DOKOS: Maximos—and the government’s communications apparatus in general—has been going above and beyond since Friday, in an attempt to quell the uproar caused by the video call between the Secretary-General of National Security—in the presence of the Prime Minister—and well-known Russian pranksters.
Led by PASOK, which subsequently insisted, a number of political parties directly called for his resignation—particularly parties to the right of New Democracy, such as Greek Solution and Victory—while other political opponents attacked the prime minister and the government as a whole.
Perhaps the most ironic and pointed, however, was Antonis Samaras, whose public comment was limited to a single… question: “Is Mr. Dokos still in his position?”
Both Thanos Dokos himself and government “circles” tried to argue that he did not, unintentionally, reveal any “confidential or classified” information to the pranksters. But that’s not exactly the case.
Because he spoke to the pranksters about the visit by the head of the EYP to Ukraine the very previous day, in order to hold meetings with his counterparts in the Ukrainian intelligence services.
No matter how hard one searches, one will not find any prior publicity or announcement regarding this visit, either in the Greek or Ukrainian media.
Such visits, after all, are rarely publicized, precisely because—regardless of whether they have been formally classified as secret—they are certainly… confidential.
DOCUMENT II: Furthermore, by discussing with the pranksters the possibility of a new incident involving Ukrainian drones in Greek waters, he gave them—and thus the Russian side as well—a very clear picture, one they certainly could not have obtained on their own, of how the Greek government would actually react.
This is invaluable information, because it’s one thing to learn what has been made public regarding diplomatic actions, and quite another to have someone—as the Prime Minister’s Secretary General for National Security—tell you firsthand how the country will react!
Nevertheless, the government did not seem willing to play into the hands of its opponents by pushing Mr. Dokos to resign, for two reasons.
The first is that there have already been many and varied “resignations,” so each new one further unravels the… sweater. Furthermore, Dokos had the “misfortune” of having his ordeal follow a series of other similar incidents, with political figures in various Western countries as victims.
We’re talking about several well-known—even world-famous—politicians, as well as national security advisors, in recent years, with a recent example—prior to Thanos Dokos—being a security advisor to the president of a Baltic country.
DOKOS III: Having witnessed some instances of such incidents, we were left wondering how these two Russians manage to achieve their goal time and time again, when the trick is clearly an old one.
The Greek incident confirmed our suspicions, as the “government circles” we mentioned above rushed to leak that “communication protocols are being strengthened”—after the fact.
The security protocols activated before the video call were rather… laughable, at least as he himself presented them in an interview with SKAI, an excerpt of which is shown in the video below:
It seems like everyone waits to suffer first before they learn, instead of learning from the mistakes of... those who came before!
P.S.: For the record, this isn’t the first time that Dokos—who is otherwise quite likable—has put the government in a difficult position. In 2020, as deputy national security advisor at the time, he spoke about joint exploitation of resources in the Aegean Sea with Turkey and caused an uproar, even going so far as to offer his resignation to the prime minister. Will this second time… prove to be a bitter pill to swallow? Time will tell.
KARAMEROS: George Karameros’s decision to resign from his seat in Parliament so he could join Alexis Tsipras’s Hellenic Police (ELAS) unencumbered had been expected for some time.
So much so that SYRIZA’s first alternate in Eastern Attica, Christos Spirtzis, had already been sounded out on whether he intended to take the seat.
The answer, as had been leaked many times, was “no.” On the one hand, because SYRIZA no longer represents his views (he had long since resigned from all party bodies), and, on the other hand, because if he were to consider joining the Hellenic Police (ELAS), he could not do so as a… sitting member of parliament.
If Mr. Spirtzis sticks to his “no” until the end, the seat will go to the next runner-up, Myrto Korovesi, who, however, followed Stefanos Kasselakis after his expulsion from Koumoundourou and is currently vice president of his “Democrats” party.
The second runner-up was Nasos Athanasiou, who recently passed away.
Although Mr. Karameros announced his decisions (very) early Saturday morning, his official letter of resignation as a member of Parliament will reach the Speaker’s Office within the next few days: that is, once “procedural matters” have been settled, primarily the fate of his staff members who work as temporary appointees in his parliamentary office and need to be absorbed into another MP’s office or a party position.
As we’re learning, there will soon be other resignations by members of Parliament, either current SYRIZA members or former members who have since become independents. Take, for example, the former SYRIZA member and current independent, Yiannis Sarakiotis, who has made no secret of his support for Alexis’s new party.
SYRIZA: The worst thing that the members of SYRIZA’s Central Committee—who are also heading toward ELAS—can do is to remain in their positions until the body’s next meeting on Saturday, to support the previous decision (that the party will not run in the elections), and the very next day… to resign.
Word is that quite a few intend to proceed this way, so that Socrates Famellos retains his supporters and “the party does not fall into Polakis’s hands.”
That is why the leaders of the (former?) minority faction—Polakis, Dourou, Pappas, and others—are calling on anyone who wants to leave SYRIZA to do so before Saturday, that is, before the Central Committee meeting. Otherwise, they will denounce a “fake majority,” which they will also characterize as “dishonest.”
