Ferry crashes into Igoumenitsa port - 11 passengers injured

The Ano Chora II ferry boat, which had departed from Corfu, reportedly crashed into the port of Igoumenitsa during the docking process, early on Wednesday morning (or at about 10:45 local time).

As a result, at least eleven passengers were reported to have been injured, including six children and the two teachers who were accompanying them. The same reports claim that one child, a woman and an elderly man were also immediately hospitalized for further treatment.

Aside from the damages on the boat, the crash also caused damages to one bus and five cars that were parked on the pier.

Source and photo: epirusgate

Rescue Underway To Save Cypriot-Flagged Freighter off Andros Island

The Greek Coast Guard said on Wednesday that it rescued 18 crew members of a Cypriot-flagged freighter which ran aground off the island of Andros earlier in the day on account of gale-force winds.

According to the state news agency ANA-MPA, the "Goodfaith" cargo ship, which was sailing empty from the port of Elefsina to Odessa, Ukraine, was driven ashore and sent a distress signal in the early morning hours. The captain said water was flowing into the ship.

The same report noted that 18 of the 22 crew members, who are all foreigners, were airlifted by helicopters which rushed to the scene, while the rest were still aboard the freighter, a Greek coastguard official who declined to be named said.

Three tug ships were also expected in the area - which is being hit by strong winds - later on Wednesday to assist the rescue efforts, the official said.

Reference: ANA-MPA, kathimerini, YouTube

Norman Atlantic: Charred Remains Of Human Found Inside Truck

One month after the tragedy in the Adriatic Sea, investigators announced that they discovered the charred remains of a person inside a truck that was parked on the Norman Atlantic’s fourth deck. The news of the discovery suggests that more victims could possibly have been trapped inside when the fire broke out.

According to the Italian press, the remains were taken to the Forensic Institute in Bari so that the necessary procedures and tests can be carried in order to identify the victim’s identity as well as determine the cause of the death.

This is the first confirmed victim to have been found inside the boat, and raises the number of victims to 10. The other nine victims were recovered at sea and perished from drowning and hypothermia.

Remains of Norman Atlantic victims to finally arrive in Athens

The Hellenic Air Force will dispatch a C-130 on Friday to finally repatriate the remains of the three Greek nationals, who are confirmed to have perished in the recent Norman Atlantic sea tragedy.

The transfer was initially scheduled to take place on Thursday, but was delayed due to red tape from the Italian side. The C-130 is going to leave from Bari for Athens later in the day.

The expenses of the transfer are obviously going to be covered (entirely) by the Ministry of National Defense.

According to reports, preliminary autopsies have shown that many of the victims who perished in the tragedy died as a result of the rather low temperatures.

Concerning the three confirmed Greek nationals who died at sea, it was reported in the Italian press that they drowned after experiencing a “shock” from low sea temperatures.

Bad Weather Forces Captain To Evacuate Cargo Ship "Mare" off of Crete

The captain of the St. Vincent-flagged cargo ship Mare on Tuesday ordered his crew to abandon ship amid strong winds and choppy seas off the coast of Crete, the state news agency ANA-MPA said in a report.

The report, quoting initial reports from the Greek coast guard, claims that the Mare had been stranded half a nautical mile from a beach on the outskirts of Herakleio, on the island's northern coast. Until the time the dispatch was released, it did not appear to have any mechanical problems or to be taking on water.

The report also notes that the ship is being monitored by helicopter, while its crew of six, none of whom are Greeks, are now safe and on dry land.

The Mare set sail with a mixed cargo from Turkey for Tunisia when it suddenly got caught up in gale-force winds in Greek waters.

Norman Atlantic Arrives At Brindisi - 2 Greeks dead, 10 still missing

The Norman Atlantic would arrive at the port of Brindisi on Saturday morning, where it will undergo a thorough search with the hope of finding any missing passengers. At the same time experts will determine how the fatal blaze began.

Meanwhile, the relatives of the first victim of the blaze, George Doulis, who was reported to have died were told by authorities on New Year’s Eve that he was now classified as a missing person. This reduces the number of victims from Greece to ten, with a further ten still missing.

This (strange) development has frustrated Greek authorities, as their Italian counterparts simply attributed this error to a “mistake”, causing unnecessary emotional anguish to families.

Following the massive rescue operation, Minister of Shipping Miltiadis Varvitsiotis ordered authorities to provide any service they could to the relatives of Norman Atlantic passengers for their travel and/or accommodation needs.

Meanwhile, about 26 Greek crew members of the Norman Atlantic arrived at the Patras port on New Year’s Day. The ship’s chamberlain A. Damigos told reporters that the crew did everything they could to help the passengers while he argued that the ship did not have an excessive list. At the same time he attributed the discrepancy in number of passengers between Greek and Italian authorities to “anagrams” in Italy.

In Italy, prosecutors added two representatives of ANEK, the Greek ferry company that leased the Norman Atlantic ferry, as well as two crew members to the list of suspects under investigation for the deadly fire that engulfed the ferry on Sunday, December 28th, while en route from Greece to Italy.

Italy's state news agency Ansa said in one report that authorities gave permission on Friday for the towed Norman Atlantic to dock in Brindisi after debating where best to dock the multi-deck car ferry.

Read background to this story by clicking HERE

Sources: Ansa.it, To Vima, enikos.gr

Ship Off Of Corfu Coast Sends SOS Signal - Gunmen On Ship - BREAKING News

HellasFrappe will be updating the story as it develops, check for LIVE UPDATES

UPDATE Local Time 16.30 - The cargo ship Blue Sky M continues to sail wayward off of the coast of Corfu. According to the military news site Onalert.gr the Hellenic Navy's Navarino Frigate sent a helicopter to fly over the ship  but apparently the team could not trace any signs of human life. The Greek warship is near the cargo ship and according to the same report, a team of frogman will climb on board the ship to see what is going on. Mr. George Argyros, the President of the tiny island Othoni (off of Corfu), informed the newsit news service that the area is suffering from northwesterly winds of more than 8 Beaufort. Meanwhile, the Greek media insists that the Moldovan-flagged cargo ship is carrying hundreds of illegal immigrants. Some reports in the press are claiming that these people number no more than 400 and other news services note that they total 700. The conflicting news reports are expected at this stage because the story is still developing and also because there hasn't been an official announcement from Greek officials (other than the first briefing that was given at 14:00). We will only know the correct amount of illegal immigrants once the Greek government makes a formal announcement. The only thing that is certain at this point is that a distress call was made from the ship at 13:12. The man who contacted authorities said that he was alarmed from the armed men who were on board the ship, and this forced officials to believe that the ship was transporting illegal immigrants.

