Greece News

Hill Dickinson Managing Partner Patrick Hawkins Dead at 59

International maritime law specialist Hill Dickinson announced the death of Patrick Hawkins, head of its office in Greece.Hawkins died in the hospital on August 20, having suffered a heart attack in early July. His funeral took place in Athens on Monday.Announcing his death, David Wareing and Tony Goldsmith, heads of Hill Dickinson’s Marine and Trade Group, said, “It is with enormous sadness that we have to inform you of the passing of our much loved colleague Patrick Hawkins.

Containerships Sent to Tripoli to Maintain Lebanon Supply Lines

Leading container lines are diverting ships to Lebanon's smaller terminal of Tripoli after the devastating explosion at Beirut's port that killed 145 people also paralysed vital trade.Lebanon, which imports almost all it uses, relies on container ships to bring in everything from refrigerated food cargoes to clothing and other consumer goods.There is no firm date for Beirut port to re-open, and this is a strain on supply chains.Data from shipping intelligence platform MarineTraffic showed three container ships had arrived in Tripoli in the past 24 hours after being diverted from Beirut…

C-Job Naval Architects to Open Poland Office

The Netherlands based ship design and engineering company C-Job Naval Architects said it will open an office in Gdansk, Poland this July.The Gdansk office will pursue new markets particularly in the Baltic and Scandinavian region, with a particular focus on functional and detail design as well as retrofits and laser scanning, the company said. The new office will be spearheaded by general manager Slawomir Graban.C-Job currently has seven offices worldwide with its headquarters on the outskirts of Amsterdam.

Posidonia 2020 Canceled

Another major maritime trade fair has been called off due to health concerns and travel challenges brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. Posidonia 2020, originally planned for June 2020 and subsequently postponed to October 2020, has been canceled."We have reached this difficult decision following close consultation with many exhibitors and with our shipping community stakeholders, after assessing the current state of COVID-19 in countries around the world," the event's organizers…

Governments Pledge Crew Change Action

A dozen countries have have committed to facilitate crew changes and achieve key worker designation for seafarers, following a virtual ministerial summit hosted by the U.K. government on Thursday, marking progress to help resolve a growing crisis facing the maritime industry, and enable hundreds of thousands of stranded seafarers to go home or join ships.“The inability of ship operators worldwide to conduct ship’s crew changes is the single most pressing maritime operational challenge to the safe and efficient movement of global trade…

Tankers Carrying Venezuelan Oil Stuck at Sea

Tankers carrying nearly two months worth of Venezuelan oil output are stuck at sea as global refiners shun the nation’s crude to avoid falling foul of U.S. sanctions, according to industry sources, PDVSA documents and shipping data.Washington is tightening sanctions to cut Venezuela’s oil exports and deprive the government of socialist President Nicolas Maduro of its main source of revenue.The OPEC member’s exports are hovering near their lowest levels in more than 70 years and the economy has collapsed, but Maduro has held on - to the frustration of the administration of U.S.

Doyle Hired to Lead the Port of Baltimore

William P. Doyle, a former U.S. Federal Maritime Commissioner, has been hired to lead the Port of Baltimore as the new executive director of the Maryland Port Administration, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announced.Currently CEO and Executive Director of the Dredging Contractors of America, Doyle will take the helm at the Port of Baltimore effective July 22, succeeding Jim White, who announced he would step down at the end of 2019. Doyle was appointed by Secretary of the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) Greg Slater…

Opinion: Government Intervention Needed to Keep Shipping, Energy Businesses Moving

In times of crisis sometimes the easiest response is to be heads-down. One of the responses to the COVID-19 pandemic that history will look back on as key to the resilience of people and commerce, has been cooperation. As a specialist travel management company (TMC), it is a privilege for ATPI Marine & Energy to be part of unprecedented collaboration in the shipping and energy industries.Right now, these sectors are joining forces in ways never seen before to ensure that ships can sail, rigs can operate and people can be relieved and get home safely.

