His intention to aggressively claim his 67% Port Authority of Heraklion but also develop it port of Igoumenitsa, which has already come under his control, at the center of the wider Balkan region, including European Turkey, with a “pipeline” feeding Egnatia Odos and its vertical axes extending beyond the northern borders of Greece, he emphasizes in a conversation with “Kathimerini”. head of italian Grimaldus Groupand President of the International Union of Shipowners (ICS) Emanuele Grimaldi. Operating a fleet of more than 130 vessels in both passenger and road transport, the Italian businessman explains why he wants to expand in Greece, praises the privatization of PPA, which remains a key port for his group’s new road transport, and expresses his opinion. under the conditions under which the Competition Commission must allow the takeover of ANEK Attica Group and explains why in Greece its wholly owned subsidiary Minoan Lines currently focuses exclusively on the Crete and Adriatic lines. As the main user of several Greek ports, including Igoumenitsa and Heraklion, he has a lot to say about their management and prospects, but also points out significant differences between the two ports. He confirms that he met with the head of the Greek shipping company, but rejects any cooperation scenarios because, as he usually says, he is not interested in inland shipping.

– Firstly, we are the largest client of the port. Therefore, it is logical that we want to protect our interests. Secondly, Igoumenitsa is a key node connecting the Balkans and part of Turkey, geographically located on the European continent, with Italy and Central Europe. The market it can serve is made up not only of Greek companies, but also of Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey and so on. Thirdly, with the parallel privatization of Egnatia, an axis is created that can effectively serve this entire market of tens of millions. Thus, by further improving port services and focusing on the three pillars, namely logistics, tourism and the environment, the prospects for improving port performance are high. Igoumenitsa is already a very well managed port which, if appropriate investments are made, will be able to exploit its full potential. In these investments, I also include the energy autonomy of the port. We must produce the electricity we consume from renewable sources. The issue of sustainability is important to us and we will promote it, as we do in other ports where we are present, such as Antwerp or Valencia.

“The idea is that the marinas should be taken over by an outside manager, possibly a local partner, who understands the matter and can turn them into an important revenue center while helping develop yachting and tourism in the wider area. .

Also, as the Grimaldi Group, we have the ability to sell complete holiday packages elsewhere and we want to do the same in the beautiful locations of Northwest Greece.

Ensuring that the port of Heraklion does not fall into the hands of an investment scheme that expects capital gains within five to seven years is an important motivation for us.

– As in Igoumenitsa, we are also one of the main clients in Heraklion. Thus, to ensure that the port does not fall into the hands of an investment scheme that expects capital gains over five to seven years through increased docking fees, as the Chinese did in Piraeus to show income and profitability and resell after the port, is an important motivation for us. From a perspective, by acquiring ports we also control our costs and together make them competitive with other Greek companies. It is also important to us that the ports we use have the best possible infrastructure and offer the best possible services, because this is in the interest of our customers. Having said this, however, I must point out that the port of Heraklion is different from Igoumenitsa. It has the distinction of serving a market of only about 600,000 residents and of course summer travelers, which is much smaller than the wider Southeast European market served by Igoumenitsa. Therefore, light estimates that do not correspond to reality should not be made. I should add here that the port of Heraklion is also a very good port with good management.

– Since the administration of the port of Piraeus came under the control of the Chinese company you mentioned, the port fees that our ships must pay when transporting new cars from all over the world to the car terminal have doubled. And they have doubled without a corresponding large-scale improvement in services or infrastructure.

As for Igoumenitsa, it cannot completely replace our activities in Piraeus, because there simply is not enough space for the goods we transport. Perhaps Igoumenitsa could attract some cargo brought from the Upper Adriatic. We will see them in the future.

On the positive side, today any increase in fees for ports moving towards privatization must be approved by the Ministry of Shipping and Island Policy, thus avoiding situations like the one that arose with Piraeus.

Conditions for fair competition in Chania, interest in Rhodes

– For us, the issue is that we have already raised, as the two companies work in partnership. The Competition Commission must ensure that there is a second company in addition to the two you mentioned in the Chania market. We had planned a ferry to Chania, but others have supplied two and at prices that may have been below cost. So we are waiting for conditions that will create fair competition in Chania. We have no problems in the Adriatic. The competition there between us is tough and healthy and ensures good prices for our customers, whether they are trucks or passengers.

We are always open to investing in new markets, companies or ships, if we believe that opportunities exist.

– We have met. He called me and said that he was in Naples on business, without specifying, and asked if I would like to eat together.

I have known Mario for many years. I would say that he is an interesting character, always full of ideas. But no, I did not discuss the prospect of some kind of cooperation. You know, my ships are big and they go international, except for Crete, which is a very big island, and other big islands in the western Mediterranean. Rhodes might interest me. However, I do not deal with inter-island transportation and high-speed ships like Seajets. The only speedboat I own is the Santorini Pallas, which I purchased solely through an agreement that took Hellenic Seaways to Attica Group. It’s a very nice boat, I’ve been on it, but that’s not what I do. After all, this is the only speedboat in our fleet.

– For now, as you know, it’s too early to say. What I can say with relative certainty is that each type of ship is likely to make its own decision. Small coastal boats can be fully electric. The bigger ones will need other solutions, whether it’s methanol or ammonia or synthetic fuels or fuels that will be made from carbon sequestered from other activities, which together with hydrogen could give us methanol. But we still have a long way to go. As President of the International Union of Shipowners (ICS) and with the most important support of the Union of Greek Shipowners, we proposed to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to adopt a tax reward model with a realistic price for pollutants produced. We estimate that such a system could generate $10 billion a year in revenue, and we estimate that half of that amount should be used to fund pioneering green boat and fuel companies. We, as the Grimaldi Group, are investing billions to upgrade our fleet and implement affordable solutions to minimize all emissions where technologically possible. And we will continue in the same spirit.