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Athens News Agency: News in English, 97-01-01
NEWS IN ENGLISH
Athens, Greece, 01/01/1997 (ANA)
MAIN HEADLINES
Capsized ship toll at 15, 5 still missing
Three 'New Year' babies
Oil extraction resumes at Prinos
Steeper sea pollution fines
NEWS IN DETAIL
Capsized ship toll at 15, 5 still missing
Five seamen were still missing as the death toll from Saturday's capsize of
the Greek-flagged dry bulk carrier "Distos" reached 15, including the wife
and 12-year-old daughter of one crewmember and the wife of another
crewmember.
Divers continued to search the half-sunk ship and comb the surrounding sea
area for the missing persons off Kymi, Evia, where the freighter was
overturned by two large waves causing its cement cargo to shift.
Three 'New Year' babies
Three babies were born in Athens with the coming of the New Year. An infant
girl weighing 3.3 kilograms and an infant boy weighing 3.05 kilograms were
born at 12:01 midnight at the Iaso Maternity Hospital in Athens, while
another little girl weighing 3.55 kilograms was born at the same time at
the Mitera Maternity Hospital.
Oil extraction resumes at Prinos
Oil extraction from the Prinos oilfield off the island of Thassos has been
resumed at a rate of 50,000 tons per month. The crude oil is loaded at the
North Aegean Petroleum Company's (NAPC) land installations in Nea Karvali,
Kavala and shipped by tanker to France on behalf of BP.
The value of each load is estimated at 4.5-5.4 millio dollars, with the
Greek state participating in the net profits.
Extraction of oil from the Prinos field had declined sharply in early 1996
as the deposit had reached a marginal level that barely met the NAPC's
contractual obligations. But a secondary oil deposit discovered near the
primary oilfield increased production from 9-10,000 barrels of crude per
day by about 3,000 barrels daily.
Steeper sea pollution fines
The Merchant Marine Ministry has submitted a draft Presidential Decree to
the council of State sharply raising fines imposed for sea pollution caused
by dumping oil, residue and other materials from ships. The Decree doubles
fines already in effect, and in certain cases increases them tenfold,
bringing the largest fine to 250 million dr. from the current 150 million
dr.
WEATHER
Thursday's forecast is for local clouds in the west and north turning into
light rainfall in the northwest, and overcast in the rest of the country
with local fog in central and northern regions. Temperatures will range
from 2-14 C in the north, 7-20 C in the Ionian Sea and the rest of the
mainland, and 11-22 C in the Aegean. In Athens, sunny with temperatures
ranging from 9-19 C. Thessaloniki cloudy, with temperatures 5-11 C.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
(Tuesday's closing rates - buying)
US dlr. 245.044 Pound sterling 415.827
Cyprus pd 522.288 French franc 46.805
Swiss franc 181.670 German mark 157.698
Italian lira (100) 16.056 Yen (100) 210.731
Canadian dlr. 178.699 Australian dlr.195.087
Irish Punt 411.482 Belgian franc 7.658
Finnish mark 52.826 Dutch guilder 140.552
Swedish kr. 35.553 Norwegian kr. 38.134
Austrian sh. 22.438 Spanish peseta 1.873
Portuguese escudo 1.568
(L.G.)
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