Nautilus Labs, Oceanking Announce Partnership

Nautilus Labs and Oceanking announced a partnership to jointly expand access to Nautilus in the Greek and Cypriot market to support ship owners and operators. Nautilus serves the global maritime industry by building decision support software that surfaces smart alerts and actionable insights that maximize voyage profitability and vessel yield. Oceanking is based in Greece and provides integrated, technical services and solutions. It will represent Nautilus in the Greek market and connect ship owners/operators and the technology firm.

LNG Carrier Delivered to Nakilat

Qatari shipping company Nakilat took delivery of a newbuild liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier Global Energy. Built by South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME), the vessel will be managed in-house by Nakilat and is the first of four LNG carrier newbuilds to be delivered to Global Shipping Co. Ltd., a joint venture of Nakilat (60%) and Greece-based Maran Ventures Inc. (40%). The delivery of all four newbuilds by end-2021 will bring Nakilat’s fleet to 74 LNG carriers…

Greece to Sell Majority Stakes in Four Ports

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.

USCG Advises on Minimizing Novel Coronavirus at Sea

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…

Posidonia Rescheduled to October 2020

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.

Greece to Quarantine all Arrivals from Abroad

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…

C-Job Naval Architect Opens Athens Office

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.

Piraeus Port Taps TEKAL for Port Expansion

PPA S.A. has announced that the construction company TEKAL S.A. was awarded as the construction contractor of the Cruise Terminal Expansion project of Piraeus Port Authority, after the financial bid of $113 million plus VAT, initially budgeted $180 million. The new cruise pier is one of the mandatory investments of the master plan of COSCO SHIPPING for the PPA. The project is also funded by the Regional Operational Program for Attica 2014-2020. The expansion will be located next to the existing cruise facilities…

EIB Fund Greek LNG Bunkering Vessel Construction

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 Adds P. Fos to Fleet

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…

Performance Shipping Sells 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…

GMT Invests in Argo Travel Group

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…

IRClass Foreign Flag Fleet Reg. Up 16%

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…

Britannia P&I sets up Shop in NY

Britannia P&I has established a new exclusive correspondent, B Americas P&I, to be based in New York.B Americas P&I will be headed by Michael Unger, a maritime lawyer with extensive litigation and arbitration experience.B Americas will enhance the Club’s ability to provide a round-the-clock claims service to all its Members, while also focusing on the needs of Britannia’s North American Members.This development follows other recent steps taken by the Club, including the opening of new offices in Denmark and Greece and the strengthening of its teams in Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore.

TOP Ships Acquires 2 Scrubber Fitted Tankers

Greece-based international ship-owning company TOP Ships has acquired two ultra-high specification scrubber-fitted 50,000 dwt Medium Range (MR) product/chemical tankers under construction at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co., Ltd. in South Korea.The tanker owner stated in a press release that  it has acquired 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of Santa Catalina Inc. and Santa Monica Inc., which are Marshall Islands companies that have originally entered into new building contracts for the two tankers.The MR tankers are scheduled for delivery during February 2020…

Pirates Release Kidnapped Tanker Crew off Togo

Pirates have released three crew taken hostage from a Greek oil tanker off the coast of the West African country of Togo in November, the vessel's manager said on Friday.A fourth hostage, a Filipino, died from illness during captivity, European Products Carriers Ltd added.It did not give details of the release.The tanker, Elka Aristotle, was attacked on Nov. 4 about 18 km (11 miles) from the port of Lome.

Diana Shipping Wins Ausca, Koch Charters

Diana Shipping  announced that, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, it has entered into a time charter contract with Ausca Shipping Limited, Hong Kong, for one of its Kamsarmax dry bulk vessels, the m/v Myrsini.According to the global shipping company specializing in the ownership of dry bulk vessels, the gross charter rate is US$11,500 per day, minus a 5% commission paid to third parties, for a period of minimum 13 months to about 15 months. The charter is expected to commence on December 4…

Greece's National Bank Dumps Impaired Shipping Loans

National Bank (NBG) has signed deals to sell a 262 million euro ($288.78 million) portfolio of shipping loans to investment funds as part of its effort to reduce its load of soured credit, Greece's second-largest lender said on Wednesday.The bank said it sold the loans for about 50% of their outstanding balance as of end June 2019.