NEWS

Northern Sea Route Operates Again

The Northern Sea Route (North pass – NSR) located in the Arctic, which shortens the travel time from Far East ports to Western Europe ports an average of 30 days, is estimated to reopen towards the end of this month.

The Northern Pass has been open to international shipping since 2010 and beforehand was available to be used by Russian ships solely.
As reported in "N" by the representative of Laskaridis Shipping, Peter Pontikos, who is closely monitoring developments relating to the NSR, more than 70 ships are expected to go through the North Pass in 2013, while Laskaridis Shipping plans to use the NSR a total of four times.
Issues related to the passage of the Arctic were discussed in a recent international conference in Oslo in which our country was represented by the Minister of the Marine and Aegean, Kostis Mousouroulis.
The meeting discussed the developments of shipping in the Arctic in detail, an issue of particular interest to the Greek shipping policy. All attendees agreed that the primary issue concerning the region is the protection of the marine environment, maritime safety, the need for cooperation in search and rescue, and respect towards the rights of coastal states.

Piraeus: Europe's Nautical Capital in 2015

The Commissioner of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Maria Damanaki, informed the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Ev. Venizelos of the European Commission's decision to declare Piraeus the Marine Capital of Europe for the year 2015.

Commissioner Maria Damanaki stated that Greece will succeed Germany and take over the reigns. "In 2014 Germany will be the heart of the maritime community and the following year, Greece and Piraeus will get the chance to star as base."

She strongly believes that “Greece is capable of making a difference in the domain” and is satisfied about the fact that now begin a series of preparations that will lead up to 2015.