UPDATE Local Time 15:15 - The Hellenic navy is investigating the claim that there are suspected armed people on board the "Blue Sky M" cargo ship which sent a distress signal a little after 13:00. The ship was sailing in adverse weather conditions towards Croatia, but apparently changed its course for Italy. Presently it is near the tiny island of Othonoi, northwest of Corfu near the area where the Norman Atlantic was a few days ago. Authorities claim that the distress call had come from one of the passengers on board the ship. In other news, it was just announced that two Albanian seamen died on a tugboat while towing the fire-stricken Norman Atlantic ferry on Tuesday afternoon. The men lost their lives after being hit by a connecting cable between the vessels. For more on that story and Live Updates please click HERE.

UPDATED Local time 14:25 - The ship "Blue Sky M" was apparently sailing off the island of Corfu towards Croatia. The vessel is carrying hundreds of illegal immigrants, Greek state television reported. The announcement threatens further tragedy for the region, which is still in complete shock following the Norman Atlantic ferry disaster on Sunday. The following news video was released. (BELOW)

UPDATE 14:10 Local Time - Reuters just confirmed that there are suspected armed people on board, but a report on the Greek military new site defencenet claims that the gunmen are probably traffickers-smugglers. 

UPDATE 14:00 Local time - According to Skai TV, the Moldovan flagged ship "Blue Sky M" is transporting at least 700 passengers on board (unconfirmed reports say that the majority are illegal immigrants). The Greek Frigate Navarino is in the area, and according to Newsit the Hellenic Navy has also sent two Puma helicopters and other forces to assist. The reports that claim that there are armed men aboard has yet to be confirmed by Greek authorities.

ORIGINAL STORY - A ship west of Corfu carrying hundreds of passengers (some reports claim at least 700) issued a distress signal on Tuesday afternoon according to the Greek shipping ministry. The state news channel NERIT claim that authorities are on alert and have now sent rescue teams to the area.  The Italian coastguard notified Greek authorities of the incident and a Sikorsky helicopter of the Greek Navy was dispatched as quickly as possible. Also, the Frigate Navarino which was already in the area to assist in the rescue operation of the Norman Atlantic, will remain to assist Greek forces. Check back for updates.

Norman Atlantic Tragedy - Death Toll Now At 10 - Many Still Missing (VIDEO)

The list of dead from the naval tragedy on the Norman Atlantic has unfortunately risen to 10. According to Italian authorities, 475 passengers were on board the ferry Norman Atlantic, 425 have been rescued, 10 are confirmed dead, and 40 are still missing among them 32 Greek nationals. The same sources were quoted by the Greek state news service as saying that a second Greek national is included in the list of the deceased. Meanwhile, shipowner Carlo Visentini and captain Argilio Giacomazzi are facing charges of multiple manslaughter, causing a shipwreck through negligence and causing of injuries through negligence.

It should be reminded that a fire broke out in the car hold area of the ferry boat early on Sunday morning as it was headed from Patra to Ancona, Italy. It has not yet been determined what caused the fire, but as the tragedy unfolded there were rumors that the blaze began after illegal immigrants lit fires in the garage area for heat. At the time the “Norman Atlantic” was about 45 nautical miles off the northern coast of Corfu.

The Odyssey of the survivors has indeed come to an end, but the agony for many of the families of passengers or crew members who have not been able to contact their own people continues.

The dilemma that officials are facing now stems on the number of civilian and crew member evacuees, which reports claim does not add up to the number (478) in accordance with the passenger list. In fact, neither the Italian and Greek officials agree on the number of missing and rescued. The Italian national TV RAI even claimed that 80 survivors were not even on the passenger list!

One example of this confusion comes from the testimony from well-known soprano singer Dimitra Theodosiou, who was also travelling on the ship. She told reporters on camera that she was attacked by Arabs so that they can move ahead of her and the other woman and children:

     She said that: Turks and Iraqis looked at her and the other people set to be rescued with hatred and then proceeded to beat and push women, children and elderly so that they can move ahead and save themselves before they did.

She said that she was personally attacked three times.

Her claim was confirmed in a report by AP. It said that the principle of women and children first went out the window, and passengers started pushing and shoving and came to blows over seats in the lifeboats and helicopter baskets.

In the chaos that followed several other passengers were quoted by AP as saying that they received virtually no instructions from the crew.

     “Everyone there was trampling on each other to get onto the helicopter,” Greek truck driver Christos Perlis told The Associated Press by telephone.
     “The jungle law prevailed,” said another Greek passenger, Irene Varsioti. “There was no queue or order. No respect was shown for children.”

Another survivor told reporters that he feared that at least three of his colleagues were dead because they were sleeping in their trucks.

In total, 40 Greeks and three people of foreign origin arrived at the Elefsina military airport on Monday night by C-130. Their identity still remains unknown.

In other related news, it was revealed that the Norman Atlantic had serious deficiencies discovered just nine days before it caught fire. An inspection that was conducted on the ship at the port of Patras on December 19th discovered six deficiencies (the most notable of which were: malfunctioning fire doors and openings in fire-resisting divisions). Also, plans for the search and rescue of passengers in the event of an emergency were not approved, while emergency systems including lighting, batteries and switches were missing. A report by the ProtoThema online news service notes that watertight doors were also found to not meet guidelines, and there were problems discovered with life saving appliances. All of these deficiencies should have detained the ship and it's operators should have fixed all these problems before sailing off from Greece.

