Shipping executives meeting in Athens on Monday said that any peace deal worked out between
the United States and Iran would need to offer clear rules allowing vessels to resume normal business via the Strait of Hormuz.
Shipowners and maritime industry officials met at a Capital Link conference and other events to begin Posidonia, a week-long biennial shipping exhibition.
Below are selected quotes (in alphabetical order):
ARSENIO DOMINGUEZ, SECRETARY GENERAL, INTERNATIONAL MARITIME ORGANISATION (IMO)
“There have been … recent announcements that there’s a possibility of a 60-day ceasefire. If t
hat includes, of course, the Strait of Hormuz, and I can get guarantees from the countries that it is safe
to start using the waterway, that’s where the evacuation framework immediately will come and kick in
. That’s what we’re looking for, because the first objective is always to seafarers, to engage, so they can actually leave the conflict zone.”
PANKAJ KHANNA, PRESIDENT, HEIDMAR MARITIME HOLDINGS CORP
“What we need is obviously a framework, a rules regulation, whatever tells us exactly how we ca
n go in and get out. So even if a peace deal was signed, that needs to be clarified and that we don’t know as yet.
Watch More Image Part 2 >>>
Khanna said the company had a vessel stuck inside the Gulf for the past three months a
nd noted the impact on seafarers: “Obviously the seafarers on board are missing out, not only on seeing their families but also on births, on deaths, on marriages.”
VASILIS KIKILIAS, GREECE’S SHIPPING MINISTER
“Can somebody predict (an end to the conflict)? Unfortunately, no… Things get messy in terms of conflicts very, very easily, and they get untangled, (but that is) very, very difficult.
“We are hoping, of course, that there will be a solution. We cannot accept that there will be no free (passage) for ships all over the globe. I wish that they would leave
the shipping industry, the seafarers, and global trade out of the equation, but it seems like this is impossible.”
EVANGELOS MARINAKIS, FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN, CAPITAL MARITIME & TRADING CORP
“We all agree that the war should stop, should finish yesterday even … the consumer pays the price all around the world.”
“On the other hand ..from what we have seen so far, we can afford to wait for two weeks mo
re, one month more … if the final agreement was good for all of us… an agreement that would make us feel safe and confident for the future.
“I am quite optimistic that waiting for a couple of weeks or a month, a solution will be found.”
