Tag: Greece

EuroAfrica cable enters crucial phase

The EuroAfrica Interconnector, a planned subsea electric cable connecting the Egyptian, Cypriot and Greek power grids to continental Europe has entered a crucial phase of conducting project studies with a signing ceremony for a memorandum of understanding among all parties having taken place on Monday.

The officials attending the signing ceremony in Cairo endorsed their commitment to implementing the EuroAfrica Interconnector energy bridge connecting Egypt, Cyprus, and Greece with the European electric network with 2000MW.
The aim of EuroAfrica is to offer significant economic and geopolitical benefits to the involved countries and contribute to the European Union’s target for 10 per cent of electricity interconnection between member states.

President of EuroAfrica Interconnector Nasos Ktorides said that this inspired partnership can only bring benefits to the three participating nations.

“Greece will increase its energy efficiency, and will become a major player in the European energy arena, Cyprus will be an electricity hub in the south eastern Mediterranean and Egypt will become an important energy hub for Africa and electricity carrier for the European continent,” he said.

In a packed news conference attended by the highest officials of Egypt’s ministries of Energy, Electricity and Foreign Affairs, the Egyptian minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Dr Mohamed Shaker highlighted the importance of the submarine electric cable as part of his country’s strategic plan for economic development and energy security.

Shaker emphasised both his personal commitment and that of the Egyptian government to bringing this great venture to fruition.

Earlier, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi called a meeting with Prime Minister Sherif Ismail and Shaker, where he expressed the government’s commitment to the project.

Shaker announced after the meeting that El-Sisi requested that he be regularly informed on the progress of the project on a weekly basis and to ensure that the whole project is successfully completed within the desired timeframes.

At the signing ceremony, the Egyptian power company chief Gaber Desouky described it as an historic moment, which brings Egypt closer to the day when it is connected to the pan-European electricity grid.

In a brief address, the ambassadors of Cyprus, Charis Moritsis, and Greece, Michael Christos Diamessis, also expressed the support of their governments in taking the project forward.

The conclusion of the necessary studies will mark the beginning of the implementation of the interconnector electric cable, which is expected to bolster the three countries’ energy security and independence, and allow them to export power to European countries with an energy deficit.

(cyprus-mail.com)

February 25, 2017
Total to start exploratory drilling off Cyprus with Greece following

The discovery of natural resources in Israel and Egypt has motivated big companies to look into the Eastern Mediterranean closer. The French oil exploration company Total is ready to start exploratory marine drilling off Cyprus.

What made this possible was the discovery of the Egypt’s Zohr deposit. Experts argue that the chances for deposits of similar value in Cyprus’ neighboring Block 11 have really increased.

Three companies so far have been awarded exploration licenses by Cyprus: Total, ExxonMobil and ENI.

Total also plans to start similar drilling activities to Greece as well, in the Ionian Sea. A delegation from Total visited Greece a couple of weeks ago to discuss the relevant details with members of the Greek government.

Cyprus Natural Hydrocarbons Company CEO Charles Ellinas in an interview to New Europe on the 27th of January was asked if the massive Zohr deposit, the largest ever field discovered in the eastern Mediterranean, could affect negatively the export of hydrocarbons from Cyprus and Greece. His reply was that “it has affected Cyprus in that Cyprus was hoping to sell its gas to Egypt both for the domestic market and for liquefaction and export to Europe as LNG. This has now gone away because of commercial factors but also because of Zohr”, but “ the discovery of Zohr opened up the possibility of more discoveries in carbonate formations. “Total is drilling mid-2017 in block 11, adjacent to Zohr, and there are reasonable indications for a gas discovery”.

Asked if both Greek and Cyprus hydrocarbons could be jointly exported to Europe and if they do need Israel as well, Ellinas noted that the problem for Cypriot and Israeli gas is commercial. “By the time it reaches Europe, by pipeline or as LNG, it is to expensive to compete with gas prices prevailing in Europe, particularly Russian gas. And these prices will be there for the longer term – at least to 2025,” he said, adding that if gas discoveries are made in Greece they will have a better chance. It is closer to Europe and by then there will be infrastructure in place to transport it.

