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Paros News

27 Dec 2021

At Least 16 Dead in Greek Shipwreck

(Photo: Hellenic Coast Guard)

At least 16 people died when their boat overturned off the Greek island of Paros in the central Aegean Sea on Friday, in the third maritime disaster involving migrants this week, the country's coastguard said.Authorities scrambled a search and rescue operation overnight northwest of Paros. Air and sea assets were deployed to the area, the coastguard said.Greece is one of the main routes into the European Union for migrants and refugees from Africa, the Middle East and beyond, though the flow has tapered off since 2015-2016…

26 Apr 2016

Ocean Rig buys Cerrado drillship

Cyprus-based Ocean Rig has stepped in to buy the sixth generation ultra-deepwater (UDW) drillship Cerrado, which once drilled the giant Libra prospect offshore Brazil, following its owner Brazil-based Schahin Group bankruptcy declaration last April. Ocean Rig paid US$65 million at auction for the UDW drillship. The drillship was built at Samsung Heavy Industries in 2011 to similar design specifications as the company’s existing 6th generation drillships built at Samsung, and will be renamed the Ocean Rig Paros upon its delivery to Ocean Rig. The Cerrado drillship bought at auction was previously operated by a unit of the Brazilian firm Schahin Group, which in April 2015 filed for bankruptcy after racking up billions of dollars in debt.

22 Jan 2016

Fires Still Raging at Major Libyan Oil Terminal After Attack

Fires at oil storage tanks in the major Libyan terminal of Ras Lanuf were still raging on Friday more than 24 hours after an attack by Islamic State militants, a firefighting official said. Mustafa Moussi said fires were burning at five of the terminal's 13 storage tanks, one of which was close to collapse. "Even with the best efforts of the firefighters we are expecting the worst in the coming hours," he told Reuters. Libya remains plagued by violence and political turmoil almost five years after the uprising that overthrew Muammar Gaddafi. Rival governments backed by armed factions in Tripoli and the east have battled for power and a share of the country's oil wealth.

02 Jun 2015

Aquarius MAS + Solar Ready for Commercial Use

As a result of the recent successful completion of sea trials on-board the high speed car and passenger ferry, Blue Star Delos, Eco Marine Power (EMP) has now cleared the Aquarius MAS + Solar and Aquarius Marine Solar Power solutions for commercial release. During two days of testing and evaluation on the 17th and 19th May, 2015, the performance of the Aquarius MAS + Solar trial system on-board Delos was assessed by both EMP and Blue Star Ferries technical personnel as part of the Blue Star Delos Renewable Energy Innovation Project. Aquarius MAS + Solar is an innovative renewable energy solution for ships and the trial system includes a 2.3 kWp marine solar panel array, a 5.4 kWhr battery pack, MPPT charge controllers, a marine computer plus associated communications and interface devices.

14 Jun 2011

Euroseas Ltd Subsidiary Expands its Fleet

Euroseas Ltd., (NASDAQ:ESEA), an owner and operator of drybulk carriers, containerships and multipurpose vessels and provider of seaborne transportation for dry bulk and containerized cargoes, announced today that its joint venture company, Euromar LLC (“Euromar”), signed a memorandum of agreement to purchase the M/V MATE, a geared containership of 35,600 dwt and 2,788 twenty foot equivalent units (teu) built in 2004 in Poland. The vessel is expected to be delivered to Euromar not later than September 30, 2011; it will be renamed EM ASTORIA after its delivery. On March 25, 2010, Euroseas entered into a Joint Venture with companies managed by Eton Park Capital Management and Rhône Capital, two recognized private investment firms to form Euromar a Marshall Islands limited liability company.

27 Sep 2000

Ferry Accident Blamed For Minoan's Plummeting Stock Price

Shares of ferry operator Minoan Lines fell around 11 percent in late session trade on the Athens stock exchange on Wednesday, near the bourse's 12 percent limit down, after one of its ferries sank late on Tuesday, killing 48 passengers. Traded volume was 979,939 shares. The shares were trading at 2,995 drachmas ($7.78), up slightly from its day low of 2,935 drachmas, representing a fall of more than 11 percent. But brokers said the share price loss was likely to be temporary. "Today's drop in the stock price is logical after such an incident. The slide may continue tomorrow but in the medium term things will change," said an analyst.

