Greek Ministry of Finance Assumes Ship Registry Control

The Greek Ministry of Finance has assumed responsibility of the country's ship registry according to a press release from Athens News Agency:

FinMin takes over ship registry processes

Responsibility for the management and coordination of ship registration in Greece is now under the Finance Ministry by decision of minister Yannis Stournaras, it was announced Thursday.

In an announcement, the ministry said it will set out the process of reviewing and signing every approval necessary for ship registration under a Greek flag, with the applicant's data included in each step of the way. The act falls under the "investment in and protection of overseas capital" rule (Law 2687/53, article 13, published in the Government Gazette issue A' 317).

The decision will speed up the registration of Greek-flagged ships, encourage more to join the Greek registry, and generally improve processes in the shipping sector, a vital part of the Greek economy.

The OGSR has yet to find comments by or regarding the Ministry of Merchantile Marine, which had been re-established in 2012 to administer the ship registry, in the context of the Ministry of Finance's takeover of the ship registry.