Greek ferries raise ticket prices to deal with energy crisis

Some ferry lines in Greece have already increased ticket prices for passengers and vehicles due to the sharp increase in energy prices, and the rest plan to do so soon.

The increase in prices by about 10-12% is due to rising operating costs due to rising global oil prices, media reported on Tuesday.

Along with ticket prices, companies have decided on other measures to deal with the energy crisis.

While the first group of ferry lines raised their prices on March 18, the rest are expected to join their peers from April 1, 2022.

It is noted that shipping companies, in order to cope with the ever-increasing cost of fuel, have already begun to reduce the speed of ships, combine routes, and also reduce the frequency of flights.

In addition, some companies have already canceled routes that, in their opinion, do not have a lot of passenger traffic at this time of the year.

Estimated prices for individual tickets in economy class, increased from March 18:

• Piraeus-Paros, from 38.50 euros to 42.50 euros.
• Piraeus-Mykonos, from 40 euros to 44 euros
• Piraeus-Syros, from 35 euros to 38.50 euros
• Piraeus-Patmos, from 43 euros to 47.50 euros.

Estimated increase in prices for passenger tickets and vehicles expected from April 1:

• Rafina-Andros, from 20.50 an individual passenger up to 23 euros and for a passenger car from 45 euros to 48 euros.
• Rafina-Tinos from 29 euros to 32 euros and per car from 60 euros to 63 euros.
• Rafina-Mykonos from 31 euros to 35 euros and per car from 67 euros to 70 euros.

Cnngreece citing the heads of shipping companies, he writes that for a conventional marine vessel, the cost of fuel oil (FO) has increased from $600 per ton in December 2021 to about 1,050 euros per ton on 03/21/2022.

• Brent North Sea crude for May delivery closed at $116.12 a barrel, its highest level in ten days. US crude for April delivery also rose 7.08% to close at $112.12 a barrel.
• Marine diesel fuel MGO (for speedboats), which is different from the fuel consumed by conventional ships, reached a price of $1,250 per tonne on March 21, 2002, up from $680 in December 2021.

The executives noted that the ship that runs on the Piraeus-Crete line on fuel oil (FO) currently needs about 40 tons of fuel, which is about 41,000 euros, while the ship on the Piraeus-Santorini line needs about 70 tons of fuel per route at a cost of 75,000 euros. Flights by high-speed vessels are even more expensive.

At a recent meeting with Minister of Shipping and Island Policy Yiannis Plakiotakis, the Shipping Companies Association (SEEN) proposed a specific package of measures to help the industry, and the minister promised to discuss the issue with the relevant ministries.

SEEN’s proposals include an immediate increase in company liquidity by owing the state to shipping companies from subsidized lines that have already completed routes, subsidizing employers’ contributions, as was done during the covid-19 pandemic, imposing a price cap on marine fuel at an average price December last year, reducing the value-added tax on ferry tickets from 12% to 6% and increasing the annual rent on remote routes by 30%

Such routes are included in the Public Investment Program.

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