Eager to rid itself of old ferries deemed dangerous and at risk of sinking, Greece’s Public Authority of Ports will attempt yet again to auction off a laid-up ship that last operated for the long-defunct NEL Lines.
The 19,500-gt ropax Ionian Sky (built 1974) will be sold via open tender on 4 November, with a reserve price of €45 ($49.50) per ldt plus VAT. This sets the minimum bid at €412,000.
Potential buyers will have to remove the ship from Piraeus under the conditions of sale.
Greek ferry sources said the authorities want the Ionian Sky gone from its lay-up berth on Salamina Island as soon as possible because it is considered a serious risk.
Earlier this month, the vessel developed a leak that caused it to take on a severe list before action was taken to stem the leak.
The ship has been there since the collapse of charterer NEL Lines in 2013. Its owner, Agoudimos Lines, has also long been out of business.
There have been several attempts to sell the ship at auction. In one effort last year, the ship attracted the interest of a trading buyer, but the sale fell through.
Given the ship’s age and deteriorating condition, it is now likely to only be of interest to shipbreakers in neighbouring Turkey.
Judges weigh in
The odyssey of a separate NEL Lines ferry — the 5,000-gt ropax Taxiarchis (built 1976) — is characteristic of the red tape and troubles bedevilling such sales.
After failed attempts by the Port Authority of Lavrio to get rid of the ship last year for €850,000 plus VAT, the Taxiarchis was to have been e-auctioned on 11 September for just €120,000.
However, a week before the sale, creditors blocked the auction in court, arguing that the ship's price had been set too low. The judges agreed and increased the minimum reserve price by a factor of 10 to €1.2m.
The new sale was set for 9 October but no bidders came forward. The Taxiarchis has not moved or been maintained for at least three years, according to an inspection report from December 2017.
Developments at the nearby port of Elefsina are more encouraging. Authorities there have been more pragmatic in dealing with their legacy of abandoned ships.
As TradeWinds reported earlier this year, Elefsina Port Authority (EPA) has been invoking emergency environmental legislation from 2001, which allows it to seize ships and order their demolition at symbolic prices.
The first results of the legislation came on 25 September, when the EPA asked a private contractor to lift and remove three shipwrecks cluttering its waters: the 1,721-gt general cargoship Drepano (built 1977), 996-gt dredger Elefantas (built 1969) and 6,618-gt general cargo vessel Anna M (built 1958).
"These abandoned vessels constitute an embarrassing and miserable image," the EPA said.
