THE Union of Hellenic Shipowners (UEE), through SYN-ENOSIS, the Urban Non-Profit Society for the Social Offer of Greek Shipbuilding, in the context of actions carried out by Greek shipping, donated five (5) special vehicles to the Fire Department which will strengthen our country’s fire protection to deal with forest fires. This offer of special forest type vehicles is part of the framework donation of €2,500,000 in 2021 and is expected to be completed in the coming months with the delivery of an additional 3 pick-up vehicles and 5 SUVs.

They were received today, Thursday, March 14, 2024, in the presence of the Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection in a special ceremony, in the outdoor area of ​​the facilities of the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection in Marousi, Attica.
This is a remarkable initiative to strengthen the operational capabilities of the Fire Brigade in dealing with natural disasters and especially forest fires and other extraordinary events throughout the territory.

The five (5) water-borne, special firefighting vehicles (4×4), fully equipped, with a capacity of 1,500 lt of water and an additional amount of 100 lt of foaming material, will strengthen forest protection in Attica, Ilia, Evia, Halkidiki and Arcadia.

The Chief of the Fire Department Lieutenant General Theodoros Vagias, as a sign of appreciation, awarded an honorary plaque to the President of the Union of Greek Shipowners, Melina Travlou, and thanked the EEE stressing that: “your long-term support and your today’s speech, strengthen the operational capabilities of the Fire Department and significantly facilitate our work”.
The president of the Union of Greek Shipowners and SYN-UNOSIS, Ms. Melina Travlou, taking the floor, emphasized that “I would like to start with a public “thank you” to the women and men of the Fire Department. Thank you for your non-stop giving, every day, all day, across the country, to all of us. You serve the country selflessly. Faithful to your duty, you even risk yourself when you venture against particularly adverse conditions. Your contribution, immediacy, care in crisis management, are of vital importance in the daily protection of Greek citizens, as well as visitors to our country. In the safety of all of us, in our possessions, in our very lives.

Our Union, recognizing your titanic work over time, in the summer of 2021, proceeded with another donation, amounting to 2,500,000 euros, strengthening the operational capabilities of the Fire Department. In the first phase, we covered immediate equipment needs, which concern all the actions, intervention and execution of the Corps’ tasks in all fields, throughout the country. With today’s delivery of 5 firefighting vehicles of a special forest type, suitable for the difficult and impassable topography of our country, we are coming to contribute even more dynamically to the work of the Corps. Our donation will be completed in the coming months with the delivery of an additional 3 pick up vehicles and 5 SUVs.

In conclusion, I would also like to refer to the individual responsibility, which concerns the action, but also the response of each of us. In our contribution to prevention as responsible citizens and in informing the authorities immediately as active citizens. So let’s operate with the Greek philotimos, with the interest of each other and all together for our country. With climate change now becoming a climate crisis, there is neither time nor space for indifference by anyone, for anyone.

In closing, I would like to address, as I began, the women and men of the Fire Service, who are rightly recognized by all of us as modern heroes. The shipping of the Greeks was, is and will be a helper in your work. In the work of the common good, in the work of daily giving that touches every Greek woman and every Greek man, in every corner of our homeland.”

Afterwards, the Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, Vassilis Kikilias, awarded the president of EEE and SYN-UNOSIS, Ms. Melina Travlou, a commemorative gift, he made special reference to the importance of the specific donation and specifically that “Mr. Minister, Madam President, Mr. Chief, Mr. Deputy Chief, Mr. Chief of Staff, Mr. Generals, ladies and gentlemen, it is with great pleasure that I stand beside you today recognizing in the person of the President of the Union of Greek Shipowners, the Syn-Union, Mrs. Melina Travlou, the offer – the selfless offer – of people who have succeeded in their lives and have the ability to support and help our country.

This patriotic offer of yours is for the common good. And at the same time, it also has a noble purpose, in order to enable the Civil Protection, the men and women of the Fire Department and also our volunteers, all those who are working on the front line to face in the best possible way, every need that will arise, in order to defend above all the value of human life, the property of all of us and of course the ecology, the forest, the natural beauty of our country.

It is obvious what has preoccupied the entire planet in recent years, the global public health crisis.
Now, climate change is of global concern in the most dramatic way, which has clearly reached the point of being treated as a climate crisis and in fact, some scientists are already talking about a climate collapse. Our country was tested in 2023. The needs we have are very, very big. I am very happy and proud that we can implement the “Aegis” program, a program envisioned by the Prime Minister of the country, Kyriakos Mitsotakis and which is slowly being completed in terms of its competitive procedures and will be presented to Greek society in the next period of time .

In the difficult times that we have faced in recent years, the Union of Greek Shipowners, Syn- Union, has stood by the homeland and by the respective government. He did this in my first term as Minister for Citizen Protection in 2014, in times of austerity budget policies and poverty for essentials. He did it again in the pandemic in an emphatic way. And we are obliged and grateful for that. And he’s doing it again now with this major donation of vehicles that we really need. I assure you Madam President that this offer of the Union of Greek Shipowners will not go to waste under any circumstances. On the contrary, you will see these machines alongside our men and women on the front lines of battle. It is clear that we are expecting and preparing for a difficult fire season. This is what the climatic conditions show and this is what our scientists predict. That is why we have invested in prevention, we have invested in training together with all the other bodies and with our foresters, we have invested in cooperation with all co-competent agencies. Of course, the private sector is also an integral part of this cooperation and we feel that the lines between the public sector, the private sector and the state are fading when it comes to meeting real needs regarding the protection of citizens and our country.

In conclusion, I want to publicly thank all the Greek Shipowners again in your person and say that the country in difficult times has always had people who took a step forward and were benefactors and supported it for the common good. The country has been through many adventures, in various phases of its history and today it is living a very, very big challenge, that of the climate crisis. We thank you very much for being on our side and offering in practice to this very great national and patriotic effort. Be well.”.

The ceremony was also attended by the treasurer of EEE Ioannis Xylas and the members of the board of directors of SYN-ENOSIS Alexia Katsaouni and Aikaterini Bodouroglou, the Deputy Chief of the Fire Brigade Lieutenant General Nikolaos Roumeliotis, the Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Athanasios Balafas, the General Inspector of Fire Services Southern Greece Lieutenant General Panagiotis Niafas, the Head of the Administrative Support Branch Lieutenant General Demosthenes Ragavas, the Commander of the Fire Academy Lieutenant General Konstantinos Theofilopoulos, the Attica Operations Coordinator Lieutenant General Athanasios Hatzopoulos, the Commander of the E.S.K.E.D.I.K. Major General Dimitrios Briolas, the Head of the Fire Operations Branch Major General Georgios Markoulakis, the Director of Strategic Planning and Communication Chief Nikolaos Balsis, the Commander PE.PY.D. Archpyrarch of Attica Christos Simiakakis, the Director of Technical Support and Infrastructure Pyrarchos Moses Mordos, the Senior Commander of the 1st E.MO.DE. Deputy Fire Chief Ioannis Bilias and a number of firefighters from Attica Services.