Unscheduled inspections on ships have increased by 51% this year, following an order from Minister of Shipping and Insular Policy, Vassilis Kikilias, to further intensify inspections in view of the summer season.
More specifically, up to 21 May 2026, 515 emergency inspections were carried out, compared to 341 in the corresponding period of 2025.
Significant increase is also recorded in sailing bans, which amounted to 50 this year, from just 4 last year, with their percentage standing at 9.7% compared to 1.2%.
Inspections are also up, with 414 up from 397 in the same period last year, an increase of 4.3%.
Inspections include, among other things, questions safety of ships, fire safety, life-saving equipment, maintenance and proper functioning of equipment and machinery, training and familiarization of crews in emergency response incidents, as well as compliance with the prescribed rules for the safe transport of passengers and vehicles.
The Minister of Shipping and Island Policy, Vassilis Kikilias, said that “emergency inspections in shipping, tourist vessels and vessels of all kinds have increased by 51% since last year. This is because, first and foremost, we are interested in the safety of all people at sea. Great care. We follow the rules, we follow the safety rules. We don’t make any discount on safety issues.”
For his part, the chief of the Corps of the Coast Guard – Hellenic Coast Guard, Vice Admiral L.S. Christos Kontoruchas, said: “Security, to which the Minister also referred, is our top priority. Not only in shipping and tourist ships, but the safety of bathers, the safety of our tourists, the safety of our seafarers and every person who needs us at sea. This, for the Coast Guard, is and will remain our top priority and this is where we are focusing all our efforts, both at the level of the Ministry and in all the Port Authorities around the country.”
