The Cyprus Shipping Deputy Ministry (SDM) has announced the launch of a tender process (Tender No. SDM 14/2021) to reinstate a maritime passenger link between Cyprus and Greece.

The service will be subsidized by state funds in accordance with the European Union rules governing a Service of General Economic Interest to a total of €5.5m for the three-year contract, with the possibility of an extension of the contract for a further three years.

The service will be offered on a weekly basis between April/May to September/October only as a seasonal service, therefore the service will provide a total of 22 return sailings per year.

On launching the tender, Vassilios Demetriades, Cyprus Shipping Deputy Minister, commented: “Reviving the ferry connection will help us to continue building our relationship with the rest of the Mediterranean and we welcome the opportunity to expand the ferry link to a third neighboring country beyond Greece too. We also recognize that there will be higher demand during the summer season and, therefore, will consider a seasonal ferry connection to encourage a broader range of applicants for this tender. We believe this link will be hugely advantageous to the region as a whole, and look forward to reviewing the tenders in the new year.

“We previously opened the tender to comments and questions which has allowed us to adapt the tender requirements based on industry feedback. This ensures we broaden the scope for more organizations to submit a tender. We invite all potential operators to submit a tender proposal and look forward to receiving submissions by 28th January 2022.”

The Shipping Deputy Ministry presented the main provisions of the tender during an open meeting on 29th November 2021 at 12:00 local time, in Limassol, Cyprus. On 2nd December 2021 at 12:00 local time, there will be a presentation in Greek in Piraeus, Greece (Piraeus Port Authority Building – 10, Akti Miaouli str., 18538 Piraeus).

Interested economic operators are invited to attend the meeting and submit any questions.

The deadline for tender submissions is 12.00 on 28th January 2022. For further details regarding the tender and process of application, please visit the following link: https://www.eprocurement.gov.cy.