With the arrival of the first Ro-Ro vessel in the operating years of the Port of Igoumenitsa, a new era begins for the unaccompanied cargo services as well as the reinforcement of the Port’s server project with its inclusion in the Patras – Igoumenitsa – Bari – Venice route.
The 7,800 lane metre ECO MALTA is owned by the Grimaldi Group and according to the Italian classification society RINA, this series of ships is seven times more efficient than the existing ships.
The port of Igoumenitsa is the first port in Greece to initiate its transformation into a zero-emission “green” port after completing the holistic energy upgrade program ALFION (Alternative Fuel Implementation in Igoumenitsa Port).
The project concerns the mapping of the existing situation and the preparation of a series of studies to minimize the environmental footprint of the port and the ships served by it, the use of innovative environmentally friendly technologies, the increase of the port’s energy efficiency as well as the use of renewable sources for the supply of energy to port activities with the ultimate goal of transforming the port into an energy hub.
The results of that project were presented at the Final Project Results Conference, which took place in Igoumenitsa, in mid-October. The Igoumenitsa Port Authority implemented the ALFION project (EUR 1,080,000.00) in collaboration with DEDDIE, the Maritime Transport Laboratory of the National Technical University of Athens and the companies PROTASIS and HYDRUS, with the technical support of the GATES company.
It was financed by the CEF Fund (50%) (Connecting Europe Facility) and the Igoumenitsa Port Authority (50%).
The consortium made up of Grimaldi Euromed, Minoan Lines Shipping and Investment Construction Commercial & Industrial is the preferred bidder in the tender for the majority Port of Igoumenitsa share acquisition (67%).
The decision was made public by the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund – the fund in charge of managing the privatisation programme of ports and other public assets in Greece.
The financial offer amounts to € 84.17 million.
The concession relating to the Port of Igoumenitsa (owned by the Igoumenitsa Port Authority) includes the right to exclusively use and manage the assets of the port area of Igoumenitsa, the fishing shelters of Sagiada and Plataria and the yacht shelter of Syvota. Igoumenitsa is the main port of Epirus and one of the largest commercial ports in Greece, strategic for connections between mainland Greece and the rest of Europe.
Grimaldi Group and the Port Authority of Thessaloniki will finally compete for the Port of Igoumenitsa. According to the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund the offers submitted by the above two candidates have been eventually selected in the context of the tender for the concession of 67% of the Igoumenitsa Port Authority.
The two interested parties will be invited to submit new improvement offers at the beginning of October.
According to the same information, the Grimaldi Group and the Port Authority of Thessaloniki will compete – along with other “candidates” – for the port of Heraklion as well. The process will start at the beginning of the year and bids are expected to be submitted on January 18, 2023.
Photo: Port of Igoumenitsa, Spyridon Roussos
Three ferry operators —Attica Group, ANEK and Grimaldi— are expected to compete for the privatisation of the three ports: Igoumenitsa, Patras and Heraklion.
In brief:
Regarding the investors’ participating in the privatisation process for the three ports:
Source: Spyros Roussos and Kathimerini newspaper 25 August 2021
The RoRo terminal at Stockholm Norvik Port has two new berths for the largest ferries and roro ships.
One of the quay-berths has a length of 280 metres and a depth of 10.5 metres. The other quay-berth has a length of 230 metres and a depth of 10 metres.
These are the final two of a total of nine ramps that have been delivered to Ports of Stockholm in recent years.
Stena Line will start to operate from Norvik as from 9 November. (route Nynashamn – Ventspils)
Eventually, nine investors have expressed interest for the acquisition of the 67% of the Igoumenitsa Port Authority (OLIG). The specific port has high profitability and respectable infrastructure and the future candidate will also take over pitches, buildings and facilities that are within the port zone and managed by OLIG as well as the fishing shelters of Sagiada and Plataria, and the yacht marina at Sivota. The 9 candidates that expressed interest in the port of Igoumenitsa are the following:
Attica Group expressed serious interest in the port of Igoumenitsa, in the context of the forthcoming tender for the sale of 67% of the Igoumenitsa Port Authority S.A.
It is pointed out that Attica Group has a long-standing presence on the Adriatic Sea, especially in the Patras – Igoumenitsa – Bari and Ancona lines.
According to the information, Attica Group will declare itself “present” in the forthcoming tender, making its first step to expand the group’s activities in new business fields, such as logistics and tourism.
It is pointed out that the Italian group Grimaldi, Attica’s major rival in the Adriatic services, has also shown similar interest in the port of Igoumenitsa.
Energy and Environmental Upgrade of the Port of Igoumenitsa
A new era in the management and operation of port facilities is inaugurated after the approval by the European Commission of the project ALFION – Alternative Fuel Implementation in Igoumenitsa Port, which concerns the energy upgrade in the Port of Igoumenitsa.
Grimaldi Group Interested in the Privatization of the Port of Igoumenitsa
Grimaldi Group revealed to Ferry Shipping News its interest to take over the Greek port of Igoumenitsa.
As of today, Grimaldi Lines and also Minoan Lines offer maritime links between this port and the Italian ports of Brindisi, Ancona and Venice.
The interest of the Italian group Grimaldi for the Port of Igoumenitsa was officially confirmed by the head of the group, Mr. Emanuele Grimaldi, during his recent visit in Athens, on the occasion of the introduction of KYDON PALACE on the Piraeus-Chania line.
Mr. Grimaldi had the opportunity to meet in person with the Minister of Shipping and Island Policy Mr. Giannis Plakiotakis, in whom he expressed his interest to participate in the international tender that will be announced soon by the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF), since among the activities of the Italian group is also the port facility management.
The HRADF is expected to announce the tenders for the ports of Alexandroupolis, Kavala (Philip II pier) and Igoumenitsa in the near future. For the first two ports there has been a strong American interest, while for the port of Igoumenitsa there is a clear interest from the Grimaldi group as it connects Greece with Italy.
In a short-term period also the HRADF is expected to announce tender for the port of Heraklion, which is also the headquarters of Minoan Lines, a subsidiary of the Italian group.
