Kikilias: Renewal of the Coast Guard fleet for border guarding
The Coast Guard fleet is being renewed with ‘Aegis 2’ aiming at guarding the maritime borders and strengthening security, the Minister of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy Vasilis Kikilias said.
Speaking to SKAI, Kikilias explained that “we are talking about two large open sea vessels that will be able to operate in the Mediterranean. In addition, small pursuit vessels, but also modern equipment – drones, possibly unmanned submarines in a second year.
We are also moving forward with the use of Artificial Intelligence, in the creation of a digital center, such as the Civil Protection War Room,” he noted.
Regarding coastal shipping, Kikilias emphasized that “the coastal shipping period is not over yet. We have made an organized effort to intensify all security measures and preventive checks on all ships – tourist, coastal, open, closed, ferry boats, on ferries and in central port authorities – in order to reduce, as much as possible, the chances of something happening or, if it does happen, to be able to deal with it. So far, this has been achieved and I am satisfied. Safety comes first. At the same time, serving citizens, supporting them and properly informing them by the Coast Guard and the companies are our priorities, so that coastal shipping routes offer high quality services.”
Referring to ferry tickets, he pointed out that “we have avoided a 15% increase in their prices, mainly thanks to the 50% reduction in port fees. This created healthy competition and brought reductions of up to 32% in high-speed ferries, always for economy class. I also remind you that we gave 40 million euros for the transport equivalent scheme, covering a large part of the ticket for our islanders.”
The minister also referred to the plan for “green” ships: “I have announced 300 million euros from the Green Fund plus 700 million euros from the European Investment Bank – one billion in total – so that the ferry fleet can be renewed, for the first time, after many decades. Low-interest loans will enable professionals to acquire new, larger, faster, safer, ‘green’ ships, with environmentally friendly fuels.”
Οι απόψεις που εκφράζονται στα σχόλια των άρθρων δεν απηχούν κατ’ ανάγκη τις απόψεις της ιστοσελίδας μας, το οποίο ως εκ τούτου δεν φέρει καμία ευθύνη. Για τα άρθρα που αναδημοσιεύονται εδώ με πηγή, ουδεμία ευθύνη εκ του νόμου φέρουμε καθώς απηχούν αποκλειστικά τις απόψεις των συντακτών τους και δεν δεσμεύουν καθ’ οιονδήποτε τρόπο την ιστοσελίδα.
