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Greek Government News

26 Feb 2024

Greek Frigate Departs to Join EU Red Sea Mission

(File photo: Hellenic Navy)

Greece's frigate Hydra departed for the Red Sea on Monday to participate in a mission to protect merchant ships from attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militia, a defense ministry official said.Earlier on Monday, the Greek government approved the country's participation in the European Union naval mission dubbed Eunavfor Aspides in the Red Sea.Many commercial shippers have diverted vessels following attacks by the Houthis who control much of Yemen and say they are acting in solidarity with the Palestinians as Israel and Hamas wage war in Gaza.Greece's security council approved a proposal by

07 Dec 2023

DEME, FARIA to Explore Offshore Wind Farms in Greece

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DEME and Greek renewable energy developer and independent power producer FARIA Renewables have signed a cooperation agreement to explore opportunities and co-develop offshore wind farms in Greece. Offshore wind technology is viewed as crucial for achieving global goals towards zero emissions. In support of these goals, the Greek government recently announced the draft ā€˜National Offshore Wind Farms Development Programā€™ which is overseen by the Hellenic Hydrocarbons and Energy Resources Management Company (HEREMA).

06 Jul 2023

Families of Missing in Greece Migrant Boat Disaster Plead for Recovery of Bodies

 (Photo: Hellenic Coast Guard)

Since Matloob Hussain from Pakistan went missing during a deadly shipwreck off Greece last month, his brother Adil has left the door of his Athens home open in the hope he appears. It will stay open until his body is found.Matloob, 43, is among hundreds of migrants from Pakistan, Syria and Egypt who are presumed dead after their overcrowded fishing trawler, that set sail from Libya for Italy, sank off the coast of Pylos in international waters on June 14.A total of 104 men were rescued and 82 bodies were found.

19 Jun 2023

Fourteen Suspects Arrested in Pakistan Over Greece Boat Disaster

Ā© Hellenic Coast Guard

Pakistani authorities have arrested 14 people in connection with the alleged trafficking of several migrants who drowned last week after their overloaded boat capsized in the sea off Greece, police said.Hundreds of people, including from Pakistan, are thought to have died when the vessel capsized and sank in one of Europe's deadliest shipping disasters in recent years.The Pakistani government has ordered a high-level inquiry to investigate the human trafficking network thought to be involvedā€¦

03 May 2023

Greece Warned Shipowners Days Before Iran Seized Tankers

Ā© leodeep / Adobe Stock

Greece issued a series of warnings to shipowners to avoid sailing close to Iranian waters days before Tehran seized two tankers amid heightening tensions in the region, according to documents and industry sources.Iran seized a second oil tanker in a week on Wednesday in Gulf waters, the U.S.

27 Jul 2022

Greek High Court Rules to Return Confiscated Oil Cargo

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An Iranian-flagged tanker anchored off Piraeus port is expected this week to retrieve part of its cargo which was confiscated by the United States and sail back to Iran, following a Greek top court ruling, government sources said on Wednesday. The case has strained relations between Athens and Tehran amid growing tensions between Iran and the United States.The removal of oil from the Lana, formerly Pegas, prompted Iranian forces to seize two Greek tankers in the Middle East Gulf which have not yet been released. "The (Greek) Supreme Court's ruling...

14 Jun 2022

Iranian Tanker Seized By Greece Has Been Released

Iran's Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO) said on Tuesday the Iranian-flagged Lana tanker ship seized in April by Greece is no longer impounded and its oil cargo will be returned to its owner, according to Iran's semi-official Mehr news agency."With the swift and authoritative action of Iran, the Greek government finally issued an order and we are now witnessing the lifting of the ship's seizure and the return of its cargo to its owner," the PMO told Mehr.The ship, previously called Pegas and renamed Lana in March, had reported an engine problem in April.

09 Jun 2022

Iran Expects Confiscated Oil Cargo to be Returned in Full

Iran expects an oil cargo confiscated by the United States off the coast of Greece to be returned in full, Tehran's ambassador to Athens said on Thursday, following a Greek court ruling quashing the original decision to confiscate it.The case arose when Greece in April impounded the Iranian-flagged Lana, formerly Pegas, with 19 Russian crew members on board, near the island of Evia due to European Union sanctions.The ship was released due to complications over its ownership. The United States in May confiscated part of the Iranian oil cargo onboardā€¦

31 May 2022

Iran Urges Greece to Cooperate Over Seized Ships Without US Role

Ā© Andrea Izzotti / Adobe Stock

Iran urged Greece on Tuesday to cooperate to resolve a crisis over the seizure of ships without involving the United States, after Iranian forces seized two Greek tankers in the Gulf following the seizure of an Iranian vessel off Greece.Tehran seized the Greek ships on Friday after Athens impounded the Iranian-flagged Pegas in April. The United States, which has imposed a tough sanctions regime on Iran, confiscated the Iranian oil cargo that was on the Pegas.U.S. and Greek diplomats have called on Iran to immediately release the Greek tankers, their cargoes and their crews. U.S.

