Greece News

Greece plans to sell majority stakes in four ports as part of a privatization plan agreed with its lenders after the country exited the bailouts in 2018, a document of its privatization agency (HRADF) showed on Tuesday.HRADF will sell majority stakes in the share capital of Alexandroupolis, Igoumenitsa, Heraklion and Volos ports, the agency said in an invitation to hire financial advisers for the sales released on this website.China's COSCO has bought a 51% stake in Piraeus Port, the country's biggest, in 2016.

The European Union will launch a new Mediterranean naval and air mission in April to stop more arms reach warring factions in Libya, EU diplomats said on Thursday, with Greece agreeing to take in any migrants rescued at sea.The decision, which was delayed by divisions over migrants, followed warnings by EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell that the bloc risked becoming irrelevant if it could not act, potentially leaving Libya's fate to Turkey and Russia."Greece has allowed disembarkation (of rescued migrants) in its ports…

The Coast Guard Assistant Commandant for Prevention Policy has published an update March 16, 2020 to MSIB: Novel Coronavirus – Update (Change 2)An outbreak of respiratory illness caused by a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) may affect mariners and maritime commerce. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated their Interim Guidance for Ships on Managing Suspected Coronavirus Disease 2019 (see https://go.usa.gov/xdfyG) and Cruise Ship Travel (see https://go.usa.gov/xdfVP).Illness…

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.

Contracts for the design of the Main Storage Batteries Stages 1 and 2 for the Attack Class submarines have been awarded. PMB Defence, based in Adelaide and Sunlight, based in Greece have been contracted to provide design, prototyping and qualification activities for the Main Storage Batteries. Both organizations will provide shipbuilder Naval Group with the data necessary to select one as the preferred MSB design for the Attack Class program in 2022.The Main Storage Batteries are responsible for supplying power to the propulsion system of the submarine and to other equipment on-board the ship.

Greece announced on Monday it will shut all shops apart from supermarkets, pharmacies, banks, petrol stations and food delivery services, and put anyone arriving from abroad into quarantine for two weeks, to fight the coronavirus.Greece had already cancelled mass gatherings and closed bars, restaurants, playgrounds and gyms. So far the country has reported 331 confirmed cases of infections and four fatalities. Health authorities expect the number of infections to rise.The 14 day quarantine would apply to anyone entering the country…

Bulgaria's state-owned gas company Bulgargaz will reserve 500 million cubic gas annually for 10 years at the liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal now being built in northern Greece, the government said on Tuesday.Greek natural gas company Gastrade, which handles the project near the city of Alexandoupolis, has extended the deadline for companies to file binding bids to reserve capacity to March 20.The LNG terminal, in which Bulgaria will have a 20% stake, seeks to supply gas to southeast Europe via a natural gas pipeline that will cross through Greece…

C-Job Naval Architects is set to open an office this spring in Athens, Greece. C-Job veteran Nikos Papapanagiotou will take on the role of General Manager and will lead the new office in Athens. He said, "C-Job has seen significant growth over the past few years in both the industry as well as in the demand for our services. To enable us to continue to meet this demand now and in the future, we are opening an office in Athens."C-Jobs has a strong track-record in several industries including ferries, dredging, offshore (wind) and mega yachts.

The provider of ship drydocking, repair and refit services in Greece Chalkis Shipyards S.A. has formed a collaboration with National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), the Hellenic Center for Marine Research (HCMR).The “WIndfloat.gr – Innovative Design of Floating Wind Plants for the Greek Seas” project seeks to exploit the wind potential of the Greek seas.WIndfloat.Gr seeks to exploit the wind potential of the Greek seas with the objective of significantly increasing the penetration of Renewable Energy Sources in Energy Production…

Canadian provider of polymer bearing solutions Thordon Bearings said that its ThorPlas-Blue has established itself as the bearing of choice for deck equipment, with European shipyards and owners frequently specifying the grease-free bearing system as standard for vessels’ winches, fairleads, davits, capstans and windlasses.According to a press note from Thordon Bearings, Sweden’s Falkvarv AB, Oresund Dry Docks, and the Oskarshamnsvarvet shipyard have been particularly strong proponents of the grease-free bearing…

International Maritime Organization (IMO) headquarters in London has hosted yesterday 19 (February 19) a a major symposium on empowering maritime women.Removing barriers to women joining the maritime sector, the importance of education and how to increase visibility of women in maritime leadership roles – these were some of the key challenges under the spotlight.The symposium was part of IMO’s continuing efforts to maintain momentum in empowering women in the maritime community…

An abandoned cargo ship landed on the coast of Ireland this week after more than a year drifting alone at sea.The Irish Coast Guard said it responded to a merchant vessel aground near Ballycotton, Cork on Sunday, only to discover there was no one was on board.It turns out that the mysterious vessel is the 250-foot Tanzanian-flagged Alta, which had been left crewless and adrift on the other side of the Atlantic when the U.S. Coast Guard rescued all 10 crew members on board after the vessel lost power while en route from Greece to Haiti in September 2018.At the time of the rescue, the U.S.

