Piraeus farce

Off, on, off, on and so it has continued with different government officials making conflicting pronouncements until at the time of writing it is back on but with an added new twist!

In mid-April media reports cited Prime Minister Tsipras as having a long conversation with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in which the port of Piraeus was a main topic. He reportedly briefed Premier Li Kequiang Li on Greece’s consideration of the enhancement of its co-operation with China in various fields, especially the Piraeus port project.

Li for his part is reported to have spoken of the development of China-Greece relations, and expressed appreciation for the importance attached by Tsipras to bilateral ties and his firm support for the joint port project since the Greek prime minister took office.

This followed on from various other ‘love ins’ reported in the media between China and the new Greek Government. It also reflects a turn to the East – to China, Russia and Iran – by the Tspiras government as it continues to be rebuffed by the EU with regard to its proposed ‘reforms for cash programme’.

Whatever the macro factors are, however, one thing is for sure that if the Piraeus concession process does proceed, it will be very hard not to be viewed as a ‘done deal’ between Greece and China. It is very clear that it is a concession process that does not embody the best EU principles. As such, it remains to be seen if any of the earlier bidders will be keen to re-join the process – given what we are hearing with regard to the Greek-China relationship and Piraeus it appears highly questionable. Further, complaints to the EU about the flawed concession process may well follow.

Rosyth go-ahead

Back in the UK, it has been a long time coming but now the development of a new container terminal, the Rosyth International Container Terminal (RICT) in Rosyth, Scotland, is approaching the final regulatory hurdle before development works can begin.

A Harbour Revision Order was obtained earlier following a Public Local Inquiry and now the process is underway to obtain a Marine Licence from Marine Scotland for the necessary in-estuary works, mainly comprising dredging.

The proposed new terminal, a 50:50 development between Mariner Capital and Babcock International, is targeting a large hinterland encompassing Scotland and the North East of England. The terminal aims to capitalise on a number of inherent advantages compared with existing container terminal facilities in the area including shorter vessel transits in the Forth estuary to access the terminal and the benefits of being a non-locked facility. A terminal aimed at container feeder traffic, it will also be configured so as to be able to cater for increases in vessel size in this sector over the long term.

The specific site identified for the establishment of a modern feeder gateway terminal lies within Port Babcock, Rosyth, which is owned by Babcock Marine and is located on the north Bank of the Forth of Firth.

Plans have been drawn up for a container terminal that will be able to accommodate two vessels simultaneously and that will ultimately be able to offer a throughput capacity of 400,000 teu. Malta-based Mariner is providing the sector know-how in the partnership – already operating similar terminals around Europe.

The development for Scotland in particular is interesting, offering a new alternative to cargo shippers and lines alike. The cited added flexibility of the terminal will also be targeted at capturing traffic that now moves by road to major hub ports in the south of England.