The barren coastal shipping lines are in the air, due to an “illegal” term in the announcement of the tender of the Ministry of Shipping last October.
As coastal shipping circles reported to “Ν”, in the tender that was posted two months ago, there was a provision for younger ships, in category 3.
This provision was contrary to last year’s decision of the Council of State on the same issue, which stated that the tender is a competitive tender, for reasons of public interest, therefore there cannot be in category 3.
Based on the decision of the Council of State, coastal shipping companies, as “N” was informed, appealed to the Hellenic Single Public Procurement Authority (HSPPA) against the “foul” in the terms of the tender notice by the Minister of Shipping.
They were justified, resulting in the “freezing” of the tender, since it referred to an “illegal” provision, according to last year’s decision of the Council of State. The development sets back the process of covering the barren lines for the period 2024/2025.
According to the procedures for barren line contracts, the extensions that the ministry can grant are for three months.
Delays
However, the ministry, in a letter to the shipping companies, according to what “N” sources, asked the companies to submit bids on January 27, 2024. That is, with a delay of more than two months. In the same letter, the ministry stated that it reserves the right to appeal against the decision. In this case, the tender process will be delayed further.
According to legal circles to which “N” addressed, the delay in completing the tender of the Ministry of Shipping, due to the error in its drafting, is now a given. But even if it proceeds on January 27, there is a strong possibility that shipping companies that believe they have a legal right will appeal to the Council of State against the decision. And in this case, the new public service contracts will be delayed for many months.
Delays are expected, even if the ferry companies’ offers open normally provided that there will be objections.
