“I don’t think we will be ready to abandon ships burning oil by 2030,” said Harry Vafias, CEO, Stealthgas Inc & Imperial Petroleum Inc. speaking at the 7th Naftemporiki Shipping Conference.
“I’ve seen reports about people wanting to stop orders for internal combustion engine ships by 2030… They still haven’t chosen what form of energy that will be, we’ve been hearing a lot of different things with pros and cons. But we still haven’t seen a specific action that will replace what we knew until now,” he said in the context of a discussion on “The Great Dilemmas.”
Speaking about the fuels of the future, he noted that right now no one wants to take the risk of being the pioneer. As he said, he himself believes in nuclear power, although there is a negative climate over it due to past accidents. “Maybe ammonia is a form of energy with good chances,” he added.
In reply to a question about the position of Greek shipowners in world shipping, he answered that the Greeks have shown over the years how adaptable and flexible they are, without any help, from the state or others, and they have taken huge risks to get where they are.
As for China, he said: “China is a much bigger country, with a lot of help from the state. But the Chinese shipowner does not have the sea in his DNA like the Greek does. And that’s why I believe that despite the problems, we will manage to keep the first place in the end.”