The issue of port infrastructures for the safety of coastal shipping vessels, as well as the management of their itineraries, dominated the statements of the president of the coastal shipping companies, Dionysis Theodoratos, to “Naftemporiki”.
On the occasion of some incidents, which luckily did not result in a maritime accident, Theodoratos stated that “over the years we have been used to adapting ships to be port-friendly in order to serve passengers, but ports should slowly begin to adapt to ships and passengers.”
He pointed out that the Ministry of Maritime Affairs should pay due attention to where and how the revenues of the port funds are directed, citing as an example that three ports in the Cyclades have annual revenue each from only one shipping company over 1 million euros.
On the issue of itineraries and the service of ferry traffic, mainly for peak periods, he requested greater flexibility and the possibility for the companies to be able to choose themselves, where necessary, a larger ship of the same type to serve passengers.
Referring to the system of time slots, he pointed out the problem that will be created for the arrival and departure times that a ship or a high-speed ship will face when sailing to many destinations, while he emphasized that the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy could determine specific times in the major and minor ports .
He also highlighted the lack of organized shelters for passengers in many ports who will most of the time have to wait for the ship in difficult weather conditions.
As “N” has already mentioned on the issue of port revenues, the ministry is expected to proceed soon with the creation of an electronic tariff policy system that will concern all ports, except for the privatized ones, where their income will be recorded per position, per hour, per day, in order for the state to know the receipts as well as their use.
Initiatives
The creation of an effective port governance system is already on the agenda of the Minister of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy, who has also announced a relevant dialogue with the port administrations for the next period.
The Minister also presented the initiatives that have been taken to reform the way Greek shipping routes with the so-called Sea Ports Time Slots System, which will be connected to a central information system for monitoring and use.
The model to be adopted will be identical to what is done at airports, in order to avoid overcrowding in ports and disputes between masters about who will enter the port first, especially during the summer season, in popular tourist destinations.
He also referred to the upgrading of port facilities with the restoration of damage at the piers, as well as the restoration of operational levels in ports where required.
