Piraeus Port Authority has signed a new five-year contract with the University of Piraeus for a research project monitoring the quality of the marine environment.

The €48,400 agreement covers the whole marine area for which the port authority is responsible, including the central port and the areas of Perama, Psitalia, Kynosoura and Ampelakia.

Vasilios Tselentis, a leading Professor of Marine Environment and Director of the university’s laboratory of marine science, has been appointed project manager.

Within the programme, the research team will provide estimates on microbiological load, and measurements of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), heavy metals, petroleum, and nitrite and salts in the water.

The measurements will be carried out at 26 points throughout the year in a process set out by European directives and legislation. The cost will be paid by PPA as a grant to the university’s special research account.

Piraeus Port Authority has a strong environmental record, having kept data for many years relating to sea, land and air. In 2011 it was officially declared an ECOPORT by the European Sea Ports Association (ESPO).

“For PPA, environmental protection is a basic policy choice,” said PPA president and CEO George Anomeritis. “We are and will remain an Ecological Port.”

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At least two Syrian seafarers drowned and eight were missing after two cargo ships collided and one of them sank off the Peloponnese early on Monday (29 April).

The tragedy put Greece's rescue authorities to the test, and the response was a rapid one. The search for the missing seafarers involved four rescue boats, port authority rescue teams, a C130 aircraft and a Sikorsky helicopter operated by the navy, assisted by five ships that were in the area. Weather conditions were good, which helped the rescue efforts.

The ten seafarers had been on board the Piri Reis, which sank after the collision; the vessel had a total crew of 17 seafarers, all of them Syrian. Seven were rescued, but two bodies were recovered from the sea a few hours after the accident and eight more seafarers were missing.

The collision happened 75 nautical miles off the islet of Sapienza at about 07.00, according to the coastguard authority.

The Piri Reis, owned by the Turkish shipping company Emiroglu, was carrying fertiliser from Algeria to Ukraine when it was in collision with the ConSouth, owned by German company Reederei Erwin Strahlmann. The ConSouth was sailing from Turkey to Malta and was reportedly empty. The vessel suffered only minor damage, and all of its 16 crew were unharmed.

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The importance of Greece’s cruise sector has been underlined with the appointment of Thanos Pallis as secretary general of MedCruise, the Association of Mediterranean Cruise Ports.

Dr Pallis is s professor in European port policy at the University of the Aegean and has worked in the ports sector for the past two decades. He recently served as secretary general for ports and ports policy in Greece’s ministry of development, competitiveness and shipping, and has written a number of books about European port policy and the EU Maritime Transport Policy.

MedCruise, which works to promote the cruise industry in the Mediterranean and its adjoining seas, already has a strong Greek influence through its current president, Stavros Hatzakos of the Piraeus Port Authority. The association is formally based in Barcelona but the secretariat is at least partly based to be close to the serving president.

At the recent Miami cruise convention, Mr Hatzakos drew attention to the fact that cruise passenger numbers in the region covered by the association had more than doubled in the past ten years, including a 50% increase in the past five years, despite the difficult financial climate.

The appointment of Dr Pallis is part of a move to empower MedCruise’s role in the wider cruise market, said the association.

Mr Hatzakos said: “All our members face challenges, and expect MedCruise to continue its pivotal role and assist them in benefiting from the growth of the cruise industry by providing networking, promotional and professional development opportunities.”

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Thessaloniki Port Authority has announced a 52.4% increase in profits for 2012, attributed to a reduction in costs and a significant increase in cargo throughput and revenue.

Profits after tax for the 12 months were €18.44 million, compared with €12.1 million in 2011. Gross turnover was up 3.21% from €51.22 million to €52.86 million.

Thessaloniki handled 13.85 million tonnes of cargo in 2012, nearly 6% more than in 2011. This included container throughput of 317,900 teu.

The port authority management described the results as significant, and 'even more valuable if one takes into account the difficult financial situation that the country is going through'.

Aggeloudis Stelios, president and chief executive of THPA, said:  "The growth of the port of Thessaloniki continues, despite the fact that the financial crisis and recession of the Greek economy are affecting trade and overall economic activity."

The efforts made by the management, officers and employees of THPA had borne fruit and the positive results provided an incentive for to continue those efforts, he added.

Mr Stelios said the importance of the port to the development of Thessaloniki and the wider region was crucial, because the openness and internationalisation of Greek firms and the Greek economy in general was needed help the country out of the economic crisis.

"The port's strategic importance is demonstrated every day," he said.

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A tax incentive to encourage international companies to use Greece’s ports as regional distribution hubs has led to a major new deal at the Port of Piraeus.

US computer group Hewlett Packard has signed an agreement with container terminal operator Cosco to move a large amount of its regional goods through Piraeus, using the port as a distribution hub for Central and Eastern Europe, the Eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East and North Africa.

HP’s plans are to bring up to 20,000 containers a year into Piraeus, with a large number of these being moved by rail to Central and Eastern Europe. Train service operator Trainose will play a key role in the supply chain.

The deal was signed in the presence of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, who described it as a vote of confidence in Greece. Companies that opt to use Greek ports as regional hubs in this way will be exempt from Value Added Tax. Similar agreements are expected with other multinational companies – Ikea and Dell are among those which have expressed an interest, especially following the inauguration of the new rail link between Piraeus and Thriasio.

Tony Prophet, HP’s senior vice president for operations, said: “We believe in Greece and the future of the Greek economy.”

HP had been looking for a new Mediterranean hub for several years, he said. The use of Piraeus will offer HP a significant advantage, as its products will reach Europe seven days earlier than if it used other ports, he added.

