The Alternate Minister of National Defence Dimitris Vitsas attended, on Tuesday 13 February 2018, the receipt and naming ceremony of the newly acquired auxiliary base ship “PTOLEMAIS” at the premises of the “NEW HELLENIC SHIPYARDS S.A” in Perama; this is the last one out of a total of four similar ships.
The ceremony was also attended by the Chief of HNGS Vice Admiral Nikolaos Tsounis, representatives of local authorities, members of the Supreme Naval Council as well as other guests.
The new auxiliary base ship, designed and built in Greece, has a passenger capacity of 150 persons; it has two main engines and state-of-the-art naval equipment.
The main mission of the ship is to transfer Hellenic Navy personnel to ships and services of the Salamis Naval Base, upgrading thus their means of transfer to their job, safely and promptly.
The Alternate Minister of National Defence stated:
“Ladies and Gentlemen, dear guests,
I am very pleased to be with you.
It is very important for me that in November 2015 we signed a contract to launch this programme which comprises the four auxiliary base ships, and in February 2018 we receive the fourth and last of them. This gives me the chance to say that, in this manner, we are launching a new effort, in which we can find the necessary people to address the needs and the competent associates to help us complete the works in time, employing the available funds.
Thus we get rid of politicians’ old habit of promising too much and not acting; or the state’s old habit of beginning something and never completing it. In this manner, I would like to express my thanks to our Hellenic Navy for their tireless effort, as well as to the direction and the employees of the New Hellenic Shipyards for having realized the deep concept. This is not a huge work, but it includes a concept which we should embrace and promote, like the Hellenic Navy Officers do. This is what we will need over the next years, because we must work fast and hard to reinvigorate our country’s shipbuilding industry.
It is very important that we have made some progress. I am pleased to see that these shipyards consider serving other vessels too or yachting, and this gives a new impetus. We are waiting for the already delayed reply which regards the Hellenic Shipyards, in order to start – since the Hellenic Navy, the Ministry of National Defence and the government are ready – a new procedure to reinvigorate all the major shipyards, which will offer new job posts, or, more correctly, will bring back the job posts to the major shipyards and to the shipbuilding and repair industry and will greatly boost our country’s economy. This is an essential issue and I would like to stress this dimension in today’s receipt and naming ceremony of “Ptolemais”.
This is the Personnel Welfare Year. Completing this programme is a part of it too, and it shows that there is a particular interest in this. But I would broaden this concept and I would speak of an Armed Forces Welfare Year in general. It is very crucial, apart from the shipbuilding and repair industry, to keep a high morale and preserve a high operational level in the Naval Base too which is a major service of vital importance for our Hellenic Navy. In cooperation with the Hellenic Navy General Staff, we are already proceeding towards a full integration of the 72 persons who are currently employed under contracts at the Naval Base, and who will greatly contribute to the effort we make.
We would like to unite the capabilities of the Naval Base with the capabilities of private entrepreneurship and enhance them to a new level, achieving a win-win situation. In this manner, both entrepreneurship will be promoted in our country and our country will overcome the crisis decisively and definitely and it will enter a new period of sustainable and constant development.
All this, happening at so dire times, give us hope for one more thing. It gives us, the Greek people – and women and men of the Hellenic Navy are well aware of it – the hope that our country will exercise its sovereignty rights, according to the International Law, and will conduct Greek people’s struggles with composure and decisiveness.
We hear some people trying to put in question our country’s sovereignty. We see behind this cries that show a lack of composure and problems coming from across the sea. We know what belongs to us and we know what we have to do so that our sovereignty rights in the Aegean are secured. The Ministry of National Defence, the Hellenic Navy and the General Staffs make their planning and this can allow the Greek people to remain devoted to their peaceful interests. Our security is guaranteed. Nobody should doubt about that. We would like to tell whoever “dreams” not to wake up from their deep sleep because the reality is different and is defined by our strength”.
