Price cap to be lifted from some ferry fares
In what is billed as a pilot scheme intended to lower the cost of transport by sea and improve connections with distant islands, the Merchant Marine Ministry said yesterday it would deregulate ferry fares at four Greek ports, including three in Attica. The measure, which Merchant Marine Minister Manolis Kefaloyiannis said might come into effect at the end of this month, will apply to the harbors of Rafina – Attica’s second-busiest, after Piraeus – Lavrion, Elefsina and Kymi, on Evia. He added, however, that the measure would not apply to routes to remote or unprofitable destinations, which receive state subsidies. Kefaloyiannis claimed that the deregulation would work as an incentive to attract ferry companies, which it is hoped, in turn, would introduce faster ships and more frequent services.