Read background and LIVE Updates about this story by CLICKING HERE

Hundreds Rescued - Many Still Trapped on Board Blazing Norman Atlantic - Rescue Efforts Continue

HellasFrappe will be following the story throughout the day,  check in every so often for more updates

The huge operation to rescue the 422 passengers and 56 crew members that began on Sunday continues for a second day on Monday, despite adverse weather conditions in the Adriatic sea. The passengers and crew of the Norman Atlantic endured a second night of frigid temperatures, rain, gale-force winds, smoke, and anticipation as they waited to be evacuated in the rough seas between Italy and Albania. It should be reminded that a fire broke out in the car hold area of the ferry boat early on Sunday morning, as it was headed from Patra to Ancona, Italy. It has not yet been determined what caused the fire. At the time the “Norman Atlantic” was about 45 nautical miles off the northern coast of Corfu.

UPDATE 21:00 Local Time - Greece's Merchant marine ministry announced two hot lines for information on Norman Atlantic passengers. The numbers are: 213-1371042 and 213-1371036. An info hot line has also been provided for non-Italian passengers. In Italy, Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi said that the number of confirmed dead has risen to eight. La Repubblica newspaper is also speaking of 38 missing passengers but the media in Italy has not breathed a word about the ferry passengers that are "unaccounted for" (or the illegal immigrants that were supposedly on board as reported by some Greek military news sites). In fact the media in Italy is claiming that everyone has been evacuated from the Norman Atlantic, including the captain, who it insists was the last one to leave the ship.

UPDATE 17:15 local time: Italian officials proudly announced that all remaining passengers have been rescued from the blazing Norman Atlantic. The Italian Coast Guard then said in an announcement that two more bodies were found in the ship wreckage, bringing the death toll up to seven in total. Italy's Coast Guard tweeted: "We found two more bodies. The total (number) of dead stands at 7." The news, however, triggers fears that the number of victims is going to continue to rise because the number of paid passengers and crew member evacuees does not add up to the number (478) in accordance with the passenger list. It was also reported that the ship was also transporting several illegal immigrants (said to total 15). The illegal immigrants are suspected of lighting a fire in the garage to warm up, but as we all know the fire eventually ended up burning down the ship (this is not as far-fetched as it sounds because the scene has repeatedly happened on other routes claims one report in defencenet but it had never developed into tragedy). This development, however, is not as alarming at the moment as the final count is and this is because there are reports circulating that there are still 40 people missing.

UPDATE 13:00 local time: Italian authorities denied reports to Italy's Rai TV channel that there are four dead passengers on the ship, but one reporter on Skai Channel in Greece insisted on the report and the story was finally confirmed at 13:00 by Greek authorities. Meanwhile, the Greek state news agency ANA-MPA reported that seven passengers were transferred by helicopter to a hospital on the island of Kerkyra (Corfu). Also, Greek and Italian helicopters have been airlifting the passengers – most of whom are Greek – and transferring them to nearby vessels. A team of Italian medics has boarded the Norman Atlantic, but so far not serious injuries have been reported. Efforts are being made to tug the boat to safety, although there is some confusion whether it is being taken to Italy or Albania. Finally, the French Le Figaro newspaper said in one report that an investigation has been launched by Bari prosecutor Giuseppe Volpe into the causes of the fire.

UPDATE 11:00 local time:  The passengers covered in blankets arrived exhausted at Bari's port in Italy. Meanwhile, the Italian Navy announced that about 85 people from the blazing ship were rescued on board San Giorgio ship and were being transferred to Grottaglie by helicopter. The Greek state news agency ANA-MPA said that at least 316 people have been rescued from Norman Atlantic leaving 162 still on board. Finally, the Italian paper Corriere de la Serra reported that Greek soprano Dimitra Theodossiou was on board the ship.

For past LIVE Updates about this tragedy - Please click HERE to read the article that was published on Sunday as well as all of the UPDATES.

Sources: ANA-MPA, Mega TV, Skai Tv, ProtoThema, enikos.gr

BREAKING - Major Fire Breaks Out On Greek Ferry - Passengers Jumping Into Sea

HellasFrappe will be following the story all day, check in every so often for updates.

UPDATE 19:00 local time: One official from the Italian Coast Guard announced that one person died while attempting to escape from the blazing ship while another passenger was seriously injured and was being transported by Italian rescuers to Italy. Alpha TV in Greece said that the victim who died is a Greek national. On its part the Greek Coast Guard announced that at least 161 passengers have been rescued and a trapped woman was rescued and being transferred to the hospital. The Greek spokesman for the Coast Guard said that the rescue operation is going to continue throughout the night until all passengers and crew are brought to safety. Two S-70B helicopters which took off from Aktion earlier on Sunday apparently failed to reach the ship and are reportedly returning to Preveza. The second Super Puma helicopter took off from Aktion and would approach the area before new adverse storm conditions begin. Interestingly the Norman Atlantic's last inspection indicated serious shortages in survival equipment and elsewhere.

UPDATE 15:30 local time: A delicate and risky operation began just after 2 pm local time, according to many Greek press reports. Italian Super puma helicopters began rescuing passengers one by one from the Norman Atlantic with wired ropes and then continued to transport them to nearby ships. A large portion of the rescue operation will continue by air. It should be reminded that a super puma from Greece has also departed for the area. The operation is very dangerous due to the adverse weather conditions, even though the weather is getting a bit better. It was also reported that there are now eight ships next to the flaming ship, including one from the Italian navy, a tugboat, two helicopters and there are plenty of Italian aircraft there as well. According to MEGA Channel the reports that claimed that the ship was starting to sink have also been refuted.  Greek authorities denied the reports but the Italian media are insisting that the ship is beginning to tilt. The Italian Coast Guard however just denied the reports slamming the Italian media. Up until now, 111 people have been rescued. All live updates from this tragedy are changing from moment to moment and from second to second so continue to log on Frappers and we will try to keep you up-to-date as rescue efforts unfold.

UPDATE 14:45 local time: According to the Coast Guards spokesperson 14 people were rescued by some of the helicopters that have been dispatched to the area and in total about 150 people were evacuated and more than 300 remain on the ferry. Meanwhile, the Italian media is saying that the fire in the Norman Atlantic is under control. It was also announced that a Tugboat which started out from Corfu was forced to return to the island due to the very bad weather.