And all this while SYRIZA’s poll numbers hover just above one percent…
TSIPRAS: Following the rallies, videos, and announcements, the Greek Left Coalition is shifting to more… direct, media-oriented forms of communication.
Today at noon, the party will hold its first press conference on the topic “The Mitsotakis Seven-Year Term—Seven Years of Lies, Missed Opportunities, and Corruption.” The presentation will be given by the Head of the Economic Affairs Division, Fragiskos Koutentakis; the Head of the Labor Affairs Division, Dionysis Temboneras; and the ELAS Press Spokesperson, Theoni Koufonikolakou.
And this, as we’ve learned, is the indirect response to the government’s “system,” which is bringing up the July 5, 2015, referendum—given yesterday’s anniversary—in an attempt to steer the discussion back to that tumultuous six-month period.
“You talk about the past, and we’ll talk about the present and the future”—that is the message of this first press conference…
TSATSAKIS: Greek company Modion Maritime has proceeded with its third ship purchase for 2026, continuing its strategy of expansion through mid-aged used bulk carriers. Myron Tsatsakis’s company has agreed to acquire the post-Panamax Yangze 905, with a deadweight tonnage of 92,500 dwt and built in 2010.
The purchase price was not disclosed; however, market estimates place the vessel’s value between $15.8 million and $17.7 million. With this purchase, Modion Maritime’s total expenditures for the acquisition of five Kamsarmax and Post-Panamax vessels over the past two years now exceed $100 million.
The Yangze 905 is expected to join the company’s fleet in July, bringing Modion Maritime’s managed fleet to 21 vessels. The Tsatsakis family currently owns 15 bulk carriers and two chemical tankers, and the company’s growth is based exclusively on the purchase of secondhand vessels, with no orders for newbuilds.
This strategy is accompanied by limited sales, as over the past two years the company has divested only one 1998-built Panamax vessel, thereby achieving a net increase in its fleet.
According to shipping sources, Modion Maritime’s owned vessels are free of bank debt, a fact that offers the company significant flexibility for new moves in the secondhand ship market.
SHIPPING: The election of Danae Bezantakou as president of the historic Propeller Club of Piraeus marks a new chapter in the organization’s history, as she becomes the first woman to hold the position since its founding 91 years ago. Her election took place on June 29, and her term will last until 2029.
Danae Bezantakou succeeds Kostis Fragoulis, who led the Greek chapter for seven years and remains president of the international Propeller Club organization.
“Today is a historic day for the Propeller Club of Piraeus, with a woman at the helm for the first time in our 91-year history,” said Mr. Fragoulis.
Head of Navigator Shipping Consultants and well known in the shipping industry for organizing conferences and events, the new president comes from a family with a presence in shipping spanning more than five decades.
For the past seven years, she has held senior positions at the Propeller Club of Piraeus, and she has been actively working to attract young people to the shipping profession by founding the Young Executives Shipping Forum and writing a children’s book on shipping.
At the same time, she has taken the lead in promoting women’s entrepreneurship through the Greek Mentoring Network, while her close ties with the U.S. are expected to further strengthen the international role of the Propeller Club, which has traditionally served as a bridge of cooperation between the Greek and American shipping communities.
HYDROCARBONS: The recent 15-month extension granted to Helleniq Energy for exploration work in the “Ionio” block has sparked a new round of discussions.
The goal is for the group, which holds a 100% stake in the concession, to move on to the next phase with a strong international partner at its side; and as sources familiar with the process tell this column, the companies with which it is initially in talks are ExxonMobil and Chevron, with whom it already collaborates in other regions.
The question is when the conditions for such a deal will be ripe. The most likely scenario is that, before taking any action, the parties involved will await the results of the drilling in the neighboring “Block 2” in the northwestern Ionian Sea by the ExxonMobil–Energean–Helleniq Energy consortium. Drilling is set to begin in February, and results are expected in April 2027.
If the results are positive, the deal for the “Ionian Sea” is considered a done deal.
There is, of course, a second scenario, according to which, because some have already factored in positive results from “Block 2,” they are already moving toward an agreement on the “Ionian” project…
MEZZ: The government’s legislative intervention in favor of borrowers under the Katseli Law—following the Supreme Court’s ruling on the matter—has triggered a second round of pressure on Mezz shares.
The four stocks came under pressure following the Supreme Court’s ruling in early June, with Sunrise Mezz losing a cumulative 8%, Phoenix Vega Mezz falling 6%, Galaxy Mezz recording a drop of over 24%, and Cairo Mezz posting marginal losses—though it had already fallen more than 50% since the start of the year.
Following the legislative intervention on June 23, the shares have entered a new sideways-downward trend, further depressing their valuations.
Specifically, Galaxy Mezz is seeing a new round of cumulative losses of 15%, closing Friday at 0.2695 euros with a 2.5% decline.
Sunrise Mezz has fallen a cumulative 18% since June 23 (down 8.3% to 0.137 euros on Friday), Cairo Mezz posted marginal losses (down 3.4% on Friday), while Phoenix Vega Mezz has lost approximately 14% (with a drop of nearly 5% on Friday to 0.0498 euros).
The million-dollar question now is where the turning point lies for stocks in the sector and when buyers will step in…