27-06-2008

Law amended
A law passed in 2001 banned
ferries from being in operation
for more than 30 years. This was
amended in 2006
in 30 minutes but he suggested that
many Greek ferry companies only pay
lip service to this regulation. He claimed
that crews do not carry out proper
evacuation drills.
“Ferry companies must adapt to the
international rules on evacuation, not
just rely on old Greek laws,” said
Makras. He also expressed concern
about the adequacy of the buoyancy aids
(lifesavers) on some vessels.
Makras says that this only applies to
some 15 ships sailing relatively short distances
in the Saronic Gulf and from the
ports of Rafina and Lavrion.
These concerns were dismissed by the
Passengers are likely to
benefit from cheaper tickets
this summer but there are still
concerns about the ticketing
system. [Eurokinissi]
on passenger safety
Masters and Mates Union (PEPEN),
which told Athens Plus that Greek coastal
shipping is perfectly safe.
“The ships are safe, some might be of
a certain age but that doesn’t mean
they’re unsafe,” said PEPEN general secretary
Achilleas Tarlamis.
He said that crews are adequately
trained and drilled.
Tarlamis added that all ferries pass safety
checks, are issued with the appropriate
certificates and are captained by experienced
Greek captains.
Blue Star is one of the companies that
has been renewing its fleet and also feels
that PEMEN’s fears are largely unfounded.
“We have the highest standards of
safety and operate new ships that conform
to international regulations,” Dionysis
Thedoratos, commercial manager
and spokesman for Blue Star, told Athens
Plus.
ATHENSPLUS • FRIDAY, JUNE 27 , 2008
ISSUE OF THE WEEK
Islands push for
shipping connections
Companies reluctant to serve ports on ‘unprofitable routes’
BY NIKI KITSANTONIS
For years authorities and residents
on several of the smaller
Aegean islands have protested
about infrequent coastal shipping
connections to the country’s major
ports, a shortfall that affects local
businesses and deliveries and leaves
locals with a sense of abandonment.
Last summer several islands
staged protracted protests, some
blockading their ports, eliciting
pledges from the government that
things would be better this year. But
are they?
Officials struggling to boost ferry
connections to dozens of neglected
islands told Athens Plus that
the situation is going from bad to
worse.
“Ferry connections to these islands
are down by 10 percent this
year following several years of
steady cutbacks,” said Eleftherios
Kechagioglou, the president of the
Hellenic Small Islands Network, a
non-governmental body affiliated
with similar European associations
that aims to avert the isolation of
small islands.
Kechagioglou’s association represents
about 100 of the Greek islands,
all with fewer than 5,000 residents
each. The biggest burden is
borne by the islands on the so-called
“agoni grammi” (or “unprofitable
routes” which shipping firms are reluctant
to service due to their small
populations and low tourism activity).
But similar problems are
faced by small islands near the
border with Turkey, such as the
Leipsoi island group whose residents
last year boycotted general
elections to draw attention to their
problem.
“There is not enough media coverage
of this problem – a small flood
in Vouliagmeni is presented as far
more important than the fate of an
isolated island,” Kechagioglou said,
referring to an Athenian seaside
suburb.
Most of these neglected islands
are only served by ferry a few days
each week, despite persistent calls
for a daily connection. The chief
problem, local authorities say, is that
the subsidies handed out by the central
government to shipping firms
to serve these routes – some 75 million
euros this year – are inadequate.
As a result subsidized services can
only be provided a few times a week.
But this is not good enough, islanders
say.
“The problem is that central authorities
do not understand our situation,”
the mayor of Kythera,
Theodoros Koukoulis, told Athens
Plus. Koukoulis said a daily link to
Piraeus was less crucial than a dai-
Some islanders feel that there are not enough ferries connecting them
with the rest of the country. [ANA]
ly ferry connection to the Peloponnesian
port of Neapoli. “We need a
local ship that will be subsidized seven
days a week for supplies to be delivered
regularly and for people to
feel secure – to know that there is
a lifeline to the mainland,” he said.
The island has a vessel to conduct
these trips but it is only subsidized
three days a week in summer. “In
winter things are far worse – we
have two connections a week, if
that,” he said.
Airplane connections in general
are more regular, with many islands
Feeling neglected
Subsidized ferry services can
only be provided a few times
a week but islanders say this
is not good enough
enjoying a daily service in summer
and up to five flights a week in winter.
The airplane connections are
well subsidized, with tickets from
Athens selling for about the same
price as those for a journey by
high-speed ferry to the same destination.
Another problem faced by many
island authorities, as highlighted by
Koukoulis, is the delay in the announcement
of ferry timetables –
the schedules for this summer
were made public last week – which
has dealt a strong blow to local
tourism. “We saw a 95 percent
drop in tourism revenues over the
Whitsun (or Pentecost) weekend
earlier this month,” Koukoulis said,
noting that the island’s foreign
tourists generally book early for
their summer trips. “But how can
they book ahead when the
timetable comes out in mid-June?”
he remarked.
Many local authority officials,
including Koukoulis, believe that
the government is being subjected
to pressure by large shipping firms
which prefer to operate fewer
routes to the smaller, lower-profile
islands, particularly in the summer
when the bulk of tourists head for
a handful of islands in the Aegean
and Ionian.
There is also the issue of the availability
of vessels to serve these
routes. In some cases, including
those of Tilos and Symi, island authorities
have given up waiting
for support from the central government
and have purchased their
own ships.
But the problem is not confined
to remote islands. “For the first time,
we are seeing problems in the Saronic
Gulf,” Kechachioglou says,
noting that islands close to Piraeus,
such as Hydra and Spetses,
have not had regular ferries to
service them over the past two
years. There are high-speed vessels
but these cannot operate when
winds exceed 4 Beaufort and so the
islands are frequently isolated.
“This is unacceptable,” Kechachioglou
said.
The problems faced by Greece’s
neglected islands are to be discussed
during a two-day conference
on “Territorial Cohesion and Insularity,”
jointly organized by the
Greek government and European
Commission regional officials,
which starts on the island of Kos on
Saturday.
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