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index inched up on Friday and registered its first weekly gain in ten weeks as firm panamax vessel rates outweighed losses in the coronavirus-hit capesize segment.The Baltic index, which tracks rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels that ferry dry bulk commodities, edged up 4 points, or 1.0%, to 425.For the week, the main index gained over 2.4%, breaking nine straight weeks of declines.The capesize index fell 10 points to negative 294…

The plight of the cruise ship off Japan with more than 200 coronavirus infections and the shunning of another by five ports despite no known cases has led to a sharp change in tack for an industry in shock: avoid Asia.To that end, many cruises in the region are being cancelled while others currently sailing are being re-routed, skipping originally scheduled stops in China, Hong Kong and Singapore.Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd on Thursday canceled 18 cruises in Southeast Asia after calling off eight trips to China last week.

European Investment Bank (EIB) and Public Gas Corporation of Greece (DEPA) have signed an agreement to finance with up to 20 million euros the construction of a new liquid natural gas (LNG) bunkering vessel for maritime use in Greece which will be based in Piraeus. EIB said that the first vessel of its kind in Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean will have a capacity of 3,000 cubic meters and will be supplied with LNG at Revithoussa LNG terminal.The bunker tanker will refuel its LNG at Revithoussa LNG terminal and will carry out bunkering both in Piraeus and other Greek ports…

Performance Shipping, a global shipping company specializing in the ownership of vessels, announced that, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, it took delivery of the M/T P. Fos (formerly M/T Virgo Sun).The vessel is a 2007-built Aframax tanker vessel of 115,577 dwt that the Company entered into an agreement to purchase in November 2019.Two days ago, the Greece-based company signed a Memorandum of Agreement to sell to an unaffiliated third party the 2008-built Post-Panamax container vessel M/V Rotterdam…

Greece-based Performance Shipping  announced it has signed a Memorandum of Agreement to sell to an unaffiliated third party the 2008-built Post-Panamax container vessel M/V Rotterdam, for a sale price of $18.5M before commissions.The global shipping company specializing in the ownership of vessels said in a press release, the scheduled delivery to the buyer latest by May 15, 2020.Upon completion of the aforementioned sale, Performance Shipping Inc.’s fleet will consist of one…

Global Marine Travel, a Florida-based travel management company to the maritime industry, has partnered with the Greek travel firm Argo Travel Group to enhance its travel offering, particularly in terms of service delivery and driving growth in the Greek and international markets."In Argo, Global Marine Travel, gains a marine partner with an experienced team and a strong reputation for service delivery, that will drive the growth of the business in Greece and other international locations…

The Indian Register of Shipping (IRClass) said that the classed fleet registered approx. 3% growth in the past year.The ship classification society said that its foreign flag fleet continued to grow at a robust pace with 16% more vessels added during 2019 demonstrating strong global acceptance of IRClass services.IRClass received several flag authorizations in 2019 including key flags like Cyprus and Denmark and is now recognized by 45 flag states worldwide. It opened a new office in the Netherlands to add to its other European offices in the UK…

UK-based international oil and gas exploration and production company Energean Oil & Gas and the Public Gas Corporation of Greece (DEPA) have agreed to cooperate to further support the EastMed Pipeline Project.The have signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) for the potential sale and purchase of 2 BCM natural gas per annum from Energean’s gas fields offshore Israel, where Energean is investing $1.7 billion for the development of the Karish & Tanin fields through the FPSO “Energean Power”.DEPA…

Eight people were abducted and one person injured during an armed raid overnight on a Greek-registered tanker anchored off Cameroon, Greek authorities said on Tuesday.Greece's shipping ministry said the Happy Lady tanker was two nautical miles off the port of Limboh in Cameroon when it was stormed by individuals who were armed.Five Greeks, two people from the Philippines and a Ukrainian were kidnapped and a Greek national injured, the ministry said in a statement.The tanker has a crew of 28.(Reporting By Michele Kambas; Editing by Catherine Evans)

Niels Aalund was elected President of the International Propeller Club at their 93rd International Convention and Conference. The prominent maritime industry stakeholder will serve a two-year term, commencing from October 17th. Aalund, a well-known maritime subject matter expert and executive, also serves as an Officer and as Senior Vice President of the West Gulf Maritime Association (WGMA). WGMA communicates and coordinates with various governmental entities throughout the West Gulf…

A cargo ship drifted onto a beach in southern Israel on Thursday after heavy winds and stormy weather forced the vessel away from its anchor point near the port of Ashdod.The 90 meter-long Zelek Star was carrying cement and other goods from Greece to Israel when it was swept away and approached Oranim Beach, officials said. The beach's sandy Mediterranean shoreline is popular with residents and tourists.Photos showed locals walking along the beach with the 14 meter-high vessel towering over them in the background…