The deputy ministry of shipping on Friday announced the online publication of the draft tender document for the establishment of a ferry link with Greece which is available for open consultation after no bidders showed an interest in the original contract.
Read the article and chat about it below...
Draft tender announced for new ferry service
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Paphos Life
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Re: Draft tender announced for new ferry service
Yes, because I remembered reading somewhere that the first tender for a ferry service between Cyprus and Greece, attracted little interest. So now by extending this tender Europe-wide it is hoped to yield an interested ferry company?
Dee
Dee
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wantoosoon
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Re: Draft tender announced for new ferry service
Given that one doesn't currently exist, no one has been interested in previous tenders, it is heavily subsidised and it will only operate for 6 months a year, it seems as though there isn't sufficient demand for such a service. It's a wholly political project.
Re: Draft tender announced for new ferry service
Nothing to do with it being a political project,, the previous service had to stop because Cyprus was subsidizing it, and the EU said that was going against EU fair competition, there is a demand for this service, the problem is there isn't enough demand for it, making it uneconomical for any shipping line to run.wantoosoon wrote: ↑Sat Oct 30, 2021 1:38 am Given that one doesn't currently exist, no one has been interested in previous tenders, it is heavily subsidised and it will only operate for 6 months a year, it seems as though there isn't sufficient demand for such a service. It's a wholly political project.
Re: Draft tender announced for new ferry service
Thinking back to the time when we had the ageing Ro-Ro ferry, it came from Athens(Piraeus), and Cyprus was an intermediate stop. It sailed twice a week and I think it went on to Alexandria. Thus there were other parties who were using it and which helped to sustain the service.
It finally stopped I think, when the ferry became unseaworthy and was retired? Also the onward route from Cyprus also ceased.
Dee
It finally stopped I think, when the ferry became unseaworthy and was retired? Also the onward route from Cyprus also ceased.
Dee
Re: Draft tender announced for new ferry service
As far as I remember, Salamis lines were the a last ferry operator, and they only sailed, Cyprus Greece Cyprus, no where else.Kili01 wrote: ↑Sat Oct 30, 2021 10:59 am Thinking back to the time when we had the ageing Ro-Ro ferry, it came from Athens(Piraeus), and Cyprus was an intermediate stop. It sailed twice a week and I think it went on to Alexandria. Thus there were other parties who were using it and which helped to sustain the service.
It finally stopped I think, when the ferry became unseaworthy and was retired? Also the onward route from Cyprus also ceased.
Dee
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PhotoLady
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Re: Draft tender announced for new ferry service
It had already stopped running when we came to live in Cyprus in March 2004.
And for all of the statements and promises right up until we left at the end of April 2016, it never came back.
If it's going to operate as described only as a seasonal route, I don't see how it can work as a viable transport service.
Sounds very much like our own local foot passenger ferry. It's currently heavily subsidised and has gone from operating up to 22:00hrs back in the 80s to finishing at 17:45hrs, runs half hourly in summer and hourly in winter and is out of service more than it is running.
It has to stop when the tide is too low or too high, all since the marine services who have had the contract no longer dredge the river.
They don't really care because the subsidy is there but - not for much longer. The last contract renewal says halfway through, it has to be self-funding which we are waiting to see what excuses pop up then.
They already cried for a £5k payment for dredging at the start of the contract, dredging which they should have been doing regularly during the previous contract!
It's great to see it sailing but very frustrating when it's referred to as an essential transport link when some days it's out of service from lunchtime because of the tides.
Something which was never an issue in the past.
We would have loved to have had access to a ferry when we lived in Cyprus. It made no sense at all to have a working port 10 minutes down the road which couldn't send a regular ferry to its closest neighbours.
Our closest neighbour by ferry is less than 5 minutes sailing time (just under half a mile).
And for all of the statements and promises right up until we left at the end of April 2016, it never came back.
If it's going to operate as described only as a seasonal route, I don't see how it can work as a viable transport service.
Sounds very much like our own local foot passenger ferry. It's currently heavily subsidised and has gone from operating up to 22:00hrs back in the 80s to finishing at 17:45hrs, runs half hourly in summer and hourly in winter and is out of service more than it is running.
It has to stop when the tide is too low or too high, all since the marine services who have had the contract no longer dredge the river.
They don't really care because the subsidy is there but - not for much longer. The last contract renewal says halfway through, it has to be self-funding which we are waiting to see what excuses pop up then.
They already cried for a £5k payment for dredging at the start of the contract, dredging which they should have been doing regularly during the previous contract!
It's great to see it sailing but very frustrating when it's referred to as an essential transport link when some days it's out of service from lunchtime because of the tides.
Something which was never an issue in the past.
