Greece is in danger of being left without a research oceanographic vessel, which seriously threatens the country’s operational capabilities and its national interests in sea research. At the same time, European funding of 41 million euros, which has been approved for this purpose, remains unclaimed… The “Aegeon”, the research vessel currently owned by the Hellenic Center for Marine Research – the only open sea research vessel in Greece –, was built in 1985, as an “answer” to the Turkish “Sismik” (formerly “Hora”), and in 1997 it was lengthened by 10 meters. Now, despite the valuable services it offers, it faces serious problems due to its age – even spare parts for its machines are hard to find – and is one step away from retirement. The desperate efforts made by ELKETHE in recent years for its replacement have come to naught: although in April 2019 the European Investment Bank committed to finance 75% of the construction of a new vessel, with a total budget of 55 million euros – and has already deposited advance payment of the first 8 million euros -, the rest of the money is still being sought from the Greek state. And all this while Greece hosted the World Conference on Oceans a few days ago as a sign of determination for its contribution to the protection of the seas.
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