ATHENS — Greek ferry lines that used to dominate the routes to and from nearby Italy have fallen behind their competitors with Italy’s Grimaldi group adding two more ships, two from Ancona to Patra and two to Igoumenitsa.

That doubled their runs on the Adriatic route with the Italian firm moving to increase its share of the coastal shipping market, driving up worries from Greek companies they will be overtaken, now holding only 40 percent of the trips.

Even the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t significantly cut into the ferry business between the countries, falling only 8 percent, while traffic on Greece’s domestic routes fell 36 percent during two lockdowns, also noted Kathimerini.