Passengers traveling by ferry in Greece this summer will face up to a 15 percent price increase as the country implements new EU regulations aimed at curbing pollution.
The hike, exceeding the average inflation rate, is attributed to rising fuel costs and new environmental regulations for coastal vessels aimed at promoting sustainable practices.
“Fuel costs, which constitute 47 percent of a ferry’s operating expenses, are the primary factor driving the ticket price increase,” said Dionysis Theodoratos, President of the Association of Passenger Shipping Businesses (SEEN), during the “Modern Coastal Shipping Transportation, Island Sustainable Development” conference.
Ferry price increase in Greece due to EU regulations
The increases announced by shipping companies from May 1st are mainly due to the new European Union regulation to limit carbon and sulfur emissions from passenger shipping.
The new fuel that ships will now use, the so-called MGO (Marine Gas Oil), is a type of refined marine fuel with a low sulfur content and is cleaner than residual fuels such as heavy fuel oil (HFO).
However, it is considerably more expensive (by 35 percent), which means that the operating costs of the ship increase.
The costs required to make the Greek coastal shipping fleet capable of achieving the goals set by the European Union as well as Greece by 2030 are estimated at 2.5-3 billion euros, according to the Association of Passenger Shipping Companies, and up to 6 billion, according to the Maritime Chamber of Greece.
Combined with the more expensive fuel they have to use from the beginning of 2025 and the high prices of emission rights, especially from 2030 onward, they are expected to lead to an increase in ticket fares of at least 32 percent, according to a study by the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE) released in autumn 2024.
Costas Kourkounakis, vice president of the Crete Tourist & Travel Agencies, tells iefimerida.gr. “The cost for a family of 4, if increases are made, will be around 50 euros extra per person. So you can understand that the cost is going up a lot. Especially for us who work a lot on one-day trips from Crete to Santorini, such an increase will be prohibitive. In other words, the cost will skyrocket from 400 euros to 600.”
Greece scrambles to absorb the increase in ferry prices
Regarding the government’s intentions, government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis clarified in a briefing for political editors a few days ago that every effort is being made to absorb the increases.
“The goal of the Ministry of Merchant Shipping is to utilize community resources that will absorb the increases so that they are not passed on to the passenger public . . . We are on the right track. This is the information we have so far from the ministry,” he replied to a relevant question posed to him.
The cost of ferry tickets has become exorbitant and even cost-prohibitive for many. From increased fuel costs to taxation and more, people who are ferry-dependent are left with little choice but to absorb these high fares.
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