The successive purchases of ships by the largest high-speed operator in the country (and one of Europe’s largest), Seajets, owned by Marios Iliopoulos, as well as its offers policy, are putting pressure on the smaller companies active in the Cyclades market. [Shutterstock]
The battle of the ferry companies for the Cyclades is growing into an open business war. Ship takeovers, letters to the regulator and a fare fight make for an explosive environment at the start of the summer.
At the same time, the challenges for the whole of the coastal shipping industry are escalating, with the investments required to reduce emissions looming large, especially for smaller companies, and with international oil prices – despite the recent conflict de-escalation – still remaining at much higher levels than in previous years, leading to losses for many routes.
The successive purchases of ships by the largest high-speed operator in the country (and one of Europe’s largest), Seajets, owned by Marios Iliopoulos, as well as its offers policy, are putting pressure on the smaller companies active in the Cyclades market, and especially Fast Ferries, of Theologos Panagiotakis; and Golden Star Ferries, of the Stephanou brothers.
