Greece manages roughly 18% of European ferry traffic while accounting for just 2% of the EU population. In the summer of 2025, 164 ferries operated by 37 companies served 115 inhabited islands, only 27 of which have an airport.

Environmental charges push Attica into the red

Regulatory costs dominated the 2025 financial year for the two listed operators. Attica Group turnover rose 1.2% to EUR 756.9 million, but operating costs climbed by EUR 44.6 million, or 7.1%. EU ETS allowances alone cost the group EUR 40 million, more than double the EUR 18.9 million of 2024, as the surrender obligation rose from 40% to 70%. FuelEU Maritime added a further EUR 6.5 million in biofuel costs plus EUR 3.6 million through the pooling mechanism, while the Mediterranean SECA, effective from 1 May 2025, forced vessels without scrubbers onto more expensive 0.1% sulphur fuel.

The result was EBITDA of EUR 85.4 million, down 11.3%, and a pre-tax loss of EUR 33.7 million against a EUR 17.5 million profit in 2024 — the earlier figure boosted by the disposal of Africa Morocco Lines. Attica's bank debt stood at EUR 611.6 million at year-end. On XRTC's Altman-based bankruptcy profile, the group scored 1.62, dropping out of the grey zone and into the distress zone; Minoan Lines, at 3.05, remains in the safe zone.

Minoan Lines, part of the Grimaldi Group, delivered its third consecutive profitable year. Turnover rose to EUR 117.7 million from EUR 110.3 million, EBITDA improved 27% to EUR 24.9 million and net profit reached EUR 7.05 million against EUR 0.8 million. The company's decision to route Piraeus-Heraklion sailings via Milos, taken in February 2024, continues to limit ETS exposure while adding a year-round Cyclades connection.

Fuel shock returns in 2026

After a benign 2025 — fuel fell to 36% of operating costs from 41% — the first half of 2026 brought a sharp reversal. Following military action in the Middle East, the price of marine gas oil in Piraeus rose to around EUR 1,200 per tonne between March and May, against EUR 500-600 per tonne through 2025. According to SEEN, the additional monthly burden on the sector reached EUR 18 million, with operators estimating up to EUR 25 million per month from June as sailing frequencies increase. The Greek government has announced compensation of EUR 56 million covering mandatory ticket discounts for specific social groups.

Renewal: the money exists, the mechanism does not

XRTC is blunt about the financing bottleneck. Of the EUR 5 billion gap identified by the ministry master plan, some EUR 3 billion relates to capital expenditure and more than EUR 2 billion to additional operating costs, spread across 326 passenger vessels and over 185,000 annual connections.

Greece expects to draw approximately EUR 1.5 billion from the European Modernisation Fund by 2030, with the EIB approving the first four Greek investments worth EUR 208 million in March 2025. A national fund of EUR 300 million has been announced, and the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy plans to launch a EUR 500 million conversion programme by October 2026. XRTC's criticism is that no managing structure exists to channel any of it — no board, no selection criteria, no binding timetable — and that the announcements echo earlier packages that never proceeded.

Only 20% of the Greek fleet is under 20 years old. Among larger tonnage the picture is starker: 90% of vessels above 150 metres have passed 20 years. The 30 small operators, running 75 vessels at an average age of 30 years, remain effectively shut out of bank finance for lack of own funds and corporate transparency — a problem compounded, XRTC notes, by a tender process for subsidised routes that does not require scrutiny of bidders' financial data.

Public service obligations moved to four-year contracts from 1 November 2025, worth EUR 668 million in total, with the annual budget rising from EUR 148 million to EUR 167 million and 57 vessels covering 73 routes.

Newbuildings and second-hand manoeuvring

Attica has ordered E-Flexers and agreed a long-term charter with Stena RoRo for two 200-metre vessels to be built in China, alongside a memorandum with ONEX. The group chartered GNV BRIDGE for five years with a purchase obligation, renaming her SUPERFAST V — a 2021 Visentini-built RoPax with 950 passenger capacity and 2,564 lane metres — and took KYDON on a four-year charter with a purchase undertaking. Together with the two E-Flexers due in 2027, this will bring the average age of the Adriatic fleet down to 8.6 years from 24.8. KRITI I, KRITI II and ELEFTHERIOS VENIZELOS were sold, four Flying Dolphins disposed of, and scrubbers fitted to eight vessels at a cost of EUR 22.6 million.

The Grimaldi Group's programme of nine methanol-capable newbuildings, worth USD 1.3 billion, includes two vessels for Minoan Lines due in 2028; Minoan raised EUR 26 million in a fully subscribed share capital increase to fund the advance.

Seajets, with 34 vessels in 2025, continued its buying spree, acquiring ten vessels in 2026 including FLYING CAT 3, FLYING CAT 4, FLYING CAT 5, FLYING CAT 6 and HIGHSPEED 4 from Attica for EUR 25 million, consolidating what XRTC describes as the largest high-speed fleet in the world.

Traffic and outlook

Passenger traffic rose 2.4% to 20.03 million in 2025, with vehicles up 1.2% to four million. Tourist arrivals hit a record 37.98 million, up 5.6%, and travel receipts reached EUR 23.6 billion.

XRTC sets out three scenarios for 2027-2035, identifying the base case — gradual investment, selective financing and continued market concentration through partnerships and mergers — as the most likely. The report argues that fleet renewal should be treated not as an expense but as one of the most significant industrial investments Greece can make over the next two decades, with the potential to regenerate the domestic shipbuilding sector alongside it.

Full report https://xrtc.gr/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/XRTC-Ferry-Report-2026-ENG.pdf

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