Sea Tourism

Cooperation with Turkish businessmen to establish a connection between Kusadasi and Thessaloniki was considered at a recent meeting in Istanbul between Greece’s DANE lines and the president of the Greek-Turkish Council Iakovos Geronikolas.

GA Ferries has enlarged its fleet of ferries through the recent acquisition of three new, modern vessels. The first of the new high-speed vessels, the Milenaki, will take on Cycladic routes this May.

Festival Cruises, after launching its new Mistral cruise vessel last summer, ordered another two vessels at a cost of 340 billion drachmas. And that’s just the beginning. The line expects to double its fleet to eight by 2004.

Strintzis Lines, on March 31, accepted its newest super-fast ultra-modern ferry the Blue Star Ithaki from the Korean shipyard Daewoo Heavy Industries. The new vessel will be the first of its type to ply Greek coastal waters.

Attica Enterprises, the holding company of Greek coastal ferry line Superfast Ferries, continues its buying spree with an order for yet another two new super-fast vessels. Last month, the Greek ferry line placed an order for the new ships from the German shipyard Flender Werft. The order includes an option for two sister vessels.

Dane Sea Lines, which has managed to pull itself out of deep financial troubles with the help of strategic investor Anek Lines, has been granted provisional permits to service the Piraeus-Dodecanese group of routes.

Four business groups forwarded final proposals to Greece’s national economy ministry after a call by the ministry for bids. The ministry wants to select a consultant group that could develop state marinas, recreation centers and a yacht shelter network.

A consortium that includes four construction companies and the Kyriacoulis group (marines and yachting) has been named the successful bidder in the tender for the management and operation of Lefkadas Marina for the next 43 years.

The second European Congress of Marinas will be held from May 11-13, 2000, and hosted by the municipality of Lavrion, which has one of the largest marinas in Greece. The biennial conference is under the auspices of the Ministry of Development and the Hellenic National Tourism Organization.

Strintzis Lines launched the first of a new group of luxury passenger ferries recently at the Dutch shipyard van der Giessen-de Noord. After the ship received the blessings of a Greek Orthodox priest, Dutch Transport, Public Works and Water Management Minister Tiny Netelenbos launched the vessel with the traditional champagne bottle. She christened the high-speed vessel “Blue Star 1”.