Greece is known for its historic ties to the sea - from the Battle of Salamis to its merchant shipping fleet today. As of last year, the Union of Greek Shipowners noted that Greece remains the top shipowning nation in the world with approximately 21 percent of the global fleet in terms of capacity. When breaking down the story of Greek shipping, two islands stand out today - Chios and Oinousses. Steven Tagle joins Thanos Davelis to discuss his latest in-depth report from Chios and Oinousses that breaks down how these two islands have come to lead the world’s shipping industry and how sea trade became Greece’s version of the American dream.

Steven Tagle is a fellow from the Institute of Current World Affairs funded by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. He previously served as speechwriter for the US Embassy in Athens and as a Fulbright Fellow in Greece. 

Read Steven Tagle’s latest piece here: How two Greek islands came to lead the world’s shipping industry

You can read the articles we discuss on our podcast here:

Greek opposition submits censure motion over phonetapping scandal

Greece at forefront of state-of-the-art photovoltaics