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Four Greek ports have received recognition from the European Sea Ports Organisation for their high environmental performances.

The ports of Corfu, Lagos, Kavala and Volos, together with the Italian port of Piombino, were presented with their PERS (Port Environmental Review System) certificates during a seminar held in Piraeus. They join the ports of Piraeus and Thessaloniki, which already hold PERS certification.

Greek ports are clearly the 'champions' of PERS, said ESPO, accounting for six out of the total 16 certificates awarded in the past two years. "I pay tribute to the Greek ports for their continuous commitment to environmental management," said ESPO secretary general Patrick Verhoeven.

PERS is the only port sector specific environmental management standard, and an important symbol of ESPO's EcoPorts network. The Greek ports joined EcoPorts and achieved PERS certification as part of their participation in the European Commission co-funded SuPorts project, which is focusing on the sustainable management of European local ports.

SuPorts aims to assist local ports in the implementation of environmental strategies and to facilitate their access to suitable environmental management tools, enabling them to remain competitive by contributing to a more 'sustainable' European  Union.

The PERS award ceremony was hosted by the University of Piraeus and organised by the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki - both partners in the SuPorts project.

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The number of containers imported into Greece showed a remarkable recovery in the closing months of 2012, as container shipping lines experienced better volumes, according to recently released figures.

While most European countries showed better volumes in December, Greece showed one of the strongest recoveries when compared to 2011. Inbound dry cargo and reefer volumes from Asia were just over 42,000 teu for the fourth quarter 2012, a 25% increase when compared with the same period the year before.

Experts suggested that a key factor in the increase in imports was inventory restocking. The Container Trades Statistics were compiled from figures provided by the container shipping lines.

Earlier in 2012, the year-on-year figures for Greek box imports had fallen by 17% in January and 22% in March, but then the figures gradually improved through the year. In the final two months of 2012, Greece's imports from Asia were up 29% in November and 31% in December.

Meanwhile, overall container volumes (including transhipment) at Piraeus are forecast to have jumped to an all-time record of more than 2.7 million teu in 2012, with Cosco's Piraeus Container Terminal contributing 2.1 million teu, far above target.

This year Cosco will continue its investment at Piraeus, adding new gantry cranes which will increase the terminal's handling capacity to 3.2 million teu by the end of this year.

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The number of cruise passengers passing through Greece's four main ports in 2012 was 'very satisfactory', according to statistics from the Port Association of Greece's technical committee for cruise tourism.

Nearly 2.3 million passengers cruised in Greek seas last year, starting and finishing their cruise in Greece. Piraeus was the home port for three-quarters of these passengers, while 15% home-ported in Corfu, 11% in Iraklio and 2% in Lavrio.

In addition, nearly 2.5 million transit cruise passengers passed through Greek ports during the year.

Italy, Spain and Greece remain Europe's top three cruise destinations, and economists have suggested that the resilient cruise sector could play an important part in helping the economies of these countries. Cruise passengers arriving at Greek ports are estimated to spend around €470 million every year.

Last year, the Association of Mediterranean Cruise ports, MedCruise, relocated its headquarters to the Port of Piraeus; the association now has about 70 members representing more than 100 ports around the Mediterranean.

Greece seems set for another strong year in the cruise business - however, Theodoros Contes, the head of the Association of Cruise Shipowners and Maritime Groups, recently warned that the government must take measures to support the cruise tourism sector in Greece. He stressed the importance of creating competition regulations and cutting red tape.

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Chinese shipping group Cosco Pacific is said to be considering investing up to €1 billion in expanding its operations at Greece's largest port, Piraeus.

According to news reports, the company, which has achieved massive growth in container volumes since taking over the concession at Piraeus Container Terminal, is interested in acquiring a 60% stake in the port, once the Greek government has decided on specific procedures for its privatisation programme.

Finance minister Yannis Stournaras confirmed that Cosco had confirmed its interest in expanding its investment in Piraeus but did not give any further details.

Cosco Pacific, China's biggest shipping group, Cosco has been placed fifth in Drewry Maritime Research's list of top global port operators, having rapidly expanded its worldwide network of port operations in recent years.

By mid-2012, Cosco's worldwide portfolio included 95 berths with a total annual handling capacity of 56.85m teu, compared with 88 berths and 52.37m teu at the same point in 2011.

At Piraeus, work was completed on the upgrading of Pier 2 last year (2012), increasing the facility's annual capacity from 1.6m teu to 2.6m teu.

Cosco/Piraeus Container Terminal was recently presented with the 'Piraeus International Centre Award' in the Lloyd's List annual Greek Shipping Awards 2012, in recognition of its outstanding operating results and enormous contribution to Greece becoming an international shipping and service centre.

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The port authority reported net income up by 76% to €14.7 million for January-September 2012, based on turnover which was up by 7.7% to €40 million.

Total expenses fell by 13% to €26.3 million, largely because of a cut in the port's wages bill of around 25%.

Thessaloniki, Greece's northern gateway, mainly attributed the revenue increases to more bulk commodity volumes. However, it is the container terminal and cruise operations that are of most interest to potential investors.

Kostis Mousouroulis, Greece's minister of shipping and the Aegean, said three or four parties had already registered their interest in the port, in advance of the tendering process due to take place in 2013.

He described Thessaloniki as a modern, diversified port with great geographical advantages, but also said it had the potential to deliver a great deal more.

"Despite efforts so far, we still have some way to go before the Port of Thessaloniki takes off in the way that the region and country have been expecting," he said. "It needs a strategic long-term plan for the port's development."

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