UGS President Travlos Warns IMO Net-Zero Framework Is Unrealistic and Would Turn Regulator Into Revenue Collector

Union of Greek Shipowners president Melina Travlos has delivered one of her most direct public assessments of the IMO Net-Zero Framework to date, telling journalists at the closing Posidonia press conference that the global shipping industry fell into a trap by following the European Union's ambitious and unrealistic decarbonisation targets. She argued that the framework would effectively transform the IMO from a safety and standards regulator into a revenue-collection mechanism, and questioned the transparency and logic of how the funds generated would be allocated.

Critique of the Net-Zero Framework

Travlos stated that in an effort to align with the EU's regional approach and transition to global measures, the IMO moved toward 2050 targets that she characterised as unrealistic. She said she raised the question of how collected funds would be directed during a conversation with IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez, who indicated that revenues would be allocated to poorer African countries and island states. Travlos expressed scepticism about this rationale, questioning the connection between shipping's decarbonisation levies and development finance for unrelated economies. The framing reflects a concern shared by several major shipping nations and owner groups that the Net-Zero Framework conflates emissions pricing with international wealth transfer in a way that lacks clarity and commercial logic for vessel operators.

 

Greece's Position and the October Abstention

 

Travlos praised the Greek government's handling of the issue, noting that it recognised the importance of shipping for both Greece and Europe and understood that the proposed regulation was flawed. Greece and Cyprus abstained in the vote to adjourn last October's extraordinary MEPC session while other EU member states voted to continue negotiations, marking the first occasion on which EU member states failed to vote as a unified bloc on a pre-agreed position. The Greek abstention, which Travlos has now publicly framed as correct in hindsight, has been a source of tension with Brussels, which has insisted that EU positions at the IMO must be coordinated centrally and presented with a single voice.

 

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Outlook for Alternative Proposals

 

On the path forward, Travlos noted that alternative proposals had been submitted, specifically referencing those from Liberia and Japan, but declined to state which option the UGS favours. She expressed cautious optimism about the negotiating environment, saying that the industry is in a better position than it was, and that if a compromise can be found it would benefit not only shipping but the global economy as a whole. The framing is consistent with the UGS position that has called for a realistic and implementable global solution rather than rejection of decarbonisation governance altogether, while maintaining sustained pressure for structural changes to the framework that is currently on the table.

 

Strait of Hormuz Tolls and Freedom of Navigation

 

Addressing the Middle East crisis and speculation about shipowners paying tolls to transit the Strait of Hormuz, Travlos was categorical that owners should not be involved in any such arrangements. She framed the issue in terms of freedom of navigation as a principle of international law and stressed that ships have been targeted and weaponised and that international laws and treaties must be respected. Her comments were delivered against a backdrop of diverging views within the industry, with Evangelos Marinakis suggesting that paying tolls would reduce disruption while the majority of shipowners present at Posidonia remained opposed to any form of payment for passage through the strait. Travlos's position reflects a view that commercial accommodation of toll demands would legitimise a threat to a fundamental maritime principle.

 

Dark Fleet and the Greek Shipping Industry

 

On the dark fleet, Travlos framed it as a threat to the industry rather than an industry problem, attributing its existence to the partial and non-universal nature of the sanctions regimes that create competitive distortions. She argued that as long as sanctions are not applied globally, dark fleets will continue to emerge as rational commercial responses to fragmented regulation. She also pushed back against what she described as unfair singling out of Greek shipping in dark fleet discussions, noting that vessels from many other countries have ended up in the shadow fleet and that Greek dominance of the global tanker fleet means that sold vessels can pass through multiple subsequent transactions beyond the original owner's control or knowledge.

 

Implications for IMO Negotiations and Industry Alignment

 

The Travlos statements at Posidonia reinforce the continuing pressure from major Greek and international shipowner groups on the IMO to revise the Net-Zero Framework before any December extraordinary session vote. The combination of concerns about revenue allocation transparency, the realism of 2050 targets, and the potential regulatory transformation of the IMO carries weight precisely because the UGS represents owners controlling a substantial share of global tanker and bulk carrier tonnage. For the IMO and its member states, the signals from Posidonia confirm that the intersessional working groups scheduled for September and ahead of MEPC 85 face a demanding agenda in producing convergence on a framework that major owner communities will support rather than continue to oppose.