UPDATE 14:00 local time: Italy's Rai News 24 television channel showed what it claimed are pictures from the rescue operation that is currently underway at the Norman Atlantic. The footage, which was shown on Mega channel, clearly shows how difficult the operation actually is (BELOW). Meanwhile, seven military helicopters have been dispatched in the area while the Hellenic navy's Frigate Navarino is expected to arrive in Corfu in about 18 hours. The rescue operation is difficult because the winds of 10 Beaufort and waves as high as 7 meters are making the rescue operation very difficult and some 328 passengers are now in complete panic pf drowning. Greek press reports are now announcing that at least 150 of the total 478 on board have been  rescued. The passengers who had jumped into the sea to save themselves were collected by an Italian boat.  Two other cargo ships rush to the area to help in the rescue and recovery of passengers, as well as floating Coast boat, three helicopters, a C-130 and a Super Puma. The force that has been dispatched to the area includes:

• 2 E / P S-70 "AEGEAN HAWK" 
• 3 E / P AB-205
• 2 E / F SUPER PUMA
• 1 A / F C-130
• 2 E / W NH 90
• 2 E / P CH - 47D (Chinook)

credit defencenet

UPDATE 13:00 local time: The Skai television channel said in one report that the two passengers who had gone missing earlier were located trapped at one corner of the ship. Greece's Shipping Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis told reporters that the rescue operation is one of the most difficult that the Greek Coast Guard has ever had to deal with. He added that the adverse weather conditions forbid any air rescue operations in the area (even though it was reported that a Puma helicopter was close to the area). Also, Italian Premier Matteo Renzi tweeted that he is in direct contact with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and they are coordinating efforts to save the passengers from the blazing ship. There was also an announcement from a coast guard official who told the Mega television channel that some 478 passengers were still on board the ship, but that 56 had been rescued by Spirit of Piraeus. He said that out of the total number of passengers and crew, 234 are Greek nationals, while there are at least 34 members from the crew who are also Greek nationals. At the moment the ships that are aiding in the rescue operation include the Spirit of Piraeus, Plana, Aby Jeannete, Cruise Europa, Evinos, Genmar Argus, Stelios B and Serifos.

UPDATE 10:30 local time: About 150 passengers out of a total of 466 have been evacuated by vessels sent to assist in the operation, Skai TV reported. According to broadcaster, the captain of Norman Atlantic and 22 crew members are Italian nationals while the other 34 are Greek. Passengers who telephoned TV channels made dramatic descriptions of the situation on the ship. "The fire is still burning, we can see it at the lower deck where the boats are," a man told Mega channel. "The soles of our shoes are hot, the steal metal of the deck is burning."A major fire broke out in the early hours of Sunday in the garage of an Italian-flagged ferry while sailing from the Greek port of Patras to Italy's Ancona with 411 passengers, 55 crew and 222 vehicles on board, coast guard officials said.

ORIGINAL STORY - According to Greek press reports an international rescue effort is under way since Sunday morning after a major fire broke out in the early hours of the day in the garage of an Italian-flagged ferry sailing from the Greek port of Patras to Italy's Ancona with 411 passengers, 55 crew and 222 vehicles on board, coast guard officials said. The Norman Atlantic, hired by Greek ANEK shipping company, was 33 nautical miles off the small island of Othonoi and 12 nautical miles off the coast of Albania when it sent a distress signal.

     "The captain has requested the evacuation of the ship, according to initial information," coast guard spokesman Nikos Lagkadianos said.

A vessel sailing near the ferry, Spirit of Piraeus, is evacuating passengers, while others are being hauled down into the ferry's lifeguard boats.

The fire broke out in the garage of the vessel just before 6.00 am local time (0400 GMT).

A passenger on the Norman Atlantic who phoned Mega TV station said an evacuation is being attempted but the situation is very difficult:

     "They tell me the fire has reached the upper deck. We're surrounded, the wind is very strong, it's at least 8 Beaufort." 

A helicopter and two rescue vessels were on their way to the area and a container ship was nearby. Strong winds were blowing in the area, the coastguard said.

The Norman Atlantic ship with 411 passengers and 55 crew members was located in the open sea of Corfu in the area of Othonon, when a fire broke out in its garage, of so far unknown cause.

HellasFrappe will be following the story, check in every so often for updates

Sources: ANA-MPA, Mega TV, ProtoThema, enikos.gr

BUSTED - Reports Claim Owner of Olympiacos Is Corrupt - Why Is The Greek Press Silent?

By Jacob Serfas and Nikolas Leontopoulos (PressProject) - Billionaire shipowner, owner of Olympiacos F.C. and Piraeus strongman, Evangelos Marinakis has been implicated in a potential criminal ring which prosecutors say appears to have “approached and sought to manipulate… police officers, judges, politicians and other powerful individuals of the country.” Yet despite Mr Marinakis’s prominence (or perhaps because of it) few media outlets have chosen to report on the allegations against one of the country’s most influential men.

Last week SKAI TV published a recent decision by the Misdemeanor Council of Athens to allow secretly recorded phone conversations to be used in a preliminary investigation of Mr Marinakis and a number of other important figures suspected of a range of crimes. These include setting up a criminal organisation, conspiring to rig the outcomes of football matches, blackmail, bribery and violating the law regulating explosives. The Olympiacos owner and other club and Football Association officials are due to appear before prosecutors to offer explanations on the 20th of August. The investigation is ongoing; no indictments have been issued against the persons mentioned in the Council’s report.

The Council’s decision includes about 100 pages of transcripts of telephone conversations recorded in 2012 which, among others, appear to show Mr Marinakis abusing his influence as the head of Olympiacos. Andreas Koreas, the prosecutor in charge of the case writes:

“From the evaluation of the content of the transcribed telephone conversations, the following indications arise: That the president and close collaborators of Olympiacos… approached and sought to manipulate in order to serve their interests, police officers, judges, politicians and other powerful individuals of the country, some of whom they hired in important positions in the football club following their departure from key positions they held in the public sector.”

The prosecutor goes on to maintain that Marinakis chose, through the president of the Greek Football Association, Giorgos Sarris, specific referees to oversee key games in the playoffs of the 1st division Football League during the 2011-2012 season. Mr Marinakis is also alleged to have used his influence among individuals at smaller clubs loyal to him to secure the election of Mr Sarris as the head of the Football Association.