27 Sep 2000

Minoan Ferry Sinking Cited as Worst Maritime Disaster in 35 Years

Rescuers pulled bodies from the Aegean sea on Wednesday as the death toll from Greece's worst maritime disaster in 35 years climbed to at least 62. The ferry Express Samina ran into a rocky islet off the holiday isle of Paros and sank in gale-force conditions late on Tuesday. Hundreds of Greek and foreign passengers were hurled into the rough waters. Twenty-nine people were missing, the Greek Merchant Marine Ministry said. Survivors described a night of terror, clutching life vests and floating debris, and of fishermen "heroes" who came to their rescue. An all-night, all-day rescue operation - reinforced by passing British warships - combed the seas off Paros, a popular tourist destination in the idyllic Cycladic island chain southeast of Athens, for survivors in gale force winds.

06 Oct 2000

Greece To Retire Old Ferries

The Greek cabinet, meeting after a shipping disaster in which at least 79 people died, drew up a plan to withdraw some 105 aging vessels from the island ferry business by 2006. It also agreed to open up the market to foreign operators in 2002, two years earlier than planned. "The government has a steady target of improving commercial shipping policy - people's safety, services and the creation of a modern coastal shipping industry," government spokesman Dimitris Reppas said. The Express Samina ferry sank last week with more than 500 passengers aboard when it hit a well-charted islet just before reaching the Aegean island of Paros. Shipping officials have partly blamed the disaster on the near-monopolies that have developed in the Aegean…

04 Oct 2000

Express Samina Crewmembers Jailed Pending Trial

A Greek public prosecutor on Tuesday ordered the captain and second officer of the sunken ferry Express Samina to be jailed pending trial on charges of manslaughter, an investigating magistrate said. The ferry hit a well-charted islet and sank last Tuesday, killing at least 79 people, just before reaching the Aegean island of Paros. It was reported that prosecutor Dimitris Dadinopoulos also formally charged the two with exposing passengers to danger resulting in death, causing a shipwreck and a series of lesser charges in what was Greece deadliest sea tragedy in decades. Captain Vassilis Yannakis has reportedly said he was unwell and taking a nap shortly before the crash.

29 Sep 2000

Greek Ferry Crew Blames Sinking On Bad Weather

The crew of Greek ferry Express Samina that sank killing 72 people blamed the disaster on bad weather, saying the ship would not obey commands. "The weather threw me on the rocks," one of the charged crewmembers said. The vessel's captain Vassilis Yannakis and three other crewmembers have been charged with manslaughter and were being held on Syros pending further investigation into how the ferry hit an islet and sunk shortly before reaching the island of Paros. Authorities are still mulling over how the ship, which was carrying more than 500 passengers, could have hit a well-charted islet with a lighthouse less than two miles from the shore. Witnesses have expressed that some of the crewmembers had been watching a soccer game on television just before the accident occurred.

29 Sep 2000

Another Greek Ferry Runs Into Trouble

A Greek ferry with 1,081 passengers aboard ran aground as it was about to dock in an Aegean island port early on Friday but there were no injuries, the merchant marine ministry said. The incident in Naxos port occurred less than three days after another ferry with the same owner hit rocks and sank off a nearby island, Paros, killing at least 65 people - Greece's worst maritime tragedy since the mid-1960s. A merchant marine spokesman said the Express Artemis, a vehicle and passenger ferry, got stuck in Naxos harbor early Friday morning during a run between Piraeus and various islands in the Cycladic chain, including Paros. "After about three hours, the ferry managed to dislodge itself by its own means and docked safely in the port.

28 Sep 2000

Minoan Ferry Captain, Crew Indicted

The captain and four crewmen from the Greek ferry that sank off Paros with more than 500 passengers aboard were moved to another island to be formally charged with manslaughter, eyewitnesses said. Named as Vassilis Yannakis, the captain; his number two Tasso Psychoyios; trainee captain Yannis Patilas' radio operator Yannis Tsoumos; and seaman Panayotis Kazakis, the five were taken to a Coast Guard patrol boat and left Paros for the nearby island of Syros, the regional capital of the Cyclades island group. A Syros prosecutor is expected to spell out the charges against each crewmember late today or early on Friday, and to decide whether they should be held pending trial.

