Greek “barren” shipping routes funded from Ministry of Shipping budget

The financing of the barren coastal shipping lines has “returned” to the budget of the Ministry of Shipping, at least for this year. The delays recorded in the repayment of the coastal shipping companies from the Public Investment Program, a matter which was mentioned by ot.gr, obliged the political leadership of the Ministry to promote an amendment to the Parliament according to which  the 2021 and 2022 invoices relating to public service contracts, which have been executed within the framework of the Public Investment Program of the Ministry of Shipping and Insular Policy and have been submitted by October 31, 2022, are allowed to be paid at the expense of the appropriations of the Regular Budget of the above Ministry.

Arrears to liners

It is recalled, as reported by ot.gr, that the debts of the Ministry of Shipping to the coastal shipping companies which serve “barren” lines exceed 80 million euros. Debts seem to be swelling lately as the government is called upon to cover “holes” created by the energy crisis.

The problem, according to actors in the coastal shipping industry, is due to the fact that the money intended for the compensation of the coastal shipping companies is drawn from the “bucket” of the Public Investment Program which is “drying up” due to repeated crises (pandemic, energy crisis, etc.), with the result that, as is typically said, the funds are allocated based on how “powerful” each ministry is and not the actual needs. The inclusion of the funds for the barren lines in the Public Investment Program was announced by the shipping minister Yiannis Plakiotakis on September 18, 2019, together with the expansion by 40 million euros of the annual subsidy, which now reached 130 million euros, compared to 90.7 million euros until then. The barren lines are a development project and as such are now financed, the minister had emphasized, announcing their inclusion in the Public Investment Program. In addition, the barren lines of the country are financed as a recurring action for the following years, with guaranteed resources and with the necessary flexibility for uninterrupted financing, but also the possibility to cover additional or emergency needs that may arise.

However, in the end, this “model” seems not to be working in times of crisis, when the needs multiply, as industry actors estimate, and the ministry was forced to make an about face in order to give shipping companies the money due them.