Aegean ferries to lose 20 mln in one month
The 22 large ferries still providing coastal shipping services across the Aegean Sea are suffering daily losses of 660,000 euros, market experts note.
These losses have come to a total of 20 million euros in just one month for the ferry operators, and will rise to 40 million if this situation continues – as expected – for two months.
Passenger traffic collapsed 75 percent last week and since Monday has dropped close to zero, given the state restrictions. Truck shipping may have declined but at a much lower rate.
Leading bankers who are very familiar with those companies’ financial figures estimate that if coastal shipping maintains 70 percent of its truck transport activity compared to the same time last year, which is far from certain at the moment, then each ferry setting sale in the Aegean will lose 30,000 euros per day on average – and that is only thanks to the significant decline in the cost of fuel. Larger vessels, serving Crete, are seeing daily losses close to 40,000 euros per day.
