“The government will proceed with a 300-million-euro plan with additional resources from the European Investment Bank, so that the coastal shipping fleet is renewed and ships are converted into green ships,” the Minister of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy said.
Vasilis Kikilias explained (to Real radio station) that this means that there will be no obligation to pay pollution fees in the EU and therefore “we will be given the opportunity in the coming years to further reduce the prices of coastal shipping tickets.”
He clarified that the relevant announcements will be made in the fall, noting that “there will be a call for interest for coastal shipping companies of all types. Open ships, closed-type ships, daily ships, ferry boats, high-speed ships and conventional ships.
Kikilias emphasized that “we must support our tourism in the summer with multiple routes, we must finance barren lines. The government is obliged – and we will do it – to find a way to support this sector as it is part of our island identity. We will be there and we will enable coastal shippers to have a better, renewed, greener, more ecological and safer fleet.”
Migration
Regarding the migration flows in Crete, the minister noted that no flows have been recorded over the past week.
