Vasileios Vagyanakis
As the President of the Municipal Port Authority of Southern Dodecanese, I am reaching out to all our island communities, on behalf of the Board of Directors, with the aim of fostering better and faster communication and providing superior services to all users.
We strive to highlight the deep connection we have with the maritime environment, its significance, and the advantages it brings to the commercial and economic development of our region, thanks to its strategic geopolitical position.
The Dodecanese has long been renowned for its naval strength, maritime skills, and the relentless struggles its people have faced in the Aegean. Each of our islands has always been a beacon of culture and history, positioned at the crossroads of seas—dominant in the Mediterranean and having evolved over the centuries into a major commercial and naval power. The experience of the people of Rhodes at sea led to the creation of the highly influential “Rhodes Maritime Code,” a legal framework so profound that it was adopted by the Romans, the Byzantines, and is still in use today.
As the Municipal Port Authority of Southern Dodecanese, we are entrusted with preserving this invaluable heritage while advancing to meet the modern challenges presented by current economic and commercial conditions. We are continuously exploring ways to foster the development of maritime tourism, and we aim to offer immediate solutions in collaboration with the state, relevant organizations, and all those involved in maritime activities.
We are called upon to examine the policies that need to be implemented for establishing a Home Port for cruises, improving and synchronizing port and land infrastructure, and offering both quality and economic incentives to enhance our competitiveness in the global market.
Our focus is on upgrading port operations, showcasing both land and sea zones, as these are integral parts of the natural or built environments of our cities and hold immense cultural and tourism value. In many cases, these areas represent the primary and unique economic drivers for development and survival.
Thus, our policy aims to implement a comprehensive development program for the ports, with actions and measures designed to ensure their smooth operation. This includes the modern provision of port services to support vessels, the construction of supplementary port infrastructure for their efficient management, the regeneration or upgrading of land areas, and the systematic maintenance of all facilities. We will also pursue the rational management and utilization of resources to ensure sufficient transportation services and support sustainable development.
In summary, it is evident that, aside from the state’s plans for maritime transport, I believe that the Municipal Port Authority of Southern Dodecanese, in close cooperation with local communities (municipalities), must approach the creation and maintenance of port infrastructures with stringent scientific criteria. After all, it is no secret that the development, survival, and prosperity of our islands depend heavily on these very infrastructures.