Attica Group News

A 36-year-old man who tried to board a passenger ship as it sailed from Greece's Piraeus port on Tuesday drowned after being pushed back by crew members off the vessel's stern ramp, the country's shipping minister said on Wednesday.The incident has shocked the country. Video footage released on social media showed crew members arguing with the man on the stern ramp just as the ferry Blue Horizon was leaving Piraeus for the island of Crete.Shipping Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis said on Wednesday that the man, who had bought a ticket, had boarded the ship before disembarking for unknown reasons and then tried to board again, which was when he was pushed back by crew members and fell into the sea just as the ship departed."I feel shock and horror for what has happened…

E-learning technology and service provider secures £10,000 grant to implement proof of concept for end-to-end crew training solution aboard working ferryInmarsat announced that e-learning technology and service provider Marine Learning Systems (MLS) as the winner of the its inaugural Ferry Open Innovation Challenge, a competition inviting start-ups and SMEs to propose digital solutions that promise to enhance the working lives of ferry crews. Launched in January 2022 in collaboration with the largest ferry operator in Greece…

Inmarsat, Attica Group and Thetius have teamed to jointly launched the ‘Inmarsat Ferry Open Innovation Challenge: Crew Training and Entertainment,' a competition which inspired start-ups and SMEs to deliver digital solutions to enhance the training or enrich the leisure hours of seafarers. Applications are invited for solutions in four work-related areas: ship familiarization, regulatory training, emergency response and customer services – all of which must support content delivered in Greek…

A study commissioned by trade association Interferry has revealed startling statistics on the far-reaching extent of the global ferry industry’s value to the world economy.Research into the latest pre-Covid full-year figures found that, in 2019, ferries carried 4.27 billion passengers – on a par with aviation – and 373 million vehicles across a worldwide fleet of 15,400 vessels. Among other findings, the industry provided 1.1 million jobs, contributed $60 billion to the world…

Norway-based Brødrene Aa said it has signed a shipbuilding contract with Attica Group, subject to clauses, for three AERO type high-speed catamaran passenger vessels.The three vessels will be 36 meters in length, carry 150 passengers and operate at a maximum speed of 34 knots. The light carbon fiber construction contributes to low fuel consumption and emissions, Brødrene Aa said, adding that the vessels will be equipped with solar panels that will generate the energy required for lighting and energy consumption of the accommodation areas…

Trade association Interferry says it welcomes the European Commission’s guidance on the gradual relaxation of travel restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic and relaunching of transportation links that will go into effect in advance of this summer’s travel and tourism season.“We welcome the growing signs in Europe and beyond that COVID-19 lockdown restrictions are starting to be eased,” says Interferry CEO Mike Corrigan. “The global ferry industry is prepared to contribute to…

ABS has granted Approval in Principle (AiP) to a conceptual design for carbon fibre LNG fuel tanks, in what it describes as a ‘milestone’ for a project to adapt space industry technology to small-scale LNG fueling.SpaceTech4Sea project sees ABS, OceanFinance and Cimarron Composites joining forces to adapt composite technologies developed for the space industry to LNG shipping.Backed by EUR1m funding from the European Union, the project explores whether composite technology, which is lighter and more cost-effective, offers a competitive alternative in LNG as marine fuel designs, principally for short sea shipping.“The potential of this technology to reduce barriers to the utilization of LNG as fuel for short sea shipping is significant.

The challenges and opportunities posed by alternative fuels, safety management and social media dominated Interferry’s 42nd annual conference in Split, Croatia, where a record 370 delegates shared insights on ship technologies, safety issues including cyber security and the customer experience. Attendance at last week’s conference represented 210 ferry operators and suppliers from 27 countries. Mediterranean ferry operators voiced their concerns on meeting the 0.5 percent sulphur emissions cap due in 2020. Minoan Lines managing director Antonios Maniadakis complained that using low sulphur fuel would increase costs by €2 million per year.

As part of the ongoing Blue Star Delos Renewable Energy Innovation Project, Eco Marine Power (EMP) stated that the Aquarius Management & Automation System (MAS) installed on Blue Star Delos has been updated with new fuel oil consumption (FOC) and emissions monitoring software. This updated software combined with the Aquarius MAS hardware allows for fuel consumption data from all flow meters on the ship to be displayed and logged in real-time. In addition CO2, NOx and SOx emissions are calculated based on the fuel type being used. Data is logged every minute and via a connection to a dedicated GPS unit, the ships location and speed is displayed and logged. A trip-meter is also available so that fuel consumption can be monitored for a specific time period or voyage.