27 May 2022

Iran Says It Seized Two Greek Tankers

Iranian forces seized two Greek tankers in the Gulf on Friday, Iranian state media reported, shortly after Tehran warned it would take "punitive action" against Athens over the confiscation of Iranian oil by the United States from a tanker held off the Greek coast."The Revolutionary Guards Navy today seized two Greek tankers for violations in Gulf waters," said a Guards statement, quoted by the state news agency IRNA.It gave no further details or say what the alleged violations were.Greek authorities last month impounded the Iranian-flagged Pegas, with 19 Russian crew members on board, near the coast of the southern island of Evia due to EU sanctions.The United States later confiscated the Iranian oil cargo held onboard and plans to send it to the United States on another vesselā€¦

26 May 2022

US Seizes Iranian Oil Cargo Near Greek Island

Illustration only - Credit:Vladimir/AdobeStock

The United States has confiscated an Iranian oil cargo held on a Russian-operated ship near Greece and will send the cargo to the United States aboard another vessel, three sources familiar with the matter said.Greek authorities last month impounded the Iranian-flagged Pegas, with 19 Russian crew members on board, near the coast of the southern island of Evia due to EU sanctions.They said the ship was impounded as part of EU sanctions on Russia for the invasion of Ukraine. Howeverā€¦

21 Apr 2022

Sanctions Mix-up: Greece to Release Russian Tanker

A Russian tanker impounded by Greece this week and reportedly carrying Iranian oil will be released amid confusion about sanctions on its owners."The coast guard has been ordered by the anti-money laundering authority to release the vessel," a Greek government official said, without providing further details.On Tuesday, Greek authorities impounded the 115,500-deadweight tonnage Russian-flagged Pegas, with 19 Russian crew members on board, on the southern coast of the island of Evia.They said the ship was impounded as part of EU sanctions on Russia for the invasion of Ukraine.Earlier this month, the EU banned Russian-flagged vessels from its portsā€¦

02 Mar 2022

EU Nations Considering Banning Russian Ships from Ports

(File photo: Sovcomflot)

European Union countries are considering a ban on Russian ships entering the bloc's ports, aiming to tighten sea restrictions after a halt on air traffic, European officials say, a step that would further hamper Russia's commercial shipments.Britain already decided on Monday to deny entry to British ports to all ships that are Russian owned, operated, controlled, chartered, registered or flagged. Canada followed on Tuesday, saying it would shut its ports to Russian-owned ships later this week, a day after it banned Russian crude oil imports.

30 Sep 2021

Greece Paves Way for China's COSCO to Raise Piraeus Port Stake

Ā© milangonda / Adobe Stock

Greek lawmakers on Thursday approved an amended deal with Chinese shipping group COSCO that will allow it to raise its stake in Greeceā€™s biggest port of Piraeus, paving the way for Greece to secure a major investment.Under a 2016 Greek privatisation deal, COSCO Shipping bought a 51% stake in Piraeus Port Authority (PPA) for 280 million euros ($328 million). It then committed to mandatory investments worth about 294 million euros over five years to purchase an additional 16% stake for 88 million euros.COSCO was due to fulfil this key condition by Augustā€¦

08 Jul 2021

Greece Concludes Tender for Sale of Skaramangas Shipyard

Ā© Eleni Mac Synodinos / Adobe Stock

Greece on Wednesday concluded a tender for the sale of Hellenic Shipyards SA, the country's biggest shipyard which has been under special administration, its finance minister said.The debt-laden shipyard, based in Skaramangas near Athens, offers maintenance services to the Greek navy and the sale has been part of Greek government drive to overhaul its loss-making Greek defense industry and boost the country's defense capabilities.

