Galery

2

1

“Shipbuilding is not in crisis this year,” said the representative of the Bulgarian shipyard MTG-Dolphin PLC Nikos Papakonstantinou. The specialist was one of the many participants in the international shipping exhibition Poseidon 2010 in Athens and expressed his good impressions from this year’s business forum specifically to GRReporter. He said that such exhibitions are of particular importance to companies in the transport business. Even the mere participation in international exhibitions is a sign of quality and validity of many companies related directly or indirectly with the shipping industry. “We are regular participants in the Poseidon exhibition in the past seven years. What is important in this business is not only the search for new customers and contracts, but the presence and the contacts with the old partners. The customers want to be sure that the shipyard is operating and competitive on the market, so we take part every year,” explains a Greek representative of the Bulgarian shipyard.

MTG-Dolphin PLC is one of the Bulgarian shipyards that has placed Bulgaria on the map of the shipping industry with orders from Greece, The Netherlands, Denmark, USA, Hungary, Serbia, Turkey and others. The representative of the Varna Shipyard in Greece said the MTG-Dolphin PLC is competitive on the international market due to better fulfillment quality of the orders. He said the company has a tradition of producing high-quality ships and therefore the Greek unit provides nearly half of the orders of the company. “I can say that we have very good and beneficial cooperation with the Bulgarian shipyard for the fifteen years of mutual activity. The company is licensed under the international standards and is professionally run by the family Stoyanovi who have experience in production and are proven professionals,” said Nikos Papakonstantinou.

"The last year was a disaster for the shipbuilding business in the world. This year, however, things returned to their ordinary rhythm. This is indicative for our work as a shipyard. We are delighted with the serious interest in the company after last year’s downturn,” said Nikos Papakonstantinou.
Marina Papayoanou – coordinator of the German licensing company Germanischer Lloyd for Greece – shared the same opinion and stressed: “In a crisis or not life goes on. Whatever problems we can face locally or internationally, the shipping industry is a driving force of the global economy so that work and obligations must be fulfilled.” According to Papayoanou there is no lower interest in the exhibition this year and the shipping business goes on well as a whole.

The company that Marina Papayoanou represents is one of the five world leaders in issuing licenses for quality and reliability of ships. The international giant Germanischer Lloyd is also involved with the making of rules, procedures and guidance for shipowners. Its activities include inspection and certification of ship materials and components, and training of ship crews and staff for the new norms and rules in international shipping.

Exhibitions such as Poseidon cover the full range of products, services and technical innovations associated with global shipping. A fascinating pavilion at the Athens forum was that of Panama Consulate, which enables ship owners to change the state flag under which they sail. The benefits are lower taxes for private owners of ships and other maritime vessels. “The interest in the flag of Panama is very high due to the good conditions we offer to the shipping companies and the lower costs and taxes compared to other countries,” said the representative of the Consulate. She said that Panama opens new Consulate in the Greek port of Piraeus, which will facilitate administrative procedures for sailing under Panamanian flag. “If our customers in Europe needed between two and four days to settle certain documents remotely before, with this new office in Piraeus everything can be resolved within one day,” she explained. Other countries that have preferential policies to merchant shipping are Malta, Cyprus, Liberia and others.

The Poseidon exhibition hosts more than 1800 companies, leaders in international maritime transport and services from 87 countries worldwide. Traditionally it is held in the Greek capital every two years and it is promoted from New York to Hong Kong. Usually at least 10 000 visitors come to the exhibition during the five days and according to the organizers expected revenue for local tourism this year will surpass 50 million Euros. The exhibition is housed in the huge halls of the old Athens airport Elinikon, which – for the purposes of the international forum – is becoming a luxury showroom. Among the thousands of booths of foreign companies can be seen businessmen, tourists or just curious visitors. The forum gathers almost the entire world on 27 500 square meters and there you can hear many different languages and see the latest developments in the shipping industry. Especially attractive was the space occupied by the booths of Indian shipping companies. There the visitors could get acquainted with new achievements of the modern Indian Navy and at the same time enjoy traditional sweet-smelling Indian hors d'oeuvres. Labyrinths of posters and banners reveal exotic sights from around the world, invite visitors to step to luxurious pavilions and to learn about recent developments in commercial shipping and shipping.