The Greek companies of ferries are worried that the new measures in order to check the pandemic put in knee the field



The navigation companies that operate services for the transport of passengers in the world-wide regions in which more the contagion of the Covid-19 virus is being diffused is meeting enormous difficulties because their ships are little or for nothing used because of the measures that the governments have assumed in order to limit to the maximum the displacements of the people. Also the transport of commercial vehicles, up to now excluded from the prohibition, is recording considerable decrease as consequence of the arrest warrant of productive activities and entire fields of the economy.

It is a scene that in Greece is becoming dramatic in spite of the nation is one of the hit European States less from the epidemic with, second the data yesterday, 624 died positive cases and 16. The marine transport, in fact, assures the connections between the thousands of Greek islands let alone with the other near nations of the basin of the Mediterranean and the new measures adopted from the government of Athens, with effect from hours 6 of saturday, have ulteriorly alarmed the Greek shipowning societies that have fleets of ferries.

The government has established that only the citizens permanently residents in the islands and the goods necessary to assure indispensable supplyings to the insulare communities can travel on the ferries. An exception to this limitation is granted to the people that they do not reside on the islands and that they want to leave them in order to return to own houses.

Announcing the measures the minister of the marine Activities and the insulare policies, Ioannis Plakiotakis, has assured that the engagement of the government is to maintain however to the net of services ferry operating, even if - it has added - some routes can be suppressed. A reassurance that the SEEN has not at all tranquilized, the association of the marine companies fleeting Greeks, that it has sent a letter to the minister Plakiotakis in which has evidenced as the navigation companies that ferries operate are already facing serious problems because of the crisis of the Covid-19 and that to these problems fleeting decrease of the traffic joins to the fort as a result of the last announcement of the government face to prohibit the transport of nonresident.

Specifying that the marine companies of the field with the need agree to adopt the measures announced from the government, with the letter the association it has intentional to clarify the executive who if the traffic fleeting will be limited to which they travel for reasons of health or other serious issues, will mean that this traffic "will be practically nonexistent".

The SEEN previews also a gradual bending of the traffic of commercial vehicles had to the reduction of numerous activities in the islands and has observed that in the next few days the operations of marine transport of goods will be centralized exclusively on food, than - it has emphasized the association - constitutes quantitative limited and an absolutely marginal one of the traffic.

In the letter the association has found that "not there will be some improvement in the traffic of passengers and vehicles during the period of Passover, that always it has been of great aid for the companies after the term of the unfavorable and difficult winter season". Moreover the SEEN has announced that "currently the reservations for the summery season are nonexistent, and therefore is sure that, on the base of the more optimistic forecasts, the summery season will be disappointing with the probability that is worse than that winter one". The SEEN has specified that the traffic managed during the paschal period and that summery one generates 60% of the volume of transactions of the companies ferries and that not is way to cover the costs of the inactive ferries or the interruption of marine services.

Evidencing that "the companies of ferries are not only worried of the cover of the costs of the ships that manage, but also of the costs of which they cannot operate because of the reduction of the traffic", the association has remembered that "there are fixed costs and other burdens that cannot be reduced from services that cannot be carried out". The SEEN has found moreover that, if is very serious reasons in order to assure the survival of the Greek islands, there are also very serious reasons in order to maintain in operation the necessary marine connections with these communities.

The financial association has concluded asking a support the navigation companies that must have retroactive effect and have exhorted also the government to assume an immediate decision in such sense. Moreover the SEEN has invited to adopt other measures between which the temporary exoneration of it obligation for the companies of navigation to employ the crews of the ships.