In several of the recorded conversations Mr Marinakis is heard apparently giving direct instructions to a high ranking Greek FA official. In one instance the official asks for Mr Marinakis’s approval over the referee selection for a lower division game. In another Mr Marinakis appears to tell the official of what the outcome of an appeal should be.

The documents also include testimony from a number of individuals who claim to have been the victims of campaigns of intimidation by people associated with Olympiacos club. The most damning of these comes from the FIFA referee Petros Konstantineas who testified before prosecutors that after being selected to referee a Superleague match (the top league in Greece) between Xanthi and Olympiakos during the 2011-12 season, various individuals from the Greek FA informed him in no uncertain terms that Olympiakos must win the match.

He responded that he ‘did not owe anything to anyone’ and that he would referee the match fairly and that the ‘best and luckiest would win.’ Olympiacos was defeated in the game. Subsequently, a bakery owned by Konstantineas was first vandalized and then several weeks later set on fire in an act of arson by unknown individuals who had placed an improvised incindiery device in the building.

Marinakis and the press

The court document is also revealing about Mr Marinakis’s apparent use and intimidation of the press to further his and Olympiacos’s interests.

In the past it has been alleged by the newspaper Avgi (affiliated to the leftist opposition party SYRIZA) that the newspaper Parapolitika is controlled by Mr Marinakis and that the shipowner used the newspaper to publish stories favourable to the right-wing Samaras government.

In response, Parapolitika sued Avgi several months ago, denying any links to Mr Marinakis. (Incidentally the lawyer in that case was Makis Voridis, at the time the parliamentary spokesman for New Democracy, now the Health Minister following June’s government reshuffle. Mr Voridis rose to prominence from the ranks of parties on the far-right.)

On paper, the newspaper as well as the other holdings of the “Parapolitika” media group (including a financial paper, a sports paper and an Olympiacos FM radio station) are all owned by the chief editor of Parapolitika, journalist Yannis Kourtakis.

Asked in a 2012 interview (link in Greek) about the financing of the Parapolitika paper Mr Kourtakis said, “Our resources and money are provided by our thousands of readers.” About his opinion of Mr Marinakis, Mr Kourtakis said “I follow, as you do, Mr Marinakis as a businessman.”

And in 2014, prior to the launching of a new radio station, Mr Kourtakis was asked in an interview whether it was perhaps an ‘expensive sport’ for a journalist turned publisher to run a radio station. He replied:

     “Healthy businesses, businesses without loans, those that want to have a leading role have only one source of funding: the public.” His interviewer insisted, asking, “Don’t you need a businessman to back you up?”

Mr Kourtakis responded:

     “The time when businessmen invested in the media losing money is over. Our criterion is the trust which the public show in us. That is our strength and out point of reference.”

Yet the assertion from Parapolitika and its chief editor that Mr Marinakis had no links with the paper, is directly contradicted by the transcripts of the wiretapped phone conversations which record Mr Marinakis talking with Mr Kourtakis in May 2012, conferring over the next day’s headline of the newspaper and with Mr Marinakis apparently giving the editor direct instructions.

Elsewhere Mr Marinakis is also heard instructing his head of communications to place stories in a number of ‘their’ outlets and in Parapolitika.

Aside from Mr Marinakis’s apparent use of ‘friendly’ outlets, in testimony other journalists have claimed to be the victims of intimidation by Olympiacos and/or Mr Marinakis. One journalist, George Tampakopoulos, testified that Mr Marinakis struck him twice in a restaurant, while reporters Antonis Karpetopoulos and Nikos Vasilaras testified to having been attacked by gangs of apparent Olympiacos supporters. The latter, according to the court documents, was also fired from his job allegedly following an order from Mr Marinakis.

Perhaps even more intriguing from a media point of view is the widespread silence regarding the latest court documents that implicate one of the country’s most influential shipowners in criminal activities.

While the story was broken by one of the main national broadcasters - SKAI, few others have reported on the recent court decision and associated transcripts. (Note that the owner of SKAI is Ioannis Alafouzos, another shipowner who is also the owner of Panathinaikos F.C. which is Olympiacos’s main rival. It is well known that there is little love lost between Mr Marinakis and Mr Alafouzos who rarely pass on opportunities to publicly attack each other.)

Many important newspapers and websites are entirely silent on the issue. A characteristic example is perhaps ToVima.gr, owned by the biggest media group, DOL, in the country. The newspaper reported a story about Mr Marinakis only two days after SKAI broke the story about the allegations. The article reports on comments the shipowner made to an Economist conference about the importance of shipping to the Greek economy, yet somehow managed to avoid a single mention about the allegations against Mr Marinakis. Nor does the newspaper report on them anywhere else.

Other news outlets have reported on the recent revelations, without however naming those who are investigated (including Mr Marinakis) nor publishing any of the content of the Council’s decision.

The pretext invoked by most such news outlets regarding their silence is that the leaked judicial files are part of a criminal investigation that is confidential and has not until now led to convictions. But in Greece publishing leaked judicial files that are part of an investigation is a daily routine for the press, and in many cases the same outlets that are currently invoking the secrecy of the investigation have been very active in leaking or reproducing such material. And one can only wonder at how a judicial report concerning one of the country’s top businessmen and the country’s top football club is not deemed newsworthy enough for those media outlets to report.

While it can be difficult to criticise newspapers for what they choose not to report on, in this case the silence is somewhat deafening.

TPPI conducted a simple survey of the frontpages of all of the top political, economic and sports newspapers of July 9th, the day after the leak of the council’s decision. With the exception of a few newspapers, (some of which are known to be linked to business interests that rival those of Mr Marinakis) the majority chose to completely ignore the issue, despite it concerning one of the most powerful businessmen in the country (or perhaps because of it?).

Of particular interest is the situation concerning sports newspapers. In Greece, surprising as it may seem, over 10 sports newspapers circulate nationwide on a daily basis. The majority of these have club allegiances. Perhaps unsurprisingly all those that support Olympiacos chose not to print a word about the investigation into Mr Marinakis and the alleged match fixing ring. However what is more alarming is that even those that are self-described as being independent (Sportday and Goal) also do not mention Mr Marinakis, (Sportday refers to the case somewhat uneasily without, however, mentioning any names - link in Greek).

