The Port of Piraeus ( el, Λιμάνι του Πειραιά) is the chief sea

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

, located on the

Saronic Gulf The Saronic Gulf (Greek: Σαρωνικός κόλπος, ''Saronikós kólpos'') or Gulf of Aegina in Greece is formed between the peninsulas of Attica and Argolis and forms part of the Aegean Sea. It defines the eastern side of the isthmus of Co ...

on the western coasts of the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek language, Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish language, Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It ...

, the largest port in Greece and one of the largest in Europe. The Chinese state-owned

COSCO Shipping China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited, abbreviated as COSCO Shipping, is a Chinese state-owned multinational conglomerate headquartered in Shanghai. The group is focused on marine transportation services. COSCO Shipping was established in J ...

owns the port.

History

The Port of

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saronic ...

served as the port of

since

ancient times Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cov ...

Early Antiquity

Until the 3rd millennium BC,

was a rocky island connected to the mainland by a low-lying stretch of land that was flooded with sea water most of the year. It was then that the area was increasingly silted and flooding ceased, thus permanently connecting Piraeus to

Attica Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean Se ...

and forming its ports, the main port of Cantharus and the two smaller of Zea and Munichia. In 493 BC,

Themistocles Themistocles (; grc-gre, Θεμιστοκλῆς; c. 524–459 BC) was an Athenian politician and general. He was one of a new breed of non-aristocratic politicians who rose to prominence in the early years of the Athenian democracy. A ...

initiated the fortifications of Piraeus and later advised the Athenians to take advantage of its natural harbours' strategic potential. In 483 BC, the Athenian fleet left the older harbour of

Phaleron Phalerum or Phaleron ( ''()'', ; ''()'', ) was a port of Ancient Athens, 5 km southwest of the Acropolis of Athens, on a bay of the Saronic Gulf. The bay is also referred to as "Bay of Phalerum" ( el, Όρμος Φαλήρου '').'' The ...

and it was transferred to Piraeus, distinguishing itself at the

battle of Salamis The Battle of Salamis ( ) was a naval battle fought between an alliance of Greek city-states under Themistocles and the Persian Empire under King Xerxes in 480 BC. It resulted in a decisive victory for the outnumbered Greeks. The battle was ...

between the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

city-states A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...

and the

Persians The Persians are an Iranian ethnic group who comprise over half of the population of Iran. They share a common cultural system and are native speakers of the Persian language as well as of the languages that are closely related to Persian. ...

in 480 BC. In the following years Themistocles initiated the construction of the port and created the ship sheds (''neosoikoi''), while the

Themistoclean Walls The Themistoclean Wall ( el, Θεμιστόκλειον τείχος), named after the Athenian statesman Themistocles, was built in Athens, Greece during the 5th century BC as a result of the Persian Wars and in the hopes of defending against fur ...

were completed in 471 BC, turning Piraeus into a great military and commercial harbour, which served as the permanent navy base for the mighty Athenian fleet.

Late Antiquity and Middle Ages

In the late 4th century BC Piraeus went into a long period of decline; the harbours were only occasionally used for the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

fleet and the city was mostly deserted throughout the

Ottoman occupation of Greece Most of the areas which today are within modern Greece's borders were at some point in the past part of the Ottoman Empire. This period of Ottoman rule in Greece, lasting from the mid-15th century until the successful Greek War of Independence t ...

Present

In 2002 the Piraeus Port Authority (PPA) and the Greek government signed a concession agreement. The Greek government leased the port zone lands, buildings and facilities of Piraeus Port to PPA for 40 years. In 2008 the duration of the concession agreement was modified from 40 to 50 years. With this modification the lease is ending in 2052. Since the

Greek government-debt crisis Greece faced a sovereign debt crisis in the aftermath of the financial crisis of 2007–2008. Widely known in the country as The Crisis ( Greek: Η Κρίση), it reached the populace as a series of sudden reforms and austerity measures that ...

started in late 2009 the Greek government planned to

privatize Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...

several state-owned assets. These assets are believed to be worth around 50 billion euros. One of these assets is the port of Piraeus. The Port is a major employer in the region.