(www.tornosnews.gr)

February 25, 2017
The Hellenic Centre for Marine Research: mission and achievements

Sea research has been carried out in Greece for more than 100 years. Nowadays, it is conducted under the auspices of the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR). HCMR can trace its origins to the founding of the first Greek Marine Research Institute, the Marine Hydrobiological Station, established in 1914.

HCMR mission is to research, develop and implement marine and maritime services and products such as the recently presented GeoMAREA and the Nautilus documentary series which advance our understanding and protection of the seas and inland waters, creating a sustainable life on Earth.

HCMR is a unique governmental research organization at the heart of scientific and technological research of the Mediterranean, the Black Sea and the Red Sea. It comprises three Research Institutes: the Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, the Institute of Marine Biological Resources and Inland Waters and the Institute of Oceanography .

The HCMR building facilities are distributed in three strategic areas: in Attica, in Crete and in Rhodes. HCMR’s fleet consists of three research vessels and underwater vehicles. HCMR owns and operates a wide range of advanced scientific laboratories, fully-equipped biogeochemical laboratories, innovative genetic laboratories, micro CT scanner for biodiversity research, aqua labs state-of-the-art aquaculture farming technologies.

HCMR maintains large research infrastructures like Poseidon network and operational monitoring forecasting and data collection system. Poseidon is based on network observatory buoys which collect and transmit every three hours online meteorological and oceanographic data used for making 72-hour forecasts. HCMR owns and operates aquariums in Crete and Rhodes islands with more than 500,000 visitors per year. Τhe HCMR aquariums provide unique experiential events and educational opportunities advancing people’s knowledge for a sustainable management of the Seas. HCMR participates and plays a key role in the establishment of the large-scale European research infrastructures, such as LIFEWATCH, European multidisciplinary water column and seabed observatories, Euro-Argo, and European Marine Biological Resourse Center.

HCMR work covers the entire spectrum of marine and inland water research with specific focus on the integrated coastal zone management marine spatial planning and seabed mapping, integrated marine observation and forecasting of the scenes functioning of inland waters coastal and marine ecosystems, impact of global change.

HCMR also focus on human pressures and hazards on the aquatic ecosystems and biodiversity, marine geo-hazards and geo-resources, fisheries dynamics ecology, modeling and management, marine technology and biotechnology, aquaculture. HCMR scientists and engineers having implemented more than 100 of EU projects are ready to tackle the challenges and opportunities of the Horizon 2020 on blue growth: the sustainable exploitation of marine bio resources but innovative bioactive compounds the marine and Maritime Services the societal challenges contribute to the sustainable development of regional economy within the framework of EU’s DG REGIO strategies and tools implement the marine maritime strategy through European environmental policies promote a cross-sector interdisciplinary dialogue with the industry and socio-economic communities, enhancing marine technology biotechnology and innovation, emerging the hidden European cultural heritage.

Looking into the future HCMR strategic plans include building a new ocean’s research vessel, the creation of aquarium in Attica region, the development of marine techno parks, to extend the research activities to the Atlantic Ocean and polar seas. HCMR’s focus will be to advance its position among the global leaders in marine and maritime research and to educate future generations in achieving a sustainable future for our planet.

The GeoMAREA system

Recently, the output of the cooperation between ITO LTD, the Marine Environmental Radioactivity Laboratory of the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (MERL-HCMR) and the Laboratory of Nuclear Physics of the National Technical University of Athens (LNP-NTUA), is the successful completion of the project “Research and development of an in-situ underwater gamma-ray spectrometer for low-level radioactivity measurements” (Code: 12CHN212), in the frame of a bilateral Greece-China cooperation. The project was co-funded by the General Secretariat for Research and Technology (GSRT), Greece, under NSRF 2007-2013.

The final product of the project is the GeoMAREA system (Gamma-ray spectrometer for in-situ MARine Environmental Applications).The sensor was developed for measuring in- situ the activity concentration of gamma-ray emitters in the marine environment. It is characterized by: capability to offer free-of-error continuous functionality down to 600 meter water depth; pluggable watertight cabling system for real time data transmission in case of operation at a buoy; high efficiency due to the minimum gamma-ray absorption in the enclosure material. Read more about the radioscopio here.

