The Heraklion Port Authority is on an investment trajectory

The Port of Heraklion Organization is being led to a new phase, with the tender by the HRDH for the acquisition of the majority stake of 67% of the Port of Heraklion Organization running at a fast pace and investing heavily. The CEO of OLI, Minas Papadakis, stressed that the risk of starting the cruise justified the Organization, noting a large increase in visitor arrivals, while pointing to the need for immediate action to reduce emissions of cold, greenhouse gas emissions.

– What are the main activities of the port of Heraklion?

The port of Heraklion is a multidisciplinary port, which develops all activities: coastal shipping, cruise, commercial – mainly for the local market – and maritime tourism through Tsarina. The largest part of OLI’s revenue – close to 45% – comes from coastal shipping, as it has the Piraeus-Heraklion connection line, which is one of the few non-seasonal lines in the Mediterranean. In other words, passengers, trucks and vehicles move all year round and give special weight to this part of the port.

– How is the tender for the sale of the majority stake in OLI going?

The ongoing privatization tender will change the data. We have now entered the second phase, which will lead to the submission of binding financial bids. Following the latest announcements, 8 of the 9 initial schemes that had initially shown interest and are waiting for the binding offers are moving forward. It does not have the exact timing, but it is towards the end of the year. The competition will be reminiscent of a titanic battle, because we have several important players, such as Oilos Grimaldi, Attica Group and Ellactor, the two, that is, our main customers in the ferry connections. They are followed by OLTH, Globalports, which is a major international port player, and other smaller teams. I believe that the competition will go well and the price will be high. In fact, if you see that in Kavala for a pier a price close to 34 million was given, I estimate that in Heraklion it will go much higher.

For the most part, what will judge the outcome and the fact is that the competition in Heraklion will follow that of Iguenitsa. The order in the privatization tenders are the ports of Kavala, Alexandroupolis, Igouenitsa and, finally, of Heraklion. The port of Heraklion has similar figures to the port of Iguenitsa in terms of revenue and profitability, while some of the interested investment schemes are common. I think that whoever loses Iguenitsa will see him “hit” the port of Heraklion much more aggressively. And in this way the price will fluctuate.

– What are the priorities of the management of OLI?

We had a stable orientation in the cruise line, where the port of Heraklion was 8th nationwide. In September 2020, I took the risk and started the cruise in the Southeastern Mediterranean first and started again in 2021. This, despite the dangers of that period, because the fear and ignorance about the coronavirus was at its peak, I think now capitalize on the companies you trust. It operated both as a cruise ship port and as a home port. This year we expect approximately double the number of passengers and approaches compared to 2021 and we will surpass the numbers of 2019 in terms of approaches, while it will be very close in terms of passengers. We have 230 cruise ship approaches, 25 of which will be home porting, with more than 250,000 passengers. It is worth mentioning that, while last year we had 118,000 passengers, mainly Germans, this year the fan opens and we have again from all over Europe, but also from the USA, which is the main market-feeder of the cruise.

– How does the port of Heraklion go “green” with a low environmental footprint?

We pay special attention as a management to the green profile and the green transition. Complete your participation in the PoseidonMed 2 project for the design of liquefied natural gas installations. It concerns two tanks of 1,000 cubic meters each and a third which functions as an expansion tank.

Many cruise ships currently being built use LNG as fuel, which will act as a transit fuel, but may continue to be used in the medium to long term. Therefore, it is essential that a port be able to supply fuel to cruise ships. Also important is the fact that with small changes the same facilities will be able to be used for hydrogen supply. According to the studies, hydrogen will be the final fuel that will provide the solution over long distances. It is, however, still expensive, something for which research and technological advances will soon provide solutions.

The second and most basic project in which we participate is the ElectricPort program, which will lead to the construction of power supply and ship charging facilities in Heraklion. It is a project worth about 1.2 million euros for the study area, which will be completed by the end of February – beginning of March 2023. of coastal shipping and commercial. And we believe that you will be the first port in the country that will manage to make cold ironing facilities in Greece.

Cold ironing dramatically reduces the environmental footprint of the port and the ships during the harbor. For you it’s a daunting task. I have suggested to both the HRDH and the Ministry of Shipping to include it in the pre-requisite investments for the future buyer.

Another point on which you stand is the bed of sustainability. Last year, together with the Municipality of Heraklion, we requested an evaluation from the GSTC International Organization of the destination and the port regarding sustainability. Get a pretty high score as a port as well as a city, and plan with the Municipality of Heraklion the next steps that will lead to the final certification of Heraklion as a sustainable destination.