In this context it is also worth mentioning that sports journalism is likely to become even less independent than it already is. Evangelos Marinakis and Yannis Alafouzos, and the football clubs owned by them (Olympiacos and Panathinaikos), are expected to further increase their grip on the sports media. According to press reports, Mr Marinakis, owner of Olympiacos FC, has already agreed to buy Sentra FM, a sports radio station, and Goal, the sports newspaper. Meanwhile Mr Alafouzos, for his part, is in talks to buy Novasport FM, the biggest sports radio broadcaster in the country, and Sportday, another sports newspaper. If the deals materialize, the two shipping magnates and owners of Greece’s two biggest football clubs will control the two biggest sports-related media groups in the country.

Greek Shipowners May Lead Globally But Gov't Continues To Give Them "Gifts"

As was trumpeted by the newspaper Ta Nea, Greek shipowners recently came top of global rankings in the sector surpassing their German, Japanese and South Korean rivals. They have 4,894 ships with a total capacity of 164 million tonnes and have placed Greece at the pinnacle of maritime shipping.

The data comes from a report produced by Clarkson’s Shipping, one of the top ship-brokering firms worldwide, and the news made the lead story of the financial section of Le Monde. There is however another piece of news related to the Greek shipowners which was ignored by Ta Nea, and was probably unknown to Le Monde’s financial news editors.

It has to do with a packet of commitments and reforms submitted to parliament by the Minister of Shipping, Miltiadis Varvitsiotis. According to these, the government effectively will waive shipowners debts worth 110 million euros to the social security fund of ship-workers. At the same time the transport shipowners will be able to use whatever ship they like - regardless of size - for the transport needs of islands in the winter. All of this for a sector which - as is widely known - benefits from a complete tax immunity. The Shipping Minister of course made clear that these are ‘suggestions’ and ‘recommendations’ of the troika.

Indicative of the ‘spirit of cooperation’ which characterizes the relationship between the shipowners and the government were the comments made by Mr Varvitsiotis when he presented the specific packet of measures on 7/5/2013:

Regarding debts toward the Ship-workers Retirement Fund (NAT): “There are 110 million euros owed to the fund,” but, he said, “we want the companies to continue to operate in order that they pay their contributions to the fund and for that reason we have made numerous adjustments in order to cover them,” given that “it is not in anyone’s interest for these companies to go bankrupt because ultimately NAT would not be able to collect.” (Obviously the same does not apply to citizens with small debts to the state.)

Regarding the collective contracts of ship-workers: “Collective contracts pertain to the members that sign on to them. The measures regarding business contracts override the collective contracts.” Indeed he made clear that, “this provision is one of the international obligations taken on by the country in the framework of the MEFP, the contracts which we have established with the IMF following their specific recommendations and after very extensive consultations.”

Regarding transportation links: “If it deems it expedient, (with the new legislative measure) a company may transfer additional days of immobility to a larger, more costly ship for the winter period and to serve the same transportation links with a smaller one. This is being done for no reason other than to improve the competitiveness of the specific sector.” He added that this was “one of the OECD recommendations which should have already been included in previous legislation, but we had not finalized the exact wording with the troika.”

Note: Greek controlled shipping companies spent 9.4 billion euros in 2013 for the construction of 275 new ships and not one of these orders went to a Greek shipyard.

PressProject

SCANDALOUS - Gov't Forgets To Implement Tax On Shipowners - How Predictable!

Plans for an emergency tax on the Greek shipping sector to boost revenue in light of the crisis have remained on the shelf with the government apparently unwilling to displease the powerful shipowners.

While Greek citizens and small and medium sized business strain under the burden of ever-increasing taxes in light of the fiscal crisis, the government appears unwilling to implement its own decisions when it comes to levying additional taxes on the affluent (very, very, very affluent) shipping sector, according to reporting by the Efimerida Ton Syntakton.

In December 2013 parliament passed a measure that would see shipping companies in Greece facing an additional "emergency tax" for the three year period beginning in 2014. However five months later, the necessary ministerial decisions required to actual implement the tax have not been signed, nor does it appear that any such an action is imminent.

In short, for all the government’s big pronouncements on passing the law in December, that all would be called upon to contribute to the national effort to balance the country’s finances, in practice the shipping sector has been so far given a free pass.

Effectively the tax would require Greek shipping companies or shipping companies based in Greece to pay twice the regular tax on each of their ships. It is estimated that approximately 400 million euros in additional revenue would be collected over the entire three year period the tax would be in effect. Overall 450 shipping companies would be called upon to pay the additional tax on 2,8000 ships.

That, at least, is the theory.

However important deadlines have already been missed casting doubt on the ministry’s claim.

According to the Greek newspaper, the relevant tax declarations for 2014 were to be submitted by the shipping companies by the end of February, together with 50% of the amount owed, with the other half paid by the end of July. Yet with the relevant encyclicals remain still buried in ministerial desk drawers, it appears unlikely that anything will change at least until after the European elections at the end of May.

In response to the newspaper article, the ministry has rejected charges of foot-dragging, issuing a statement maintaining that the tax would be collected as soon as possible, once "technical difficulties" were overcome, particularly regarding digital systems.

PressProject

Did Greek Billionaire Shipowner Lie, Brake Sanctions & Engage in Bribery?

By Nikolas Leontopoulos and Pavlos Zafiropoulos (The PressProject) - The Restis group denies the allegations by the US anti-Iran lobbying group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), claiming that none of its ship visits to Iran violated international sanctions because they were carrying humanitarian aid as permitted by the US government.

In addition to the Greek prosecution over his financial dealings, Victor Restis is entrenched in a prolonged legal battle with the UANI, an influential advocacy group whose declared aim is "to prevent Iran from fulfilling its ambition to become a regional super-power possessing nuclear weapons".

UANI had alleged in May 2013 that Enterprises Shipping and Trading (EST), the shipping company of which Mr Restis is chairman, had engaged in business with Iran thus violating international sanctions. UANI subsequently launched what the Restis group calls ‘a name and shame’ campaign against the Greek shipowner.