28 May 2021

COSCO Hopes for Greek Deal on Piraeus Despite Delay

Ā© aerial-drone / Adobe Stock

Chinese shipping group COSCO hopes to reach a deal with the Greek government to complete the purchase of an extra stake in Piraeus, despite running out of time to fulfil a key condition, a top official at the port said.Under a 2016 Greek privatization agreement, COSCO Shipping bought a 51% holding in Piraeus Port Authority (PPA) for 280 million euros ($341 million) and committed to mandatory investments worth about 300 million euros over five years to acquire an additional 16%ā€¦

12 Oct 2020

Tensions Spike as Turkey Redeploys 'Oruc Reis' in Mediterranean Sea

Tensions spiked between Greece and Turkey on Monday over offshore rights in the eastern Mediterranean, with Athens vowing to push its EU peers to activate sanctions against Ankara.The deterioration in relations followed the departure earlier on Monday of a Turkish ship, the Oruc Reis, to conduct work south of the Greek island of Kastellorizo, which is close to Turkey's southern coast.Greece's foreign ministry described the development as a "major escalation" and a "direct threat to peace in the region".Ankara had withdrawn the same vessel from contested waters in the eastern Mediterranean last month to "allow for diplomacy" before an EU summit at which Cyprus pushed for sanctions against Turkey."Turkey has proven it lacks credibility.

05 Oct 2020

Turkish Drillship Returns to Turkey After Operating Off Cyprus

The Turkish drillship Yavuz has left the area where it was operating southwest of Cyprus and reached the Turkish coast, Refinitiv Eikon shipping data showed on Monday, in a move that may help ease tensions in the eastern Mediterranean.Cyprus' internationally recognized Greek Cypriot government has long been at odds with Turkey, which began drilling for oil and gas near Cyprus last year.The Yavuz vessel first began operations east of Cyprus in July 2019. Its latest operations to the southwest of the island, were most recently extended until Oct. 12 in a move which Greece described as provocative.The ship tracking data showed Yavuz as being near the port of Tasucu in Turkey's Mersin province on Monday morningā€¦

17 Mar 2020

Posidonia Rescheduled to October 2020

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This morning it was announced that the Posidonia 2020 exhibition, scheduled from June 1-5, 2020 in Athens, Greece, has been rescheduled to October 26-30, 2020.

26 Jul 2019

Onex Elefsis Acuires Elefsina Shipyards

Greece-based Onex Elefsis Shipyards announced that it will allocate up to $400 million, over a 15-year period, to purchase and finance the operation of the Elefsina Shipyards, west of Piraeus.The Greek shipyard said that the US investment firm Chatsworth Securities has agreed with it to make an investment, as part of efforts to save the complex from bankruptcy.Onex Elefsis will acquire the second biggest Shipyard in Greece, through Greek Bankruptcy Law and rehabilitation plan that is expected to be approved by the Greek Courts within 3-6 months.Also, the Company is working on alternatives with the Greek Government and Creditors to reā€¦

18 Feb 2019

Two Bangladeshi Workers Killed in Shipbreaking Yard

Two Bangladeshi workers were killed Monday in a fire that started in the engine room of an end-of-life tanker being dismantled at a shipbreaking yard in Chittagong, Bangladesh, the NGO Shipbreaking PlatformMd Jamil, 23 years old cutter man, and Bipul lost their lives while scrapping the ship GREEK WARRIOR (IMO 9191412) at Shagorika Ship Breaking Yard. According to local media, Jamil was burned and rushed to Chittagong Medical College Hospital. He died before reaching the hospital. The body of Bipul was discovered on board only few hours later.Shagorika yard and RA Shipbreaking yard, which has been recently under the spotlight for the purchase of Nordic America Tankersā€™ NORDIC SPRITEā€¦

07 Jun 2018

Inmarsat Signs MOU with Hellenic Space Agency

Left to right: Inmarsatā€™s Maritime President Ronald Spithout with Christodoulos Protopapas, Chairman of the Hellenic Space Agency (Photo: Greg Trauthwein)

Satellite communications provider Inmarsat has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Hellenic Space Agency (HSA) to allow greater collaboration on research and potential technology development.The agreement, which will include a focus on satellite projects related to the Internet of Things (IoT) and the maritime sector, was signed this week at the international shipping event Posidonia 2018 in Athens by Inmarsatā€™s Maritime President Ronald Spithout and Christodoulos Protopapasā€¦

30 Jun 2017

Perama Ship Repair Zone Floating Dock Getting Ready

Perama Ship Repair Zone dock maintenance works completed and the new floating dock is expected to get ready by November 2017. P. Kouroumplis, Minister of Shipping and Insular Policy, S. Pitsiorlas, Deputy Minister of Economy and Development, the Mayor of Perama, I. Lagoudakis, the Secretary General Ch. Lampridis,  I. Angelopoulos, Chairman of Regulatory Authority for Ports (RAL), Piraeus Members of Parliament etc have visited the Zone. Capt. Fu mentioned that the investments provided by the concession agreement begin from the ship repair sector. The new dock that will arrive by the end of the year will create new jobs and working positions. In this effort, we shall have the support of the government and local authorities. The Minister of Shipping and Insular Policy, P.