Shipping: The renewal of the Greek rescue fleet is a national necessity

The need to renew the Greek fleet of rescue vessels and tugboats is pointed out by the Hellenic Shipowners’ Association of Tugs, Salvage, Antipollution and Offshore Support Vessels.

The Association cites a study prepared by the School of Shipbuilding and Mechanical Engineering of the National Technical University of Athens on the “role of Lifeboat Tugboats and the existing status in Greece” in which it is emphasized that the Greek fleet of lifeboat tugs lags in all technical specifications compared to the corresponding European fleets.

The study

In Greece there are no rescue tugs that can meet the modern needs of its territorial waters, the coverage of the EEZ and the conduct of Search and Rescue (SAR), says the study which proceeds with a comparison of the Greek and European rescue tug fleets, providing a revealing comparison of how far behind the Greek fleet has fallen. Indicatively, it is stated that the average age of the Greek fleet is 35 years, while that of the European fleet is 14 years. The average pulling power of the Greek fleet is 43.75 metric tons, while that of the European fleet is 147 metric tons. Also, the maximum speed of the Greek fleet is 12.4 knots while the European one is 15.6 knots.

And all this in a period, as noted in the study, that the SE Mediterranean is a bone of contention for the largest oil giants and with the Aegean Sea being an area of ​​high traffic density due to the continuous development of oil and gas extraction companies in Cyprus, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt , Black Sea, Greece and Malta. Also, the Greek territorial waters with their peculiarities such as the abundance of islands, islets and reefs make it necessary to have modern lifesaving means and tugboats.

The proposals

The proposals provided by the NTUA study, among other things, recommend the renewal of the fleet with an investment in modern Rescue Tugboats and the division of the Aegean Sea into Standby Zones. At the same time, the rescue boats will be on alert 24/7, 365 days a year, in order to assist in a timely and efficient manner in an accident within Greek territorial waters, so that accidents like the sinking of the Sea Diamond do not happen again. In this way, the defense of Greece’s sovereign rights in the Aegean is shielded against Turkey’s claims and it is ensured that in the event of an accident, the possible consequences will be avoided or at least minimized (human casualties, environmental pollution, towing costs, etc.), the study emphasizes.