Cruise Body CLIA at Posidonia 2022 with Sustainability on its Agenda

Posidonia 2022 is taking place at the Athens Metropolitan Expo center. Photo source: Posidonia Exhibitions

Representatives of the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) are attending Posidonia 2022, the world’s leading shipping event taking place in Athens, Greece.

In its 27th Posidonia year, the prestigious shipping is welcoming the global maritime community back to Athens after four years, focusing on the “hot” issues of energy transition, the green agenda, the post-pandemic landscape and the operation of the supply chain amid geopolitical challenges.

“It’s great to be in Posidonia and exchange views and ideas with all the leaders of the shipping industry on the future of the maritime sector and on how to reach our ambitious environmental goals,” said Marie-Caroline Laurent, CLIA’s Director General in Europe, who attended Posidonia and met with leaders of the industry, focusing their discussions on the green agenda.

CLIA’s Maria Deligianni (National Director in the Eastern Mediterranean) and Caroline Laurent (Director General in Europe) at the Posidonia 2022 shipping expo. Photo source: CLIA

Sustainability is a top priority for CLIA as well as for the whole maritime industry, as Posidonia discussions confirm. CLIA members have committed to pursuing net zero carbon cruising by 2050 and in order to reach this goal they make significant investments in new, technologically updated vessels. At the moment, 178 new cruise ships are on order until 2027, representing a value of 47 billion euros. And 93 percent of these ships are being built in European shipyards, confirming that the cruise industry is powering industrial excellence in the maritime sector in Europe.

“We were very happy to hear the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the Minister of Maritime Affairs Ioannis Plakiotakis supporting the sector’s transition to a new era of zero carbon emissions, but also highlighting the need of development and supply of alternative marine fuels as well as the development of adequate infrastructure, which are critical to our vision of net zero carbon cruising by 2050,” Marie-Caroline Laurent said.

Highlighting that CLIA’s sustainability goals are broader than net zero carbon emissions, Laurent said cruising is an integral part of sustainable tourism, especially in Greece, which is a top cruise destination.

“We our committed to support further sustainable development of the sector,” she said, adding that CLIA has teamed up with local and port authorities to assess the sustainability status of the municipalities of Corfu and Heraklion, among others, and to map out a plan for a future of sustainable tourism.

According to CLIA, the upgrade of Greece’s role as a leading cruise destination is also confirmed by this year’s figures for the country: From the 279 cruise ships of CLIA member companies worldwide, 87 will operate in Greece this year, of which 47 will homeport in the country.

According to data released by the Hellenic Ports Association (ELIME), cruise ship arrivals at Greek ports in 2022 are expected to rise by 25 percent compared to 2019.

Taking place at the Athens Metropolitan Expo, Posidonia 2022 will run until June 10.