Eco Marine Power together with strategic partners has installed an Aquarius Management & Automation System (MAS) integrated with a marine solar panel array on-board the Blue Star 'Delos'. The Aquarius MAS has been installed as part of a joint renewable energy project with Blue Star Ferries and the approximately 2kW trial solar array on-board the vessel is now in operation and providing a source of renewable energy for the ship. This important milestone for EMP means that the company has taken the Aquarius MAS from development to commercial use in just a few years and is also a critical step towards the commercial release of the combined wind & solar power system for shipping - the Aquarius MRE (Marine Renewable Energy) System.

Eco Marine Power is pleased to announce that it has been named as a finalist in two categories of the inaugural Ship Efficiency Awards 2014. The Ship Efficiency Awards 2014, hosted by Lloyd's Register and organised by Fathom, will recognise and celebrate the organisations and individuals within the maritime sector that excel in efficient operations, implement fresh thinking, offer proven efficiency benefits and technological innovation. Eco Marine Power has been short-listed in the Initiative of the Year category for the Blue Star Delos Renewable Energy Innovation Project and the One to Watch category for the Aquarius MRE System Project.

Eco Marine Power announced today that it has begun a project to jointly deploy and evaluate with Blue Star Ferries of Greece, a range of innovative renewable energy related technologies for shipping including the Aquarius Management and Automation System (MAS) with an integrated marine solar power system. The Blue Star Delos Renewable Energy Innovation Project is a major step forward towards making shipping more sustainable through the use of renewable energy and fuel reduction solutions on-board ships. The project will evaluate in stages, a number of innovative solutions developed by Eco Marine Power (EMP) and its strategic partners…

More than 250 top-level delegates attended trade association Interferry’s 38th annual conference in Malta to debate the major factors affecting ferry operations around the world. Under a new format mixing presentations with panel discussions and audience input, the event underlined the diversity of political, technical, operational and commercial issues challenging the industry. Among several sessions focused on safety, a former airline pilot confirmed the alarming certainty of human error…

A ferry operator’s experience of ‘the fastest ship in the world’ will feature among the cutting-edge initiatives being aired at Interferry’s 38th annual conference in Malta from October 5-9. The trade association event gives South American operator Buquebus a first opportunity to showcase the commercial and technical benefits of its revolutionary newbuild Francisco. Delivered in August from Australian builder Incat Tasmania, the catamaran is the world’s first high speed dual fuel ro-ro to use LNG as its primary fuel. Incat made the “fastest ship” claim after sea trials in June.

Greek-flagged Blue Star Patmos, represents an investment of more than Euro 70 million, and is the second of two vessels ordered in June 2009 with an overall length 145.50 meters, a speed of 26 knots and the capacity to carry 2,000 passengers and 427 private vehicles or 60 freight units and 145 private vehicles. In the current challenging times facing Greece, Attica’s scope to provide first class sea transportation services with modern, new and fast ships for the benefit of tourism and the islands’ inhabitants and visitors…

According to a June 26 report from Reuters, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering of South Korea, the world's third largest shipbuilder, said it won a $200m order from Greece's Attica Group to build two ferries. Daewoo plans to deliver the ships by the first quarter of 2012. (Source: Reuters)

Attica Holdings has concluded the sale and delivery of its ice-class RoRo vessel Marin to Compagnie Maritime Marfret. The delivery of Marin to her new owners took place yesterday in Patras, Greece. The total sale proceeds of Marin of Euro 8.52mln generate for Attica Group additional cash of approximately Euro 5.90mln and capital gains of approximately Euro 2.33mln, which will appear in the Group’s first quarter 2008 results.

The Board of Directors of Attica Holdings S.A. announced that it has concluded the sale and delivery of its RoRo vessel Challenge to Challenge Shipping Co. Ltd. controlled by Clipper Denmark A/S. The delivery of Challenge to her new owners took place yesterday at the port of Liverpool, UK The total sale proceeds of Challenge of Euro 16.90mln generate for Attica Group additional cash of approximately Euro 5.51mln and capital gains of approximately Euro 2.00mln, which will appear in the Group’s first quarter 2008 results.

Attica Holdings S.A. announces that it has contracted to sell its RoRo vessel Marin, built 1991, trading between Greece and Italy for a total cash consideration of Euro 8,450,000. The delivery of the vessel and final payment will take place in February 2008. At the time of conclusion of the transaction, Attica Group is expected to book capital gains of approximately Euro 2.2mln.

The Board of Directors of Attica Holdings S.A. announced that it has concluded the sale and delivery of Superfast VII and Superfast VIII to AS Tallink Grupp. The sale and delivery of Superfast IX to her new owners AS Tallink Grupp is scheduled to take place on April 12. The sale price of Superfast VII and Superfast VIII stands at about $249m and the sale price of Superfast IX at 125.9m. Out of the total sale proceeds of $375m, Attica’s cash balances will increase by approximately $123m after repayment of the ships’ debt of $237m and payment of various expenses related to the transaction of approximately $13m. Attica Group will book capital gains of approximately $13m, which will appear in the Group’s second quarter 2006 results.