Kathimerini News

Consolidating the port of Piraeus' position as the main pillar of the Chinese group Cosco’s overseas activity, its container traffic continues to break one record after another, reports Kathimerini.   The two terminals operated by Cosco handled a total of 329,600 containers in August, up 32.3 percent from the same month in 2015.   In August last year the negative impact of the strict capital controls had started to become clear and total traffic reached just 249,100 containers.   Records have been broken each month this summer, with 314,000 in June and 323,300 in July.

Cosco has decided to transfer its containers to the port of Koper in Slovenia from Piraeus in order to deal with the Greek railway strikes. Cosco has got around the problem created for its freight forwarding network by Greek railway workers’ ongoing strike action by sending its containers by sea from Piraeus to Koper in Slovenia, from where they are loaded onto trains for the next part of their journey, reports Kathimerini. Since the tariffs for small feeder ships are currently at very low levels, the Chinese company will be able to bypass the central Greek railway axis without major losses in competitiveness. This alternative route is part of a plan created by Cosco’s subsidiary in Greece Piraeus Container Terminal (PCT) SA…

Chinese shipping conglomerate COSCO is in advanced talks with Greek real estate developer Grivalia and logistics provider PAEGAE, about jointly bidding to build and operate a rail freight terminal near Athens, a Greek newspaper reported. Greece has launched a tender for the 250 million euro ($283 mln) project to build the terminal at Thriasio near Athens, which would have access to the country's railway network and its biggest port at Piraeus. COSCO's shipping unit China COSCO Shipping last week signed a deal to buy a 67 percent stake in Piraeus Port , a move which fits with the group's plan to build a European transhipment hub. PAEGAE is owned by National Bank, Greece's second-biggest lender.

The National Privatization Fund (TAIPED) sources said that Greece's Court of Audit has approved the sale of a 67 percent in the Piraeus Port Authority (OLP) to Chinese Cosco, according to Kathimerini. Greek national news agency AMNA also reported, citing credible judicial sources that Greek Court of Audit, Greece's supreme administrative court, approved  the sale of the majority stake. On February 17 Greece's privatization fund had declared COSCO Preferred Investor for the sale of the controlling stake in Greece's largest port for 368.5 million euros. Under the concession deal which expires in 2052, COSCO will invest an extra 350 million euros over the next decade in infrastructure works at Piraeus.

Cosco Pacific is expected to submit an improved bid for the controlling stake in Piraeus Port Authority (OLP) on Wednesday that is set to be discussed at the board meeting of the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (TAIPED), reports Kathimerini. Cosco was the sole bidder for a 67 percent stake OLP, the manager of the country's biggest port which is a gateway to Asia, eastern Europe and north Africa. The agency has asked Cosco to improve its offer. Reliable sources say that the new Cosco offer will be "realistically good" and will likely exceed both valuations that the two independent consultants had made for the TAIPED privatization fund.

China’s Cosco Pacific is understood to be the only party interested in the acquisition of the 51 percent stake (plus another 15 percent) of Piraeus Port Authority (OLP), reports Kathimerini. Alexis Tsipras's government had halted the sale after winning elections in January but resumed the process under the 86 billion-euro bailout deal it agreed with its euro zone partners in the summer. The deadline for final bids was 1700 GMT on Monday. The Hong Kong-listed firm was the only party to submit a timely binding offer in the context of the tender proclaimed in 2014 by the state privatization fund (TAIPED) by Monday’s deadline, four hours before it expired. All signs point to the absence of a second offer for the stake, which could have created some competition for the asset up for sale.

Greece and the US are likely to reveal a joint venture to develop a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal when US Secretary of State John Kerry makes an official visit to Athens in November. According to a local news report in eKathimerini, Kerry dropped a hint about the plan during his meeting with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in the United States at the end of September, referring to the prospect of northern Greece evolving into an energy hub with the construction of an LNG terminal. This is based on the utilization of the licensed plan (since 2011) for the installation of an LNG terminal at Alexandroupoli by Gastrade (controlled by the Copelouzos Group), which is on the list of the European Commission’s priority projects.

The privatization of the port authorities of Piraeus and Thessaloniki has become bone of contention for the government, reports Kathimerini. The finance ministry is in favor of the privatization of Piraeus Port Authority [OLP] and it wants to encourage privatization move, says government sources. However, Minister for Shipping Theodoris Dritsas assured the Parliament of his commitment to stop the privatization of OLP and OLTH [the Thessaloniki Port Authority] to preserve the public character of the country’s ports. The new government announced that a privatization program launched to trim the country’s staggering EUR320bn debt load was in effect null and void.

Though the new Greece government has canceled the port of Piraeus’s privatization, Chinese group COSCO's interest in expanding its activity in the port remains strong. COSCO was the main suitor for the 67.7 percent stake in Piraeus Port Authority (OLP), which privatization fund TAIPED had planned to sell off. Denmark’s APM Terminals was also trying to get the contract. Chinese group COSCO has had a strong presence over the past five years in the Piraeus port. Its subsidiary Piraeus Container Terminal (PCT) manages Piers II and III at Greece's largest port of Piraeus since 2009 under a 35-year concession agreement. Greek officials reassured that…

Several Greek coastal shipping firms have resorted to chartering their ferries on foreign routes in order to secure some liquidity and continue operating. Companies believe that their smooth operation is being threatened by the negative course of the domestic maritime transport market as losses over the last three years have reached up to 1 billion euros, reports Greece insiders 'Kathimerini'. Sources say that at least three ferry companies have chartered their vessels on routes outside Greece in the last few years. They are ANEK, Hellenic Seaways (HSW) and Maritime Company of Lesvos (NEL).

The Greek navy and coast guard were last night trying to tow to safety a Russian navy ship that sent out a distress signal in choppy seas off the eastern Aegean island of Icaria. Tugboats, helicopters and a navy frigate were dispatched to the area at 11.25 a.m. after the captain reported that engine failure had led to him losing control of the vessel. The ship was 15 nautical miles northeast of Icaria when the call for help was issued. The Merchant Marine Ministry said that, despite the gale force winds blowing in the area, the lives of the 106 people on board were not in any danger. A Greek navy frigate, the Bouboulina, was accompanying the Russian ship as a coast guard helicopter hovered overhead in case of an emergency. Source: Kathimerini

Seamen decided on Feb. 21 to extend their strike action, creating supply problems to Greece’s islands while also isolating passengers in different parts of the country. Ferries have been moored since Feb. 16 after workers walked off the job in a bid to push ahead with their economic demands, which include higher pensions and measures to tackle unemployment in their sector. The Panhellenic Seamen’s Federation (PNO) announced that the strike will now run through to 6.00 a.m. on Feb. 22. Merchant Marine Minister Manolis Kelafoyiannis met with the workers yesterday but failed to convince them to go back to work. The Kathimerini reported the strike is having a crippling effect on farmers as hundreds of trucks transporting fresh produce remain stuck at the country’s ports.