Greek Shipping Minister Resigns Following Comments over Ferry Death
Greece's shipping minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis has resigned following a controversy over his comments about the death last Tuesday of a 36-year-old man who had fallen into the sea after being pushed back by crew members of a ship he was trying to board.Varvitsiotis announced his resignation on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, on Monday. Video footage released on social media after the incident showed crew members appearing to argue with the man on the stern…
Man Drowns After Being Pushed off Ferry Departing Piraeus
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…
Five Dead, 22 Remain on Board Stricken Ferry
Fire started in early hours of Sunday; rescue efforts hampered by bad weather. Five people were confirmed to have died in car ferry that caught fire off the coast of Greece and rescue teams were working to save another 22 still stranded on board more than 24 hours after the blaze started. As some of the rescued passengers arrived in Italy, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi told reporters that four more bodies had been recovered. One man was reported dead on Sunday. Renzi, speaking at a year-end media conference in Rome, said that rescue efforts should be completed within a "few hours" and praised the work of rescuers, who had helped avoid a "massacre". The Norman Atlantic was carrying 478 passengers and crew and more than 200 vehicles.
Rescuers Struggle to Reach Burning Ferry in heavy Seas
Passengers aboard a car ferry that caught fire off the coast of Greece early on Sunday pleaded for help as rescue vessels struggled to approach the burning vessel in high winds and rough seas. The Norman Atlantic, carrying almost 500 passengers and crew and more than 200 vehicles, was 44 nautical miles northwest of the island of Corfu when it sent a distress signal after a fire started in the lower deck, Greek coast guard officials said. close. "We are burning and sinking, no one can save us," Nikos Papatheodosiou told Greek TV by telephone. "Please help us! Don't leave us," he said before hanging up. Cold winter temperatures would make survival in the sea difficult unless rescue came quickly.
China’s Giant Huawei Invests in Greece’s Piraeus Port
Chinese technology and communication major Huawei has inaugurated a pilot distribution center at Piraeus port, which they say is another significant step to enhance co-operation between the two countries. The new distribution center is located at the premises of Chinese multinational shipping conglomerate Cosco's subsidiary Piraeus Container Terminal SA (PCT) and will enable Huawei to distribute its products to European markets through Greece. In 2012, Huawei’s turnover amounted to some US$ 35.4-billion, 66 percent of which came from sales outside China. In the first half of 2013 the group's revenue stood at 18.5 billion dollars, representing a 10.8-percent year-on-year increase.
