Another court battle between the European Commission and the Greek state over the problematic Skaramangas shipyard may provide the impetus for resolving the equally simmering dispute between the former and the current managers of the Piraeus-area industrial concern.

On Friday the Commission again referred the Greek state to the European Court for allegedly failing to implement a ruling dealing with past state subsidies to the shipyard, known as Hellenic Shipyards Co. (HSY), among the biggest in the eastern Mediterranean. Athens was obliged to seek the return of 250 million euros in state subsidies to the previously state-run company.

The first ruling by the European Court against the Greek state dates to June 2008, with the court ascertaining in 2012 that Athens had failed to comply with the ruling.

The third recourse to the court by the Commission is accompanied by a demand for a hefty fine against Greece, a one-off levy of six million euros along with a daily penalty of nearly 40,000 euros for each day that the violation continues.

Of course, the final say rests with the Euro-court justices, which over the past few years have taken into consideration the country’s dire economic situation and repeatedly reduced fines.

A full compliance with previous rulings will preclude any imposition of a daily fine.

The shipyard, which comprises the center-piece of Greece’s ailing shipbuilding and repair sector, is entangled in another four-year legal battle pitting the Greek state against Iskandar and Akram Safa in their personal capacity, according to a spokesman for the French-Lebanese shipbuilding entrepreneurs.

Athens is demanding a total return of 520 million euros in subsidies, fines and interest, with the former blocking the demand through a series legal challenges and injunctions.

The spokesman said the only case being considered by the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) is the Safas’ claim for one billion euros, with the respondent being the Greek state.

Attorneys for the Safa side claim the Greek state deceived the investors, saying potential contracts were lost by the shipyards because of the prohibitions in place, ones that the latter were unaware of when signing the contract.

The tit-for-tat legal battle also includes cases being heard at the International Court of Arbitration (ICC), with one case involving multinational Privinvest, in which the Safa brothers hold a stake, and Hellenic Shipyards S.A. as the claimants. A second case involves the Greek state as the claimant, with Privinest/HSY et al as respondents. 

According to the Safa side, the latter case was brought by the Greek state two years after the Privinvest claim.

Although no figure has as yet been cited, the expected damages sought number in the billions of euros.

Athens will point to delays in delivery of German-designed submarines for the Hellenic Navy, which it claims affect national security.