Ownership

The Port of Piraeus is majority owned by

China COSCO Shipping China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited, abbreviated as COSCO Shipping, is a Chinese state-owned multinational conglomerate headquartered in Shanghai. The group is focused on marine transportation services. COSCO Shipping was established in J ...

(the successor of

China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company China Ocean Shipping Company, Limited, formerly China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company, commonly known for its abbreviated name COSCO Group, or simply, COSCO, is a former Chinese Government owned shipping and logistics services supplier compan ...

(COSCO)), the 3rd largest container ship company in the world. In 2003 the port had its

IPO An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

, after which the Port was majority owned by the Greek state (74.5%), while the rest was held by investors. In 2009, Greece leased the to COSCO's subsidiary

COSCO Pacific COSCO Shipping Ports Limited, stylized as COSCO SHIPPING Ports is a Hong Kong listed company and investor in ports. The company is formerly known as COSCO Pacific Limited and was an indirect subsidiary of China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (COSCO ...

for 35 years. COSCO paid 100 million Euros each year as part of this arrangement. "The port's geographic advantages and the quality services offered by us, have helped deliver rapid progress, in a crisis era" said Fu Chengqiu, managing director of Piraeus Container Terminal in 2012. With COSCO's investment, the port had broken their 2006 record of 1.5 million

TEUs The twenty-foot equivalent unit (abbreviated TEU or teu) is an inexact unit of cargo capacity, often used for container ships and container ports.Rowlett, 2004. It is based on the volume of a intermodal container, a standard-sized metal box whic ...

handled by 2011, with dock 2 (COSCO) handling 1.18 million TEUs and Dock 1 (Greek) handling 500,000 TEUs. In 2009 the financial crisis had brought the TEU volume down to 450,000 for the whole port. In 2014 The

Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund The Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund S.A. (HRADF; el, Ταμείο Αξιοποίησης Ιδιωτικής Περιουσίας του Δημοσίου, ''Tameio Axiopoiisis Idiotikis Periousias tou Dimosiou'') or TAIPED ( el, ΤΑΙΠ ...

(HRADF), the Greek government's privatization agency, sought to sell a majority stake of the port to finance debt. In 2016, COSCO bought 51% of the port from the HRADF for 280.5 million Euros. As per an

escrow An escrow is a contractual arrangement in which a third party (the stakeholder or escrow agent) receives and disburses money or property for the primary transacting parties, with the disbursement dependent on conditions agreed to by the transacti ...

, COSCO will pay 88 million more Euros for an additional 16% stake by 2021, contingent on COSCO making certain investments in the port, including passenger and cruise expansions, dredging, and expansion of the car terminal. As of 2020, the Port of Piraeus is majority owned by COSCO with 67% of shares (16% in escrow shares). The

HRADF The Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund S.A. (HRADF; el, Ταμείο Αξιοποίησης Ιδιωτικής Περιουσίας του Δημοσίου, ''Tameio Axiopoiisis Idiotikis Periousias tou Dimosiou'') or TAIPED ( el, ΤΑΙΠ ...

has 7.14% of shares. The rest (25.86%) is held by non-institutional investors. In October of 2021, the HRADF transferred the 16% escrow shares to COSCO. COSCO paid 88 million euros for it, and 11.87 million euros in accrued interest as well as a letter of guarantee of 29 million euros.

