Attica Group, Greece’s biggest ferry company, has signed a tentative agreement to carry out the environmental upgrades of its ships at a fledgling local shipyard group.
The owner of more than 40 passenger ships pledged to carry out the works, the volume of which the Greek government estimates to go into the hundreds of millions of dollars, at Onex Technology Group shipyards.
A memorandum to that effect was signed between the two companies on 15 December in the presence of three government ministers and the US ambassador to Greece.
Under the terms of the 10-year deal, Attica is to carry out maintenance and repair works, as well as all energy efficiency upgrades, at Onex facilities.
Should Attica furthermore decide to place newbuilding orders, it will do so at one of Onex’s two Greek shipyards of Neorion on the island of Syros or Elefsis to the west of Athens.
Onex, which turned around the two shipyards, has been so far active in dry-dock and maintenance work only.
Onex, a New York-based company headed by its founder Panos Xenokostas, has been credited with reviving the two facilities. In late 2019, it formally took over Neorion, breathing new life into the yard and renaming it Onex Syros Shipyards.
Now, it is managing the same feat at Elefsis, which joined the group later.
The Attica Group earlier this year merged with cash-strapped rival Anek in a move that saved the latter from bankruptcy.
Attica has survived the Covid crisis and benefited from resurgent Greek tourism flows to return to profitability last year.
Like other Greek companies, however, it faces the conundrum of defending profits while complying with tough environmental regulations with a relatively old fleet.
