by Paris Tsirigotis

 

The Greek Ministry of Shipping and Island Policy is proceeding with the planning for the replacement of coastal shipping vessels, with the aim of reducing gas emissions and transitioning the fleet towards "green".

 

The idea is that any shipowner who receives financing through the special fund to be created, will be obliged to route his ship for all years in Greek territory and will not be able to lease or sell it to another country. It is noted that there are currently no second-hand ships available to meet the environmental regulations set by the EU by 2030, so the only solution is to build new ships.

 

"It is important that the Ministry of Shipping, for the first time, enters into a discussion that does not simply manage the coastal shipping network, but in cooperation with the institutional partners has taken initiatives to generate financing that may be able to be used by the coastal shipping companies, in order to do either or else what they are obliged to do," says the General Secretary of Aegean and Island Policy Manolis Koutoulakis in Naftemporiki. He emphasizes that the Ministry of Shipping has already taken important initiatives to create a support framework for the shipping industry, as everyone knows that most companies do not have the necessary capital for investment and therefore should help the state to access financing.

 

In order to achieve this goal, Manolis Koutoulakis said that the Ministry of Shipping has proposed that lines and multi-year contracts now operate as an indirect incentive for the acquisition of a new ship with "green" characteristics, possibly with an increased rent.

 

Mr. Koutoulakis points out that the Ministry of Shipping has proceeded with discussions for financing from the European Investment Bank as well as with state resources for multi-year contracts lasting more than a decade. He adds that two major lines have entered this program as a pilot with the obligation to launch either new ships or with environmental features of reduced emissions.

 

 

Secretary General of the Aegean and Islands Policy also points out that the Ministry of Shipping is funding and immediately announcing a study for the recruitment, through an international competition, of a consultant who will prepare the operational plan of the financial fund that will be created for the renewal of the coastal shipping fleet with green criteria. The goal of the study, he says, is to document what are potentially practical solutions for fleet renewal and what options shippers have in terms of fuel applications and other technologies.

 

He adds that the second has to do with the costing of the necessary investments that should be made and the third about how the fund will be set up as a financial tool from which either private money will be invested, or resources from the European Investment Bank will be claimed, or any other private fund that wants to co-invest in the new ships but not participate as a shareholder in the shipping company.

 

Mr. Koutoulakis emphasizes that probably the European Development Bank as an intermediary body will be the manager of the "piggy bank", while the shipping company will come with its investment plan and will be evaluated based on ESG criteria and with the obligation of the new green ship that will be financed to be built to remain in the Greek market.