Under COSCO ownership

In October 2009 Greece leased docks 2 and 3 from PPA to the

(in short: COSCO) for a 35-year-period. For its presence at the port COSCO is paying 100 million euros every year. Terminal 1 is operated by PPA S.A. and has a capacity of nearly 1 million TEUs. Terminal 2's capacity is 3 million TEUs and is run by ''Piraeus Container Terminal PCT S.A.'', a subsidiary of COSCO. In 2013, PCT finished the construction of Terminal 3 with a capacity of roughly 2.7 million TEU. The total port capacity is 6.7 m TEUs. COSCO's involvement was accompanied by protest. According to trade unionists of PPA, the arrival of COSCO led to reductions in salary and social benefits, exclusion of union members and increased pressures on time and performance at the expense of worker safety. According to an interview in 2012 with Harilaos N. Psaraftis, a professor of maritime transport in Athens, in some cases the salaries of workers were $181,000 a year with overtime before the 20% general pay-cuts imposed on public employees. Due to union safety rules a team of nine people was required to work a

gantry crane A gantry crane is a crane built atop a gantry, which is a structure used to straddle an object or workspace. They can range from enormous "full" gantry cranes, capable of lifting some of the heaviest loads in the world, to small shop cranes, us ...

. COSCO pays around $23,300 and only requires four people at a crane. Economic performance of container handling has greatly improved since 2009. Before COSCO took over, the port's container handling record was at 1.5 million TEUs. These figures rose to 3.692 million containers in 2017. As a result, revenue and profits soared. In 2017 the Athens stock exchange listed company (OLP) almost doubled its pre-tax profits from 11 to 21.2 million euros. The port is also used by Chinese naval vessels assigned to escort merchant vessels against pirate activities along the Somali coast and in the Gulf of Aden since 2008.

Labour relations

In 2012, the Greek government passed a law reducing the pay of all government jobs by 35 to 40 percent. At the time, Piraeus Port Authority (PPA) (the company legally allowed to operate the port) was considered a public company because it was majority held by the Greek State. Consequently, the port was subject to the wage reduction. In 2014 the Greek government sought to sell equity of the port as part of an agreement with the EU to recover from debt. This was met with criticism and resistance by the port's local union as well as a significant part of the Greek population. The Dockworker's union went on strike several times. The push to sell the port stalled while the controlling federal political party changed, but that was short lived. Negotiations between the Greek government and COSCO soon resumed while the resistance to foreign control of the port started to decline. The port is sometimes known as the gateway to Europe due to its location relative to Europe, Asia, and northern Africa. As such, the union wanted to keep the port under Greek control. However, at that point the privatization efforts of the government were inevitable as Greece struggled to raise money to finance debt. The Greek government went ahead with the decision to sell 51 percent of the PPA to COSCO in 2016, and hand over another 16 percent by 2021. Chinese state news agencies report that the negotiation was easy for COSCO because it had already invested more than 300 million Euros into upgrading the container terminals since 2009, and promised to keep investing. COSCO's container terminals had set records for the port at this time. A dockworker, Constantinos Tsourakis, said at the time "This is not a concession, it’s a giveaway of property belonging to the Greek people. Why should China be masters of the game at Piraeus and not the Greek state?" COSCO and the union reached an agreement early on that established work environment concerns, including safety, working hours, and a gantry crane staffing dispute. The 35/40 percent government mandated pay reduction ceased to apply as soon as COSCO owned 51 percent, because PPA was no longer a public company. One of the union's expectations of the investment was that COSCO would up the wages to match what they were before the reduction. However, the wages have been stagnant (as of 2017) since the 2012 reductions. This hasn't sat well with the union, which is currently in negotiations regarding pay. COSCO maintains that they did not reduce the pay of any workers. The union Gen. Secretary, Giorgios Gogos, agrees with that assessment, but says the expectation of COSCO to remove the 35/40 percent reduction remains a problem. He also points out that the 51 percent stake (which will increase to 67 percent in 2021) means that the 100 million dollars that the COSCO subsidiary pays each year to the PPA for use of dock 2 and 3 ends up back in COSCO's hands, not those of the Greek government or people, as originally intended. The Dockworker's Union represents 350 workers in Piraeus and is a member of the General Confederation of Greek Workers (Greek) and a founding member of the

International Dockworkers Council The International Dockworkers Council (IDC) is an association formed by organizations of dockworkers from around the world. The IDC was officially founded on 27 June 2000, in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, ...

