Attica Group, a Greek Shipping Group, with a fleet of 35 modern ships and an international presence, offering high-level sea transport services for passengers, vehicles and trucks. A pioneer in passenger shipping, with activities that benefit partners and local communities, reduce the environmental footprint and create added value for shareholders and employees.
Attica Group, the largest Group in its sector in Greece, the third largest in the Mediterranean and among the ten largest in Europe, is constantly investing in the future.
Our core commitment is to operate responsibly towards the environment and conduct our business in a way that reduces our environmental footprint from our operation. In this context:
We are committed to incorporating the principles of sustainable development into our processes and to implementing environmentally sound business practices in order to limit our environmental impact as much as possible.
We evaluate our impact on the environment annually, through the Environmental Management System we implement, which is ISO14001 certified.
We have certified all our ships for the proper and systematic monitoring, recording and reporting of carbon dioxide emissions in accordance with the requirements of the European Regulation EU MRV 757/2015, well ahead of the scheduled deadlines.
We have equipped all our ships, on foreign routes, with an Energy Performance certificate.
We discuss environmental protection issues during each ship's respective Safety Committee meetings.
We implement a weekly training program for employees on all our ships, with the aim of preventing incidents of marine contamination (e.g. pollution), but also preparing them for the timely and effective response to related incidents.
We appointed a person responsible for monitoring risks due to climate change and searching for possible areas for the implementation of energy saving actions, who submits a relevant report at least annually or whenever deemed necessary.
Target Audience
Duration
Description
In the context of the continuous and upgraded approach of the environmental policy and for 2021 we evaluate the following main projects - actions - interventions to reduce the Environmental footprint:
We have completed the sale of the passenger-ferry ship EXPRESS PEGASUS for recycling, in accordance with European and Greek legislation for the safe and environmentally sound recycling of ships, to a unit included in the European List of Ship Recycling Units.
We built more environmentally friendly ships. Specifically, in January 2021, Attica Group announced the signing of an agreement with the Brødrene Aa shipyard of Norway for the construction of three (3) state-of-the-art Aero Catamaran ships, which will be launched in the summer of 2022 on the Argosaronic lines, replacing older technology ships, thus contributing in the reduction of the environmental footprint, through lower fuel consumption and reduced gas emissions due to the lighter construction material of the ships (carbon fiber), as well as the installation of units (solar panels) which cover the lighting and electricity needs of the hotel services of ships.
We have certified all our ships (the first Greek company in the passenger shipping sector), in accordance with the European Regulation on ship recycling (Regulation (EU) No. 1257/2013), obtaining the relevant Certificate on Inventory of Hazardous Materials from Lloyd's Register . At the same time, on a voluntary basis, Attica Group received the statement of compliance (Statement of Compliance on Inventory of Hazardous Materials) in accordance with the corresponding international treaty of Hong Kong. The Attica Group has defined and implements a procedure for controlling supplies and recording any hazardous materials (Inventory of Hazardous Materials) on the ships of its fleet, in accordance with the provisions of the Regulation, which prohibits or limits the installation and use of hazardous materials (e.g. .eg asbestos or ozone-depleting substances) and obliges ships to maintain an inventory list of hazardous materials, specifying their locations and quantities.
Based on the Regulation of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) which came into force in 2020, the maximum percentage of sulfur in fuel is defined as 0.5%, with the exception of ships with an installed scrubber system. In this context, in 2021 we installed a system of exhaust gas scrubbers on Blue Star Delos and Blue Star Mykonos, while Superfast XI & Blue Star Patmos have already preceded them.
Our impact on gaseous pollutants comes mainly from the operation of our ships' engines and the gaseous pollutants of sulfur oxides.
It is worth noting that:
We use fuel with a sulfur content of 0.1% (MGO) when ships are expected to remain at berth for more than two hours, and fuel with a sulfur content of up to 0.5% (LSHFO) when ships are operating in European waters.
We use machines that meet the requirements of legislation regarding the emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOX) and particulate matter (PM) from ship engines.
We have installed Ballast Management Systems (WBT) on 5 ships having already planned the installation on the rest that can operate foreign ships. The protection of the marine environment from the invasion of non-native plant and animal microorganisms in aquatic ecosystems due to shipping activity has been recognized by international organizations such as the IMO as one of the four most important threats to the disruption of the ecological chain and the preservation of biodiversity marine waters and oceanic ecosystems. Global maritime navigation also contributes in this direction through the marine ballast carried by ships, in order to maintain stability and the required speed of propulsion during their voyage. The installation of Ballast Management Systems (WBT) aims to prevent, minimize and ultimately eliminate the transport of harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens through the control and management of ships' ballast and sediments.
We have installed solar absorption systems at selected points in our offices to improve energy efficiency.
We installed energy-saving (LED) lamps in our offices and replaced conventional lamps on 11 ships with new LED lamps.
We use the heat from the exhaust gases of the ships' engines to heat the common areas and the hot sanitary water.
We used special low-resistance silicone surface paints on 7 ships (Blue Star Patmos, Blue Star Naxos, Blue Star Delos, Flying Cat 6, Superfast I, Superfast II and Superfast XI) to reduce fuel consumption.
We set electrical appliances (such as fridges and freezers) to optimal levels of use and operation based on legislation
We turn off electrical appliances when not in use.