We would have loved to have had access to a ferry when we lived in Cyprus. It made no sense at all to have a working port 10 minutes down the road which couldn't send a regular ferry to its closest neighbours.
Our closest neighbour by ferry is less than 5 minutes sailing time (just under half a mile).
"Have Camera, Will Travel"
Re: Draft tender announced for new ferry service
I should have mentioned in my previous post that the Greek ferry was running when we arrived on island in 1999, I think that it ceased running around 2002. It was busier in the summer months when people were able to bring their cars over to Cyprus, and some residents on island took advantage of the service to go on holiday in Europe taking their cars.
Presumably commercial vehicles also used it too. It was a very useful ferry service, but apparently was very unpleasant when travelling in stormy conditions as it rolled..but I suspect it just wasn't profitable enough for the company providing the service to put on a more modern vessel when the onward route to Alexandria stopped.
Dee
Presumably commercial vehicles also used it too. It was a very useful ferry service, but apparently was very unpleasant when travelling in stormy conditions as it rolled..but I suspect it just wasn't profitable enough for the company providing the service to put on a more modern vessel when the onward route to Alexandria stopped.
Dee
Re: Draft tender announced for new ferry service
There were only cruise ships to Alexandria....there were no car ferries.Kili01 wrote: ↑Sat Oct 30, 2021 12:12 pm I should have mentioned in my previous post that the Greek ferry was running when we arrived on island in 1999, I think that it ceased running around 2002. It was busier in the summer months when people were able to bring their cars over to Cyprus, and some residents on island took advantage of the service to go on holiday in Europe taking their cars.
Presumably commercial vehicles also used it too. It was a very useful ferry service, but apparently was very unpleasant when travelling in stormy conditions as it rolled..but I suspect it just wasn't profitable enough for the company providing the service to put on a more modern vessel when the onward route to Alexandria stopped.
Dee
Re: Draft tender announced for new ferry service
The last ferry from Piraeus to Limassol was the end of July 2001 - I was on it, we were booked to travel on the Salamis vessel, my daughter and I boarded and got our cabin etc, my husband was in the queue to get the car on board, there appeared to be some sort of hold up then they announced that the ferry would not be sailing as it had been condemned for safety reasons. After some delay passengers were put aboard the Poseidon Lines ferry which was already fully booked and the vehicles had to be left on the dockside with the keys in - slightly worrying when we had a double cab packed to the gills with stuff from the UK.
The Poseidon ship sailed and as we had an eight year old we were given a cabin which we later discovered we had to share with a young American lady travelling alone as it was a 4 berth. Most of the other Salamis passengers were not so lucky - they were given sun loungers on deck with no bedding or towels, we had towels in the cabin so the 3 of us shared one and gave the rest to the people on deck, bizarrely these were collected by the crew and the passengers told they were not allowed towels!!!! We daren't even think about whether there were enough life jackets etc to go round - maybe the Salamis vessel would have been safer!!
|We watched a cargo ship sail past us with our vehicles on board and luckily when we arrived at Limassol and were reunited with our truck everything seemed to be there. We were given a full refund by Salamis Lines and as far as I am aware there has never been another sailing by any company.
It was definitely a memorable experience and one I wouldn't like to repeat, however, we had done the trip once before three years earlier and both times had a fantastic, albeit expensive (I think the ferry crossings Cyprus/Piraeus and Patras/Venice return cost around CYP£1000) holiday and given the time and the chance I would love to be able to travel that way rather than be dependent on Easyjet or Ryanair. However the cost will probably be prohibitive nowadays.
The Poseidon ship sailed and as we had an eight year old we were given a cabin which we later discovered we had to share with a young American lady travelling alone as it was a 4 berth. Most of the other Salamis passengers were not so lucky - they were given sun loungers on deck with no bedding or towels, we had towels in the cabin so the 3 of us shared one and gave the rest to the people on deck, bizarrely these were collected by the crew and the passengers told they were not allowed towels!!!! We daren't even think about whether there were enough life jackets etc to go round - maybe the Salamis vessel would have been safer!!
|We watched a cargo ship sail past us with our vehicles on board and luckily when we arrived at Limassol and were reunited with our truck everything seemed to be there. We were given a full refund by Salamis Lines and as far as I am aware there has never been another sailing by any company.
It was definitely a memorable experience and one I wouldn't like to repeat, however, we had done the trip once before three years earlier and both times had a fantastic, albeit expensive (I think the ferry crossings Cyprus/Piraeus and Patras/Venice return cost around CYP£1000) holiday and given the time and the chance I would love to be able to travel that way rather than be dependent on Easyjet or Ryanair. However the cost will probably be prohibitive nowadays.