28 Sep 2000

Crew of Sunken Minoan Ferry to be Charged With Manslaughter

Greece launched manslaughter proceedings today, Thursday, September 28, against five members of the crew of the ferry Express Samina and pledged harsh punishment for anyone found responsible for its sinking. "The prosecutor has already begun charge proceedings against five people. He would not have done this without any grounds," Merchant Marine Minister Christos Papoutsis said. "If we find anyone has acted improperly, penalties will be harsh," he said. The captain and four crewmen were being held on the island of Paros, where the ferry, carrying more than 500 people, struck an islet and sank on Tuesday night. At least 65 people died. Some witnesses have said members of the Express Samina crew were watching a soccer match on television when the disaster occurred.

27 Sep 2000

Greek Authorities Continue to Mull Cause of Ferry Disaster

Greek investigators are still struggling to shed light on why a passenger ferry hit rocks and sank, killing at least 63 people in the country's worst sea tragedy for 35 years. ``This shipwreck was incomprehensible and totally inexplicable,'' said Merchant Marine Minister Christos Papoutsis. The Express Samina ferry carrying more than 500 passengers hit the islet of Portes and sank shortly before reaching port at the Cycladic holiday island of Paros late on Tuesday. ``How can one not be outraged at a shipwreck that has cost so many lives just a mile and a half from the shore, in an area that any captain sailing in the Aegean is familiar with,'' Papoutsis was quoted as saying. Investigators said they were baffled by how the ship could have missed a charted islet with a lighthouse.

29 Nov 2000

Greek Ferry Exec Plunges To His Death

A senior executive at the shipping company which owned a Greek ferry that sank in September killing 80 people, plunged to his death from the sixth floor of his office building on Wednesday, Reuters reported. Police said Pantelis Sfinias, vice president of the board of directors of Minoan Flying Dolphins, a subsidiary of Minoan Lines, was seen by passers-by and employees stepping off the building in the port of Piraeus. The Express Samina sank off the island of Paros with 500 people aboard in Greece's worst maritime tragedy in decades. Police said they believed Sfinias's death was a suicide. "When the ambulance arrived to take him to hospital he was already dead," a police official said. News of Sfinias's death shocked the company and the Athens Stock Exchange.

23 Feb 2006

Greek Govt Orders Mobilization of Ships, Ferries

The Greek government has ordered the mobilization of nine ships and ferries to the islands of Crete,Paros and Naxos amid the nationwide seamen's strike. Ferries remain moored in harbors and over 2,500 trucks are stranded at ports across the country, owing to the strike which is planned to run till Feb. 24. The seamen have said they would not allow any ship or ferry to sail, and that the government order was illegal, as it had not been signed by the president of the country. Meanwhile, the Panhellenic Seamen's Federation said it was determined to continue the strike in the main ports in order to add force to its demands. The strike was having a crippling effect on business…

04 Dec 2002

Blue Star Naxos

Blue Star Naxos is the third RoPax, which was constructed under Greek flag and delivered by DSME (Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co. Ltd.) in June 2002 in compliance with the requirements of BV. This vessel is the one of twins and the sister (Blue Star Paros) had been delivered just one and half month ahead of the vessel in April 2002. Classed by BV, the vessel has two car decks and two accommodation decks, while the upper garage deck level is divided into the fore half car space and the aft half crew cabins. This layout allowed the complete separation of the above passenger decks from the lower decks machinery noise and vibration.

19 Nov 1999

Minoan Buys Four Ferries

Minoan Flying Dolphins acquired four ferries operating on routes to the Cyclades islands and the Argosaronic gulf. The vessels, which link the port of Piraeus with Paros, Naxos, Ios and Santorini with route extensions to Sikinos, Astypalea and Folegandros are expected to contribute about $7.9 million in revenues to the firm's total turnover. The latest purchases bring the company's total fleet to 67 vessels.