(International).

Statistics

With about 18.6 million passengers Piraeus was the busiest passenger port in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

in 2014. Since its

privatization Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...

in 2009 the port's container handling is growing rapidly. Piraeus handled 5.65 million TEUs in 2019 According to Lloyd's list for top 100 container ports in 2015 Piraeus ranked 8th in Europe and 3rd the Mediterranean sea. The port of Piraeus is expected to become the busiest port of the Mediterranean in terms of container traffic by 2019. Piraeus handled 4.9 million

in 2018, an increase of 19,4% compared with 2017 climbing to the number two position of all Mediterranean ports. As of April 2016 the port ranks 39th globally in terms of container capacity. the Port of Piraeus handled 20,121,916 tonnes of

cargo Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including trans ...

and 1,373,138 TEU's making it the busiest

port in

and the largest

container A container is any receptacle or enclosure for holding a product used in storage, packaging, and transportation, including shipping. Things kept inside of a container are protected on several sides by being inside of its structure. The term ...

port in the country and the East Mediterranean Sea Basin. :''* figures in tonnes''

Terminals

Container terminal

The container part of the port is made up of three terminals: * Terminal 1 with a total capacity of 1,1 million TEUs, * Terminal 2 with a total capacity of 3 million TEUs and * Terminal 3, completed in 2016 with a total capacity of roughly 2,7 million TEUs. As of 2021 the total capacity is hence now standing at 8,3m TEUs.

Cargo terminal

The

cargo terminal A container port or container terminal is a facility where cargo containers are transshipped between different transport vehicles, for onward transportation. The transshipment may be between container ships and land vehicles, for example train ...

has a storage area of 180,000 m² and an annual traffic capacity of 25,000,000 tonnes.

Automobile terminal

The Port of Piraeus has two car terminals of approximately 190,000 m², storage capacity of 12,000 cars and a

transshipment Transshipment, trans-shipment or transhipment is the shipment of goods or containers to an intermediate destination, then to another destination. One possible reason for transshipment is to change the means of transport during the journey (e.g. ...

capacity of 670,000 units per year. In 2017 the automobile terminal handled 430,000 automobiles, 100,000 for the local market and 330,000 transhipments.

Passenger terminal

The Port of Piraeus is the largest

passenger A passenger (also abbreviated as pax) is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. The ...

port in

and one of the largest passenger ports in the world. It has a total quay length of 2.8 km and draft of up to 11 m. Vehicle traffic reaches 2.5m while in 2017, passenger traffic reached 15.5m. Total cruise traffic in 2019 was 1,098,091 passengers, compared with 961,632 in 2018, a 14.2% increase. ''Ferry Shipping News'' attributes this significant increase to "PPA SA’s outward focus and dedication to cruise attraction policy coupled with increased demand for cruises in the eastern Mediterranean". About a third of cruise sailings in Piraeus are home ported in Piraeus. In 2018, there were 524 ship arrivals, while there were 622 in 2019. Piraeus Cruise Port has 11 vessel berths, with a total quay length of 2,800 meters. It can dock vessels with a draft of 11 meters. Each berth has environmental/waste services available. PPA operates three cruise terminals, "A", "B", and "C" . Its security is International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS) compliant. Terminal A is the main terminal and is open 24 hours. It is within walking distance of the center of the Municipality of Piraeus. It can handle 1,200 passengers an hour. Two medium-sized ships can check in simultaneously. Terminal B was built in 2013 which can handle mega cruise ships, with a draft up to 11 meters. It has the same amenities as Terminal A; however there is space for 120 tour buses, and it can handle 1500 passengers an hour. Terminal C is the smallest. It was built in 2003, but expanded in 2016. It can handle 700 passengers an hour, and features customs and a check in/departure hall. Free shuttle bus service is offered to bring passengers to the other terminals (to exit/enter the port). For the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, 13 cruise ships were docked in Piraeus to serve as floating hotels. Piraeus consistently ranks in the top-10 cruise destinations in Europe and the Mediterranean. Piraeus has been the top cruise destination in Greece for the tenth consecutive year, beating Santorini, Mykonos, Rhodes, and Crete. In 2019 the port was awarded "Best Cruise Port in the Eastern Mediterranean Region" from MedCruise.

