ANEK Lines takes initiative on LNG-fueled ferryboats

Greek ferryboat company ANEK Lines will participate in an EU-subsidized program to prepare its vessels for conversion to LNG gas as their fuel.

The ferryboat company, along with the south Aegean regional authority and other partners, including DEPA, the Public Gas Corporation, received EU approval for their program titled “Sustainable Maritime Transport with LNG between the Greek mainland and islands in the Archipelagos (Archipelago-LNG)”. It will offer EU support for LNG development in the sector, within the framework of ΤΕΝ-Τ 2014, a new EU transport infrastructure policy aiming to better connect the entire European continent.

Besides offering support to ANEK Lines for LNG conversion work on the company’s fleet, other benefits to be provided by the Archipelago-LNG program include the generation of work activity in Greece’s ship building and repairs sector, reduction of sea transportation costs, improved accessibility to the Greek islands and the benefits entailed for the country’s tourism industry and local communities, as well as improved environmental conditions for the Aegean Sea.

The Archipelago-LNG program’s budget is worth a total of 1,146,180 euros and will be subsidized by the EU at a rate of 50 percent. Its duration will run until December 31, 2015.