Piraeus Port – Combining Ancient History With Modern Convenience
From Past To Present
PIRAEUS Port is a natural harbour which originates as far back as 480 BC. It became a great miliary and commercial harbour, serving as a navy base for the mighty Athenian fleet. Unfortunately it has been destroyed, abandoned and rebuilt many times since then due to various wars.
The history behind the growth in strategic importance of the port lies mainly in the late 1800s when Athen became the Greek State capital, and development subsequently followed. The Athens-Piraeus railway line and the Corinth Canal in particular, provided impetus to the port development in later years.
The Port Committee established in 1911 controlled the construction and maintenance of the port, and the management was conducted subsequently by the Port of Piraeus Authority, established in 1930.
The present port of Piraeus, as we know it today, is owned by the state authority, the Piraeus Port Authority (PPA) of which the Chinese state-owned China COSCO Shipping[12] is the majority shareholder. COSCO also operate the port.
It is the chief sea port of Athens, located on the Saronic Gulf on the western coasts of the Aegean Sea, and the largest port in Greece as well as one of the largest in Europe.
The current form of the port took is shape in 2004, after reconstruction works that took place in preparation for the ever-successful Olympic Games of 2004.
Piraeus Port Terminals
The port consist of 4 Terminals : Container Terminal, Cargo Terminal, Automobile Terminal and the Passenger Terminal. It also boasts a Ship Repair zone and a dry dock terminal.
The container part of the port is made up of three terminals:
- Terminal 1 with a total capacity of over 1,m TUEs
- Terminal 2 with a total capacity of million TEUs
- Terminal 3, completed in 2016 with a total capacity of roughly million TEUs
The cargo terminal has a storage area of 180,000 m2 and an annual traffic capacity of 25,000,000 tonnes, operating from the well-organised Logistics Centre
The Port of Piraeus has two car terminals of approximately 190,000 m2, storage capacity of 12,000 cars and a transshipment capacity of 670,000 units per year.
The Port of Piraeus is the largest passenger port in Europe 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. Passenger traffic reaches up to 20 million people annually.
Marina Zeas – Small Craft Harbour
The small craft natural port located near Piraeus Port is known as Marina Zeas, named after an ancient type of grain that used to be cultivated in this area during ancient times. Marina Zeas is also know as Pasalimani. It boasts a lively atmosphere thanks to the plethora of restaurants, bars, cafes and shops it has.
Sightseeing
Three sights of great interest to any traveller, be it a commercial trip or for pleasure, would be the Nautical Museum, the Archaeological Museum of Piraeus and the Municipal Gallery of Piraeus.
Contact Us
The Port of Piraeus remains a true gem of the European ports, and Port of Call Consulting take much pleasure in offering our underwater ship maintenance services to the many passing vessel. Contact us for more information