We regularly clean the ships' hulls and propellers for their best energy performance.
We lower or turn off the air conditioning in empty cabins.
We are the first cruise line group in Greece to use BIO-PVC biodegradable cards, a new generation of cards made of ecological biodegradable material for the Seasmiles loyalty program, staying true to our commitment to apply environmentally sound practices to reduce our environmental footprint. BIO-PVC cards are manufactured from a latest generation material that requires lower consumption of energy and crude oil while producing less carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. In addition, all printed material used to send cards to Gold members is created from eco-friendly recyclable material with FSC certified paper. The process of collecting the plastic card of the Blue, Silver levels with an immediate version of the new biodegradable card is easily and quickly carried out through the Seasmiles Kiosk located on the ships of the SUPERFAST FERRIES, BLUE STAR FERRIES and HELLENIC SEAWAYS companies. In addition, protecting the environment and demonstrating ecological awareness in every possible action, the Attica Group responsibly undertakes the recycling of the plastic cards collected on the Group's ships as well as those plastic cards returned to the Company.
The estimated value of operating costs saved due to investments mainly for environmental protection (e.g. renewable energy sources) amounted to €16.9 million. We invested more than €20.6 million in programs directly or indirectly related to the protection of the environment (e.g. solid and liquid waste disposal investments, decontamination materials and equipment, installation of scrubbers, environmental operation certificates).
Reduction of Gaseous Pollutants
Demonstrating in practice our commitment to reducing gaseous emissions, we were the first shipping company on the Adriatic lines to accept and sign the voluntary 'Ancona Blue Agreement' proposed by the Port Authority and the Central Administration of Adriatic Ports to further reduce emissions pollutants in the atmosphere from the use of marine fuels. In this context, we are intensively researching the possibility of silent running in ports with a long stay, with power supply from land or using batteries.
We reduce the use of materials
As part of our efforts for rational use of natural resources, we implement actions to reduce the materials used. For example, we use multi-machines (printers and photocopiers) entirely in our offices, of which 100% of their mechanisms, spare parts and consumables are recycled and remanufactured. Alongside:
We have started developing a process to increase the use of materials from recycled raw materials, in order to consider the possibility of sourcing materials/items from recycled raw materials in case of purchasing new items and replacing already used materials with other materials derived from recycled raw materials, having at the same time, started a relevant process for the supply of electronic equipment and printing paper. In 2021, we purchased 53,560 kgr of plastic waste-food bags for our ships, of which 91% were bags derived from recycled raw materials.
We procure refurbished electronic equipment, with related supplies for offices and ships in 2021 totaling 116 devices and 42 electronic equipment peripherals, such as personal computers and hard drives, compared to 106 devices and peripherals in 2020.
We have installed air dryers in the lavatories on all ships to reduce the amount of paper used to dry hands.
We take care of the efficient use of spare parts and other supplies (such as consumables) in order not to keep large quantities.
We have installed dosing machines for cleaning chemicals on all our ships in order to avoid their reckless use, while we train ship workers in their correct use.
Dangerous wastes
A total of 3,045 m3 of liquid and solid hazardous waste (such as mercury-containing waste, lubricants, bio-recyclable kitchen and residential waste, lamps, electronic equipment and toners), as well as the 4.7 tn of batteries and 159 tn of solid petroleum residues that we collected in 2021, they were allocated to specialized hazardous materials management companies, which adhere to strict specifications for their processing in an environmentally safe method, of which 42% were recycled and 58% were transferred for further processing or to landfills, without being quantities of hazardous waste that:
They were reused.
They were taken abroad for processing.
They were imported from abroad.
Customer awareness
We believe that we have a moral obligation to raise awareness among our customers regarding the protection of the environment, both during their trip and in their daily life.
In this context:
We publish information and our actions for the protection of the environment in our own media, on our companies' social media and through Press Releases.
We have placed special signage in all cabins on our ships, which urges passengers to turn off lights when not in use and not to consume water unnecessarily.
We have created a useful manual on the importance and benefits of recycling, the materials that can be disposed of in the special recycling bins and the various symbols found on the product packaging, while also providing useful recycling advice, which is available on the companies' websites Group.
We promote alternative and more environmentally friendly modes of transport and travel by offering travel packages that combine "Train and Ferry" and are valid for domestic and European destinations.
We display updates on all our ships that have relevant screens for the prevention of forest fires, in collaboration with the General Secretariat of Civil Protection (GPP) of the Ministry of Interior and Administrative Affair
We participate in most Eurail & Interrail Pass products and have created our own Interrail & Eurail Greek Islands Pass
We manage liquid waste
As the uncontrolled discharge of liquid waste into the marine space results in a significant burden on the marine environment:
We have equipped our ships with a Sewage Pollution Prevention Certificate in accordance with the provisions of Law 1269/82 and Presidential Decree 400/96.
We do not allow the disposal of the treated wastewater of the biological system in ports, exceeding the relevant legislation.
We regularly monitor the operation of the sewage treatment system.
We comply with relevant ballast water and marine ballast management regulations.
We have equipped our ships with certified sewage treatment systems with regard to effluent parameters (col. bacteria and total suspended solids), while we deliver the sewage to shore reception facilities from licensed providers in the ports, without any discharge of sewage that contained significant polluting substances (e.g. e.g. hazardous waste, nitrate compounds, phosphate emissions).