Ferry destinations

A plethora of destinations in Greece can be reached by ferry from the harbour, including islands in the Saronic Gulf, the Cyclades, Crete, islands on the Northern Aegean Sea as well as Rhodes, among others. A full list can be seen ''

here Here is an adverb that means "in, on, or at this place". It may also refer to: Software * Here Technologies, a mapping company * Here WeGo (formerly Here Maps), a mobile app and map website by Here Television * Here TV (formerly "here!"), a TV ...

''.

Transportation links

Piraeus metro station is located next to the port () and is the southern terminus of

Athens Metro The Athens Metro ( el, Μετρό Αθήνας, Metro Athinas, translit-std=iso) is a rapid-transit system in Greece which serves the Athens urban area and parts of East Attica. Line 1 opened as a conventional steam railway in 1869 and electrif ...

Line 1. North of the

metro station A metro station or subway station is a station for a rapid transit system, which as a whole is usually called a "metro" or "subway". A station provides a means for passengers to purchase Train ticket, tickets, board trains, and Emergency eva ...

is the Suburban Railway Station of the Athens Suburban Railway (Proastikos) to Acharnes Junction and other regional destinations as well as Intercity Connections via transfer to Athens Central Railway Station. Free shuttle buses inside the Port run from across the Metro Line 1 Terminal Station, around the north side of the port to the ships sailing for

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

, the Eastern Aegean and the

Dodecanese The Dodecanese (, ; el, Δωδεκάνησα, ''Dodekánisa'' , ) are a group of 15 larger plus 150 smaller Greek islands in the southeastern Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean, off the coast of Turkey's Anatolia, of which 26 are inhabited. ...

. A direct Airport Express bus route X96 runs 24/7 between the port and

Athens International Airport Athens International Airport ''Eleftherios Venizelos'' ( el, Διεθνής Αερολιμένας Αθηνών «Ελευθέριος Βενιζέλος», ''Diethnís Aeroliménas Athinón "Elefthérios Venizélos"''), commonly initialised as ...

. Other public buses connect Piraeus with various other areas such as southern coastal zone and central Athens.

Environment

Piraeus Port Authority's (PPA) 2013 environmental flyer calls itself the "Green Port of the Mediterranean Sea". The port is a member of EcoPorts. It is also

ISO 14001 ISO 14000 is a family of standards related to environmental management that exists to help organizations (a) minimize how their operations (processes, etc.) negatively affect the environment (i.e. cause adverse changes to air, water, or land); (b ...

Certified by

Lloyd's Register Lloyd's Register Group Limited (LR) is a technical and professional services organisation and a maritime classification society, wholly owned by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, a UK charity dedicated to research and education in science and ...

and

Bureau Veritas Bureau Veritas is a French company specialized in testing, inspection and certification founded in 1828. It operates in a variety of sectors, including building and infrastructure (27% of revenue), agri-food and commodities (23% of revenue), ...

. PPA states on its website that it has disposal services for all types of ship-generated waste. The port conducts water quality tests and works with nearby schools. The port has partnered with the

University of Piraeus The University of Piraeus (UniPi; el, Πανεπιστήμιο Πειραιώς, ΠαΠει) is a Greek public university located in Piraeus, Greece with a total of ten academic departments focused mainly on Business Management, Computer science, ...

and

Cardiff University , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...

to implement a sea water quality monitoring program. Bi-annually, the water and sediment throughout the whole port area is sampled and tested. Some parameters measured include pH,

Turbidity Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by large numbers of individual particles that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in air. The measurement of turbidity is a key test of water quality. Fluids can ...

