Greece to toughen rules after ship accident
Greece has said it will bolster penalties for shipping collisions and re-assess officer training after a ferry accident over the weekend, the third since the start of the year.
'Penalties for those who violate collision prevention rules will be made harsher,' Merchant Marine Minister George Voulgarakis said late on Sunday. He added that deck officers would henceforth undergo annual evaluation and refresh their training on sailing through tricky areas with shallows and reefs. Mr Voulgarakis also pledged to reassess the ministry's coastal shipping guidelines.
The statements came after a Greek ferry hit a charted reef near the Aegean islet of Oinousses on Saturday, tearing a 20-metre gash in its hull and prompting an operation to safely evacuate the 475 passengers on board. It later emerged that the captain also delayed informing the authorities, who were first alerted when a passenger on board called the police.
Last month, a Cyprus-operated cruise ship with over 1,200 passengers and crew was re-routed when a two-metre-long gash was found in its hull after it had sailed from port. And in April, two ferries collided inside the main Greek port of Piraeus, though no passengers were injured.
Ferries provide a vital link between the Greek mainland and dozens of islands in the Aegean and Ionian Seas and coastal shipping intensifies during the busy tourist season in summer. Authorities are particularly sensitive to marine accidents after 80 people died in the sinking of the Greek ferry Express Samina eight years ago.
'Penalties for those who violate collision prevention rules will be made harsher,' Merchant Marine Minister George Voulgarakis said late on Sunday. He added that deck officers would henceforth undergo annual evaluation and refresh their training on sailing through tricky areas with shallows and reefs. Mr Voulgarakis also pledged to reassess the ministry's coastal shipping guidelines.
The statements came after a Greek ferry hit a charted reef near the Aegean islet of Oinousses on Saturday, tearing a 20-metre gash in its hull and prompting an operation to safely evacuate the 475 passengers on board. It later emerged that the captain also delayed informing the authorities, who were first alerted when a passenger on board called the police.
Last month, a Cyprus-operated cruise ship with over 1,200 passengers and crew was re-routed when a two-metre-long gash was found in its hull after it had sailed from port. And in April, two ferries collided inside the main Greek port of Piraeus, though no passengers were injured.
Ferries provide a vital link between the Greek mainland and dozens of islands in the Aegean and Ionian Seas and coastal shipping intensifies during the busy tourist season in summer. Authorities are particularly sensitive to marine accidents after 80 people died in the sinking of the Greek ferry Express Samina eight years ago.