In response Mr Restis and his lawyers filed a lawsuit in July 2013 against UANI claiming defamation.

Last week a settlement appeared close between the two groups but fell through following the emergence of new evidence that showed (according to UANI) that statements made on behalf of EST that the group had never had any dealings with Iran were not true.

According to correspondence between the two groups (that was disclosed by UANI), three EST cargo ships (Bergen Max, Helvetia One and African Wildcat) have in fact visited Iranian ports in eight instances between March 2012 and as recently as January 2014.

EST lawyers are now saying that they are confident that the visits still did not constitute a violation of sanctions as they were carrying humanitarian aid.

     “Mr. Wallace [UANI's CEO, former US Ambassador in the UN in the George W. Bush administration] is very aware that the shipments were made under time charter parties with prominent trading entities which appear on UANI’s own website as companies with permission from the US government to provide humanitarian aid to the Iranian people”, the Restis statement said.

The fallout brought to light details about the settlement that the two groups were working on. It has been alleged that EST attempted to purchase UANI CEO Mark Wallace’s cooperation by personally offering him money and a board seat as well as a contribution to the group.

According to a report by the shipping trade journal, TradeWinds, affiliates of Victor Restis recently agreed to make a $400,000 donation to UANI. In exchange, under the terms of a tentative settlement struck late last month on the back of meetings with UANI chief executive Mark Wallace in Manhattan and Abu Dhabi, the non profit group planned to issue a press release stating the Greek operator and its subsidiaries:

     “Have in place a comprehensive written compliance policy which strictly prohibits them from doing any business in or with the  Islamic Republic of Iran or its agents and instrumentalities.”

Tradewinds reports that "in a letter sent to the judge assigned to the case the non-profit’s attorneys said their client pulled the plug after finding evidence that some of the plaintiff’s vessels recently called on Iran, which led it to believe the “representations” about the compliance policy were 'utterly untrue'".

The UANI letter alleges that “[P]laintiffs attempted to induce UANI to adopt these false statements and ‘look the other way’ by offering to pay Ambassador Wallace personally, on top of the $400,000 payment to UANI, for service as a member of the board of directors of Golden Energy,” [a company controlled by the Restis group.]

In a response released a few days ago EST denied these allegations:

     “Despite UANI’s allegations, it is totally untrue that EST ever offered any donation to UANI or any payments to its CEO, Mr. Wallace.” [EST] was, however, prepared to make “a contribution towards the substantial legal bills” that UANI incurred as a result of the lawsuit.

According to Tradewinds, EST admitted that it offered the former diplomat a seat on the board of affiliate Golden Energy but said the gesture was meant to demonstrate its “full support” of the group’s mission by giving him an opportunity to learn about the tanker business and see it is not engaged in unlawful trading.

     “Mr Wallace was invited to join the board of directors of tanker managers Golden Energy Management on a pro-bono basis,” the company added: “EST never offered to pay Mr Wallace in any way for his services.”

Who is Victor Restis?

Victor Restis is a Greek billionaire ship-owner, rated number 56 in the 2012 Lloyd's List top 100 influential people in shipping. One of his companies, Seanergy bulker owner, is listed on NASDAQ. The Restis Group has a wide range of interests in business sectors that include energy, real estate, agribusiness, media and banking through FBBank.

For his involvement in the last, Mr Restis was arrested in summer 2013 and faces charges of money laundering and embezzlement. While he was initially deemed a flight risk and held in pretrial custody, he was granted conditional release in early December following an appeal by his lawyers.

Samaras: Adriatic & Ionian Seas, A Strategic Field for Growth & Security

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras on Thursday presented the Greek presidency's action plan to promote the region of the Adriatic and the Ionian Seas as a strategic field for growth and security, during the opening of an EU conference held in Athens on the issue.

Samaras emphasized that the cooperation for the Adriatic and the Ionian should evolve to an axis of economic cooperation in Europe, underlining that the Greek presidency has put all matters of maritime policies on the agenda, highlighting the geostrategic importance of the sea.

     "The sea has made Europe what it is. Europe has dominated the sea and now it's time to treat it in a strategic way," he said, adding there were still many possibilities for economic growth.

Samaras presented the four principles on which the European strategy would be based: shipping and shipbuilding, the exploitation of the Exclusive Economic Zone, which he said can ensure greater energy independence, the enhancement and improvement of the natural environment and the environment-oriented economy and research as well as the development of tourism across the Adriatic and the Ionian Seas.

     "The sea is an integral part of our European identity, it is a constant challenge and an inexhaustible source of wealth," Samaras said, noting that the strategy for the Adriatic and the Ionian has already given scope for cooperation, development and prosperity. (AMNA)

Court orders cruise company to raise "Sea Diamond" from Santorini seabed

Sea Diamond (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Good news. A Piraeus first-instance court ordered the Cypriot company that owns the sunken cruise ship "Sea Diamond" to raise it from the seabed near the island of Santorini, as well pay 14 million Euros to the Greek state as well as to the Thira municipality for all the damages they caused because of the sinking.

The ruling was passed in a lawsuit that was filed by the Thira municipality in April 2013 and that demanded that the "Sea Diamond" be raised. It should be reminded that the cruise boat sank off the coast of Santorini in 2007 after hitting a reef. Another lawsuit was also filed by the Greek state, which sought compensation for the same reasons -as well as moral damages- because the company had blamed faulty sea charts for the accident.

A representative of the Cyprus-based cruise company said that they will now lodge appeals against the court's decision.

Abducted Greek Seaman Finally Released

The chief engineer of the Greek-owned tanker "Althea", who was kidnapped by pirates 35 nautical miles off the coast of Guinea on December 17, has finally been released, according to an announcement by Medtankers Management Ltd. The Ukrainian captain of the Marshall Islands-flagged ship, who was also kidnapped in the same raid, was also released.

There was no further details given as to whether any ransom had been paid for the release of both hostages.

According to Shipping Ministry, the chief engineer was the only Greek in the 18-member crew. Reports claim that pirates had boarded the ship and kidnapped the 65-year-old Greek seaman and the captain, without hurting the rest of the crew.