Salinity Salinity () is the saltiness or amount of salt dissolved in a body of water, called saline water (see also soil salinity). It is usually measured in g/L or g/kg (grams of salt per liter/kilogram of water; the latter is dimensionless and equal ...

Biochemical Oxygen Demand Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) is the amount of dissolved oxygen (DO) needed (i.e. demanded) by aerobic biological organisms to break down organic material present in a given water sample at a certain temperature over a specific time period. T ...

(BOD),

Chemical Oxygen Demand In environmental chemistry, the chemical oxygen demand (COD) is an indicative measure of the amount of oxygen that can be consumed by reactions in a measured solution. It is commonly expressed in mass of oxygen consumed over volume of solution whic ...

(COD), E-Coli, Total Coliforms, TDS, and Heavy Metals. For air quality monitoring, the port partnered with the

National Technical University of Athens The National (Metsovian) Technical University of Athens (NTUA; el, Εθνικό Μετσόβιο Πολυτεχνείο, ''National Metsovian Polytechnic''), sometimes known as Athens Polytechnic, is among the oldest higher education institution ...

School of Chemical Engineers. An air quality monitoring station was installed to take measurements of

BTEX In the petroleum refining and petrochemical industries, the initialism BTX refers to mixtures of benzene, toluene, and the three xylene isomers, all of which are aromatic hydrocarbons. The xylene isomers are distinguished by the designations ''or ...

, CO,

NOx In atmospheric chemistry, is shorthand for nitric oxide () and nitrogen dioxide (), the nitrogen oxides that are most relevant for air pollution. These gases contribute to the formation of smog and acid rain, as well as affecting tropos ...

, SO2, O3, and

PM2.5 Particulates – also known as atmospheric aerosol particles, atmospheric particulate matter, particulate matter (PM) or suspended particulate matter (SPM) – are microscopic particles of solid or liquid matter suspended in the air. The ter ...

and

PM10 Particulates – also known as atmospheric aerosol particles, atmospheric particulate matter, particulate matter (PM) or suspended particulate matter (SPM) – are microscopic particles of solid or liquid matter suspended in the air. The te ...

, 24 hours a day. PPA has also collaborated with the

Agricultural University of Athens The Agricultural University of Athens (AUA; el, Γεωπονικό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών) is the third oldest university in Greece. Since 1920, it has made contributions to Greek agricultural and economic development, by conducting ...

to enhance the greenery around the port for aesthetic purposes, as well as to remove pollutants from the air. The purposes of the monitoring initiatives so far has just been for data collection. In 2004 for the Athens Olympic Games, a permanent sewage network was built for the

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "s ...

s that were docked in Piraeus as floating hotels. The sewage travels to the Wastewater Treatment Plant of Athens. This development allows all cruise ships to be able to discharge sewage at the port. PPA is a member of EcoPorts. As part of EcoPorts, the port has been continuously Port Environmental Review System (PERS) certified since 2004. PERS is a standard for port environmental management. One of the requirements of EcoPorts is an environmental management system. The port has an oil and Hazardous and Noxious Substances (HNS) contingency plan. In 2016, PPA was independently tested to make sure pollution levels were within legal limits, which they were. The port is currently looking into

LNG Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled down to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the volu ...

as a bunker fuel, as well as

cold ironing Cold ironing,
Article: Cold-Iron the Ships by Capt. Pawanexh Kohli or shore connection, shore-to-ship power (SSP ...

for the cruise terminals. It is also conducting a Carbon footprint, CO2 footprint assessment. A

green roof A green roof or living roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage ...

was installed on the top of one of the new container terminal buildings.

References

External links

Piraeus Port Authority official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Piraeus Ports and harbours of Greece Buildings and structures in Piraeus Privatization in Greece Economy of Piraeus Autonomous and independent ports