Explore Nautilus: the first interactive TV series about our seas

The beauty and mystery of life beneath the surface of the seas of Greece, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea is brought to the screen in “Nautilus” : a documentary series introduced by HCMR, SKAI and Cyta which depicts the complexity of the marine ecosystem. The marine scientists’ research team and crew of “Nautilus”, divers and filmmakers with the “captain” Dr. Vaggelis Papathanasiou sailed across Greek seas in order to record exclusive videos about underwater fountains, sperm whales, caretta–caretta, dolphins, red shrimps, Aegean volcanoes, climate change and shipwrecks.

“Nautilus” is an impressive production with 3 years of shooting and over 80 sailing days in the seas of Greece, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. Since September 2007, in cooperation with HCMR, over 50 Greek researchers and 25 members of crew have boarded on the “Aegean” ship. Researchers from the Institute of Oceanography and the Institute of Marine Marine Biological Resources of HMRC have participated in most of “Nautilus” missions.

Moreover, during this journeys, HCMR cooperated with researchers from the University of Patras, the National Marine Park of Alonnisos Northern Sporades and “Pelagos” Cetacean Research Institute.

(www.greeknewsagenda.gr)

February 25, 2017
Metropolitan Cleopas of Sweden attends feting of Lesbos Mayor with the Olof Palme Prize

The mayors of Lesbos, Greece Mr. Spyridon Galinos and Lampedusa, Italy Ms. Giusi Nicolini were honored with the 2016 Olof Palme Prize at a ceremony held at Sweden’s national legislature, the Riksdag. In attendance were the ambassadors of Greece and Cyprus, Dimitrios Touloupas and Andreas Kakouris, Metropolitan Cleopas of Sweden and All Scandinavia, the widow of the late Olof Palme, who bestowed the prizes, and numerous public figures from the country’s political circles. This year, the Olof Palme Foundation awarded the courage, sacrifices, and humanitarianism displayed by the two mayors and the residents of their respective islands towards the thousands of refugees arriving there.
“The name of Lesbos has become commonplace to people from all over the world, who see an outpouring of humanitarianism and solidarity in its example, as well as the society envisioned by Olof Palme. My fellow citizens are doing their humanitarian duty as they handle an enormous humanitarian crisis in an exemplary manner; a crisis that has left the international community stunned as it discovers the real proportions of the problem,” Mr. Galinos noted in his speech.
At the end of the ceremony, Metropolitan Cleopas congratulated Mayor Galinos and invited him to visit the headquarters of the Holy Metropolis of Sweden in Stockholm. Their meeting took place on the afternoon of Tuesday, January 31, 2017, at the St. George Cathedral. The Ambassador of Greece Dimitrios Touloupas accompanied Mayor Galinos to this meeting, along with the latter’s wife, his son Michael-Mimis Galinos, and his associate Marios Andriotis.
The meeting began with a tour of the Cathedral, where the visitors were informed about the church’s rich and longstanding history, as well as the present efforts to renovate the edifice.
In the discussions that followed, Mayor Galinos informed Metropolitan Cleopas about the present state of the island of Lesbos, as well as the problems and challenges that local governance is managing daily as a result of the large number of refugees that they are called to host.
In his conversation with Mayor Galinos, Metropolitan Cleopas reiterated the firm position of the Church, which has stood on the front lines of the effort to provide humanitarian aid to the refugees with all its resources right from the onset of the crisis, thus substantially aiding Greek state agencies. He also made special reference to the recent visit by His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, His Beatitude Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece, and His Holiness Pope Francis to the refugee camp at Moria, highlighting the great symbolism of their meeting there. In addition, the Metropolitan cited the work of the Rev. Christopher Schuff, an Orthodox clergyman from the USA serving in Norway who is known for his volunteerism and organizational abilities, and who regularly visits Lesbos at his own expense to stand by the refugees.
At the conclusion of their discussion, Metropolitan Cleopas thanked Mayor Galinos for honoring the Ecumenical Patriarch’s historic eparchy in Scandinavia with his presence and offered him a copy of his study on St. Nectarios’ ministry at the Rizareios Seminary, as a token of his appreciation. The meeting ended with the Metropolitan expressing his wishes to the mayor for a safe return, continued success in the difficult task he has undertaken, and the assurance that he will keep him in his prayers.

(en.protothema.gr)

February 25, 2017