guarantees are being tested, the sea once again becomes the first mirror of geopolitical change.
At this point, however, I would also like to add certain new challenges that are already reshaping the global maritime map.
One of them is the melting of the Arctic ice and the gradual opening of polar routes.
This development creates new realities.
It opens up new possibilities for maritime transport.
At the same time, however, it also creates new risks, both strategic and environmental.
Access to new sea routes does not automatically mean stability.
It means new fields of competition, new claims, and new regulatory needs.
At the same time, we cannot ignore the fact that geopolitical competition between the United States and China directly affects the East China Sea, primarily because of Taiwan.
A potential crisis in that region would not remain local.
It would have immediate consequences for global maritime trade as a whole, for supply chains, for energy flows, and for the overall balance of the international economy.
Finally, I believe that geoeconomic competition, through tariffs, sanctions, and embargoes, now constitutes a major challenge for shipping as well.
And this is because, from one moment to the next, it can alter the framework within which markets operate and directly affect trade flows and international maritime commerce.
Shipping is now called upon to function not only in an environment of geopolitical uncertainty, but also in a field of constant geoeconomic realignment.
The international regulatory framework is being tested.
The Convention on the Law of the Sea is being challenged in practice.
Unilateral claims.
The militarization of regions.
The instrumentalization of rights.
Attempts to create faits accomplis.
The shift from legality to power is now visible.
In the face of this reality, Greece remains steadfast.
In international law.
In principles.
In stability.
It does not seek tension, but neither does it accept challenges to legality.
Because ambiguity at sea very often foreshadows instability on land.
The Eastern Mediterranean, the Black Sea, and the wider region linking Europe with the Middle East and Africa now form a single strategic arc.
And within this arc, Greece is not a mere observer.
It is a critical geopolitical hub.
Our geographical footprint, combined with our maritime strength, makes our country a pillar of transit, security, and stability.
International organizations have a role to play, but they are not sufficient on their own.
Coordination is required.
Political will is required.
Operational adaptation to the new reality is required.
The International Maritime Organization shapes the regulatory framework.
The United Nations sets out the fundamental principles of international law.
However, modern threats are more complex.
More hybrid.
More unpredictable.
For this reason, the responses cannot be fragmented.
The role of the United States remains decisive.
Particularly in the Mediterranean and in the wider maritime zones of strategic interest.
The strategic relationship between Greece and the United States confirms a basic reality:
that Greece today constitutes a key pillar of maritime stability in the region.
At the same time, NATO, too, must adapt.
It must defend not only territories, but also maritime zones.
It must prevent maritime instability.
It must understand that security does not stop at the coastline.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The Eastern Mediterranean calls on us to rethink our role not in terms of passive adaptation, but in terms of initiative and responsibility.
This sea has long been a field of competition, but also a space where civilizations and interests meet.
Today, in an environment of heightened instability, it is returning to the center of international developments, highlighting at once both the challenges and the opportunities it contains.
Security in the Mediterranean cannot be built without dialogue, without trust, and without respect for the International Law of the Sea.
And this dialogue is not a sign of weakness.
It is the most mature expression of strength.
Greece, with its historical depth, its geopolitical position, and its maritime identity, can serve as a bridge.
As a force for stability, understanding, and perspective.
Not merely as part of developments, but as a shaper of them.
At a time when tensions are multiplying and certainties are diminishing, our country has the ability to invest in a strategy that unites: to cultivate partnerships, to strengthen energy and maritime connectivity, and to promote peace and stability.
Because, in the end, the Mediterranean is not a border that divides.
It is a space that can unite.
And Greece can — and must — stand at the forefront of this effort.
Thank you.