According to a press release issued today, the Administration of A.N.E. Kalymnos responded to accusations of incompetence made by the Minor Opposition, stating that the application file submitted for the ferry route the company was competing for was complete, and denying that the Safety Certificate was missing. According to the administration, relevant correspondence between ANEK and the Ministry of Shipping and Island Policy proves that the Safety Certificate was submitted on time as requested.
PRESS RELEASE
ANE Kalymnos: The “wreckers” of the past are now wagging their finger at us!
Twelve months ago, when we assumed management of ANE Kalymnos, we found a company driven to the brink of closure by the Thanatsis–Diakomichalis duo. The company’s finances were in collapse, with debts exceeding 3 million euros, including unpaid wages, debts to suppliers, lenders, and insurance funds.
The situation was worse than we imagined:
- The NISOS KALYMNOS had just undergone repairs costing €900,000 after crashing into rocks near Telendos but remained plagued by serious mechanical issues (including a damaged shaft), which had been swept under the rug.
- The KALYMNOS DOLPHIN had two engines on the brink of failure. The Technical Advisor had issued a written warning back in November 2023 that a full service was urgently required—yet this was deliberately ignored!
- The new high-speed vessel intended to replace the destroyed KALYMNOS STAR was left abandoned in a shipyard lot, basking in the sun, due to a lack of funds for completion.
And now, who dares to give us advice? The very same people who:
- Sent the KALYMNOS STAR to Piraeus for maintenance—against all logic—only for it to catch fire mid-voyage, sink, and now rest at the bottom of the sea near Koufonisia. Over four years later, we still have no explanation for the fire. Did it “come from above,” as then-president Thanatsis once claimed on television?
- Were in charge when the NISOS KALYMNOS sustained serious damage by crashing into rocks near Telendos, resulting in the loss of subsidies and being disqualified from the tendering process.
- Neglected the maintenance of the speedboats, leading to the destruction of two engines and receiving no compensation whatsoever.
- Saddled ANEK with €3 million in debts—unpaid wages, bank loans, supplier invoices, mechanic fees, private loans, consultancy fees, insurance contributions, and so on.
- Unjustifiably delayed the construction of the new vessel to replace the sunken KALYMNOS STAR, despite receiving €750,000 from the insurance company—causing a loss of over €1 million in potential profits.
- Invited the SAOS company to Kalymnos, while just 4.5 years earlier they were lobbying the Ministry and the Coastal Transport Council for the SAOS ship STAVROS to operate subsidized routes from Kalymnos, thereby sabotaging ANEK’s future presence in the region.
Due to their irresponsibility, ANE Kalymnos lost credibility with both the Ministry of Shipping and Island Policy and the islanders. As if that weren’t enough, Mr. Thanatsis wouldn’t even answer calls from mayors or ministry officials when they tried to find out when NISOS KALYMNOS would resume its routes.
The “architects of disaster” are now celebrating…
And what do they do now? Instead of apologizing to the people of Kalymnos for the wreckage they left behind, they release statements and social media posts full of inaccuracies, sarcasm, and absurdities in an attempt to undermine the new management—and maybe collect a few likes from their usual entourage.
As soon as they heard one engine from the KALYMNOS DOLPHIN was being sent to an authorized MTU service center in Athens for repair, they rushed to mock Vice President Michalis Lelekis, who had initially shared the technicians’ more optimistic estimate. In other words, they rejoiced at the damage—such is their “concern” for ANEK’s salvation!
They now claim that our application for the tender was incomplete due to the missing Safety Certificate (P.A.). In fact, this was due to an error by the evaluation committee, as clearly shown in the correspondence between ANEK and the Ministry of Shipping and Island Policy. The certificate was submitted on time, as requested.
Our response to the architects of dissolution:
The Thanatsis–Diakomichalis duo and their associate, the former ANEK President (who has been convicted at first instance for electoral fraud), are wagging their finger at us—but we have only one thing to say: We are here to save ANEK, not to cover for their actions.
Soon, they will get their answers—about the debts, the lost subsidies, the disastrous decisions, and the myth that they supposedly secured a contract with the Ministry to cover the €3 million debt before leaving office. They conveniently forget that at the time, Mayor Giannis Mastrokoukos was the one in active communication with the Ministry and then-Deputy Minister Ioannis Pappas.
Let them rest assured: We do not forget, and we will not let the past repeat itself.
The Management of ANE Kalymnos
