Reports: first cut-backs in coastal shipping routes in Greece due to high fuel prices

Certain coastal shippers in Greece are reportedly cutting back on scheduled off-season island routes due to the high cost of fuel, although overall connections to the specific destinations are not affected at present.

The development, nevertheless, raised “alarm bells” at the country’s shipping ministry.

The cutbacks are, as expected, attributed to skyrocketing fuel costs.

According to reports, the elimination of routes is often achieved without notice and fanfare, and often by replacing one ferry boat with another company’s vessel. The concern, on the part of the government, is that a continuing hike in fuel prices will cause more cut-backs or even the permanent docking of some vessels.

The threshold of 1,000 USD per ton for MGO fuel was exceeded for the first time at the port of Piraeus – Greece’s primary coastal shipping hub – in early March.