Greek Piraeus Bank announced it is exploring a potential strategic partnership opportunity with a major Asian Pacific financial conglomerate operating globally, to provide financing solutions to Greek shipping companies. This initiative forms part of its commitment to the shipping community, the Bank said.
The EU plans to curb contracts and funding for Ankara, following Turkey’s, what is said to be, illegal drilling for gas and oil off Cyprus, as Reuters reports. During a meeting in Brussels the EU reported that it would introduce stricter measures against Turkey, under the condition that Ankara continues drilling operations.
Greek authorities have seized what they claim to be the world’s largest single haul of super-charged amphetamine Captagon pills, worth more than half a billion euros, onboard a container ship which arrived from Syria at Port of Piraeus, on Friday, 28 June.
The Comoros-flagged general cargo vessel ‘Abdul G’ was banned from the Paris MoU region for failing to call at the repair yard in Turkey as agreed, following its detention and release earlier in June. The ship was detained in the Greek port of Thessaloniki on 30 April 2019 and was released on 12 June.
On June 27, Greece granted licenses to ExxonMobil as well as Total to search for hydrocarbons off the island of Crete. This move marks the country’s first major attempt into an oil and gas search in the area. The companies have an eight-year research and exploitation license in two offshore blocks, located south and south-west of Crete.
According to Paris MoU, the M/V Tok Tok vessel, with Samoa Flag, arrived at the port of Neapolis, Greece, on January 28,2018, because of a M/E malfunction. The vessel was not listed in the ‘Thetis’ system, most probably as it have never been inspected and hadn’t called a Paris MoU port.
Greece and Cyprus called on the European Union to take punitive measures against Turkey amid escalating tensions in the eastern Mediterranean over offshore energy reserves. After Ankara announced it would expand exploration for potentially lucrative gas resources in the region, the Greek prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, appealed to the EU to unreservedly condemn the illegal actions of Turkey.
Experts from the Greek shipping market gathered in Athens, Greece, in late May, for the third in a series of global seminars designed to educate the industry on the potential of methanol as a marine fuel. The seminar was organised by consultancy Sea Commerce and supported by the Methanol Institute.
IMO approved ‘Adopt-a-Ship’ launch in Greece until the next school season. The project arrived with success and on Wednesday, June 5, the six public grade schools of Piraeus and one private school, Athens College, held a celebration at the 54th School in Piraeus, Piraiki section overlooking the Saronic Gulf.
During ABS’ event in Athens, representatives from the Union of Greek Shipowners (UGS), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Chevron Shipping Company and Clarkson Research Services, gathered to discuss the role technology plays in the shipping industry and the path to IMO 2050.
