Key points from Panos Xenokostas’ speech at the Delphi Economic Forum:
- “Proposal by Panos Xenokostas to the Skaramangas Shipyards for the creation of a unified defense shipbuilding entity to support the Hellenic Navy”
- “We caused economic bleeding in Turkey. Our goal… is for this bleeding to increase”
- “The footprint on the national GDP reaches 1 billion euros”
- “National Ship, with design, construction and support from the Greek Shipyards”
- “Excellent relations with Prokopiou, Varvitsiotis”
- “Unpleasant experiences of the past must not be repeated”
- “We invested over 130 million euros. 2,000 jobs”
- “With the commercial war currently underway, we must focus on strengthening the domestic defense industry”
The President and CEO of ONEX, Panos Xenokostas, and President of the Hellenic Shipyards Association, participated in the panel “Defence Strategy and Security Challenges in Greece”, within the framework of the proceedings of the Delphi Economic Forum, on Saturday, April 12, 2025.
Mr. Xenokostas had the opportunity to present his views on the environment being shaped in Greece and internationally, in terms of the challenges accompanying the Defense and Security sector, armament programs, the domestic defense industry and the Greek companies that are claiming a leading role in international competition, the new defense priorities of the European Union and more broadly of the West, and what must be done by the State so that the footprint of the national defense industry is stronger.
At the conclusion of his intervention, Mr. Xenokostas also publicly submitted a surprise proposal. Categorically denying related rumors and publications, he clarified that relations with the Skaramangas Shipyards, Mr. Prokopiou and Mr. Varvitsiotis, are excellent.
“I listen to their concerns. The leaderships of the Shipyards are not in conflict. And I propose that a new national entity be created, with the Skaramangas and ONEX Shipyards appearing as a single interlocutor of the Hellenic Navy.”
According to the President and CEO of ONEX, we must begin to speak of a “Greek ship,” a “national warship”, with design, construction and support from the Greek Shipyards, which will substantially strengthen the overall domestic industrial ecosystem, which in turn will be able to meet foreign needs as well.
“We need companies that can produce complete products. We made investments for corvettes, but the Hellenic Navy did not proceed,” he stressed.
The President of ONEX described the long journey the company had to go through from 2018–2019, when it took over the Syros and Elefsis Shipyards, which were in a state of dissolution, with large debts, unpaid workers, without infrastructure and without any real footprint.
“It took great effort to reverse that image. And to overcome the paradox that Greece is the leading shipping power in the world, without any operational Shipyard. To date, we have invested more than 130 million euros in the Shipyards, creating 2,000 direct and indirect jobs. And repaying the debts owed to the workers,” was the characteristic remark of the head of ONEX and the Hellenic Shipyards Association.
Describing the footprint of ONEX in the Greek shipbuilding industry for 2024, Mr. Xenokostas stated that:
80.1% of the total capacity, within Greek territory, of the ships repaired inside the docks was executed.
Ships with a total capacity of 2,755,954 GT out of 3,438,812 GT were serviced in all Greek shipyards, a numerical figure that represents 51.2% of the total number of ships that were serviced in all the shipyards of the country.
ONEX serviced 126 out of 246 ships (51.2%) in dry docks, proving its significant impact on the local economy and shipping.
Panos Xenokostas expressed pride in the results of the great work done in recent years, with more than 200 ships being serviced by the two Shipyards, Syros and Elefsis, annually.
“Investments are moving forward. The footprint is growing, and the country’s positioning on the international level is changing. The footprint on the national GDP now reaches 1 billion euros,” he emphasized.
The head of ONEX defined the strategic goal for the next day as the commitment to shipbuilding, including defense ships on behalf of the Hellenic Navy, expressing the hope that unpleasant experiences of the past will not be repeated, with the Navy being both customer and supplier, a dysfunction that had a heavy cost for the national economy and the Greek taxpayer.
“We are committed to continue on the path we started. We are proud of the results of our investment. We did our duty for our homeland,” commented Panos Xenokostas.
His reference to the economic blow dealt to the Turkish defense industry by the development momentum of the Greek Shipyards of Syros and Elefsis made an impression.
“The market we are serving today, we essentially took it from Turkey. We caused them economic bleeding. And I hope this bleeding will increase,” Panos Xenokostas emphasized meaningfully.
Regarding the new reality being shaped at the international level, with the tariff policy from the Trump administration, Mr. Xenokostas made the following observation:
“With the commercial war that is currently underway, each country and the Western world as a whole will be oriented towards producing national products. That is why we must focus on strengthening the domestic defense industry.”
ONEX – PRESS RELEASE
