Effective March 17, 1953, the Greek Government prohibited Greek flag
vessels from calling at Communist ports in China and North Korea. This
was accomplished by the Greek Council of Ministers Act No. 204 of
March 17, which was enacted into law by the Greek Parliament on May 7.
Violators are punishable under the provisions of law No. 2317 of 1953,
published in Greek Government Gazette No. 61, dated March 17.
The Greek foreign investment law provides that foreign vessels
transferred to the Greek flag may only be resold to countries named in
the "letter of approval". This listing has not included Soviet bloc
countries. With only minor exceptions, ships already under the Greek
flag may not be resold to other countries.
Current bunkering controls require licensing both by the Bank of Greece
and the customs authorities. Ship repair controls require licensing by
the customs authorities. In neither case is the licensing control based
on the nationality of the vessel to be serviced nor, in the latter
case, the type of materials used for repair or installed.