Sources in Greek
http://www.tovima.gr/society/article/?aid=554793

http://www.e-go.gr/news/article.asp?catid=17826&subid=2&pubid=129585897

Son Of Well-Known Greek Shipowner Escapes From Abductors

credit - newsit

The son of a well-known Greek shipowner escaped an attempted kidnapping on Thursday afternoon outside the offices of his father’s company, Minerva Marine, in the southern region of Athens. According to reports, two cars followed Andreas-Yiannis Martinos’s vehicle right after the 33-year-old was leaving the firm’s offices. The reports said that a minivan pulled up alongside him, blocking him from moving forward, and two armed men got out. Martinos, who apparently had received training against such threats, put his car in reverse and rammed the other vehicle that was was blocking his car from behind. As a result the car caught on fire, and Martinos drove into the company’s secure parking garage. The reports said that the suspected kidnappers got into the van and drove off, leaving the other burning vehicle. The minivan was later discovered by authorities. Police officials suspect that a third vehicle was also involved in the attempted abduction.

Article in Greek newsit

Majority of Ships Registered To Greek Shipowners Do Not Sail Under Greek Flag! - Tax-Havens Preferred

Not even half of all commercial ships owned by wealthy Greek shipowners are sailing under the Greek flag according to the CIA's 2013 "World Fact book". The fact book is full of information on 267 countries, including each countries history, its geography, its population composition, politics and central government, economy, telecommunications, transportation, and even national issues.

According to the CIA, Greek shipowners allegedly control 3,319 merchant ships worldwide of various types and capacities. Of these, only 860 are registered in Greece, or sail under the Greek flag.

Instead, Greek shipowners prefer countries such as Liberia (which is noted as being first with 505 ships), followed by Malta with 469 ships, the Marshall Islands with 408 ships, Panama with 379 ships, 225 ships are registered in the Bahamas while 201 ships are registered in Cyprus. The remaining amount merchant ships are said to be registered in various other countries.

Based on its calculations, the CIA report says that Greece is ranked 12th in the world, based on the commercial ships that sail under the Greek flag, even though Greek ship owners are the fourth axis of power in the maritime world on this globe.

This information just once again confirms that the majority of Greek shipowners prefer tax havens to countries that actually demand them to pay taxes. The Greek tax system (and/or Greek tax payers) grant these shipowners numerous exemptions every year so that they can continue to sail under the Greek flag, but it is still not enough for them. Every year they increase their demands for even more tax breaks, and sometimes they openly threaten our leaders that they will move their operations elsewhere (or basically sail under another flag) if they are pushed too far.

Who cares if Greece is suffering from an economic crisis, they will continue to push for the preservation of their privileges year after year, after year, "bargaining"  with the Greek flag.

It is obvious that the privileges of Greek shipowners remain a "non-negotiable" subject in this country and that is why the rights of the people in areas such as health, education, decent living are generally slaughtered.

Quite interestingly HellasFrappe published a Wikileaks cable about Greek shipowners a little over a year ago.

In that article we discovered that the term Illuminati is not only used by wacky conspiracy theorists. The article features a Wikileaks cable, published by the Italian zazoom blog, which gives a clear reference to the word 'Illuminati' and describes Greek shipowners as being the "key players" in Greek politics.(Click here to read)

The cable addresses a meeting by the author with a newly appointed ambassador to Greece a little after George Papandreou won the 2009 national elections. The cable does not hide the US's satisfaction over Papandreou's victory either, and shockingly describes the administration of former prime minister Costas Karamanlis as being "moribund".

    Andrew: Welcome to Greece. Your visit comes at a time calm between two storms; the first being the recently concluded Parliamentary elections in which PM Papandreou scored a decisive victory over the moribund Karamanlis administration, and the second being Greece's dismal economic situation which will limit Papandreou's hand internationally, and create a tough domestic political environment for him when his post-electoral "honeymoon" is over. You will also be meeting with Ministers and officials new to their portfolios and offices and in some instances, working in new hybrid ministries created through the mergers and combing of responsibilities of existing ministries. Remember our bureaucratic challenges in the creation of the Department of Homeland Security only now "a la Greece" immediately following a transition in power - and you will have a picture of the unsettled nature of many components of Papandreou's new government.
    2. (C) That said, we have an excellent opportunity to ingrain our piracy message early into the minds of our new interlocutors in the government, and the AMVR Awards ceremony where you will speak affords a prime venue to deliver that message t the Illuminati of the Greek shipping sector - a key player in ultimately moving any Greek governmental policy on the issue. I believe you will find that your interlocutors value their cooperation both with the US and the broader international community on counter-piracy, but will respectfully disagree with you on thorny legal issues such as prosecution and the relevance of the New York Declaration. If you can help the Greeks understand where we want to be bilaterally and multilaterally on piracy over the coming six months, gain some traction on the Declaration, and launch a dialogue that we can continue on the ground here, your visit will have been a success.

Sources:

http://www.newsbomb.gr/naytilia/story/369053/cia-poy-einai-niologimena-ta-ploia-ton-ellinon-efopliston
http://www.zazoom.it/blog_rsc/post.asp?id=6678
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.gr/2012/03/wikileaks-greek-shipowners-illuminati.html

SHOCK - Authorities Halt Suspicious Ship Transporting 20,000 Kalashnikov Guns & Explosives Near Imia!

Press reports at the weekend claim that a cargo ship that was sailing off the island of Rhodes in the Dodecanese, or more specifically near the islet of Imia, was escorted to the port of Symi for inspection after it was discovered that it was transporting/carrying a huge amount of weapons. At present it has been led to Rhodes for further inspection.

After the inspection of the cargo ship, (flagged under Sierra Leon) it was discovered that it was transporting a whopping 20,000 AK 47 guns (Kalashnikov rifles) and various containers full of explosives were also said to have been found.

This ship had troubled authorities in the past for drug trafficking, but it looks like it decided to alter its cargo.

Quite interestingly, an electronic system indicated that the ship was bound for Tripoli, in Libya, while its captain said that it was on its way to Eskenteroum Turkey. Other reports claim that it was bound for Syria.

The Minister of Shipping, Maritime Affairs, and Aegean Mr. Varvitsiotis was immediately notified.

Article in Greek - News247