"Pride" & "Express":
are they for sale?

It has been reported today that Mr. Giorgos Spanos, the owner of Dodekanisos Seaways has decided to sell the catamarans "Dodekanisos Pride" and "Dodekanisos Express" to an Iranian company who will then use them outside Greece. In fact and as reported in the Rhodes newspaper "Proodos", Mr Spanos has himself confirmed the news in a statement to the paper.

The paper claims that the decision taken by the Dodekanisos Seaways board is final. According to paper's sources, the board also discussed the possibility of moving the boats from the Dodekanese to the Saronikos islands (Aegina, Ydra, Poros, Spetses). However, the proposal received by the Iranian company (which is not named by the paper) was more attractive and finally accepted by the company's board. Representatives from the Iraninan company are expected to arrive to Rhodes in the next couple of days to finalise the deal. The paper argues that such a prospect will have major implications for the Dodekanese local economy that is already suffering by the suspension of schedules by Dodekanisos Seaways since the beginning of November. The paper also argues that Mr Spanos's decision was influenced by his company's exlusion from the Government's tender for the subsidised Dodekanese routes (only car ferries with space for lorries could participate according to the tender's specification) as well as the supposedly tense relations between himself and the Minister for the Aegean and Island Policy, Mr Aristotelis Pavlidis. According to the "Proodos" newspaper, after selling the two boats, Dodekanisos Seaways will cease trading with its workers made redundant.

If true, such a development may have grim implications for tourism and the economy of the Dodekanese (at least in the short term). However, my sources tell me that any decision to sell "Pride" and "Express" is probably premature and by no means final. It may well be a (final) attempt to put pressure to the Government when it comes to accepting catamaran-type boats for future tenders for subsidised routes, or even for the "extra" subsidy that may be on the cards in the near future.