# Port of Piraeus

> Greece's principal seaport and the Eastern Mediterranean's largest container hub, operated by COSCO.

## Record

- Record type: Port
- Canonical page: https://admiralsatlas.com/en/ports/port-of-piraeus/
- Last updated: 2026-08-29
- Country: Greece
- City: Piraeus
- UN/LOCODE: GRPIR
- Evidence: World Port Index characteristics available

## Article

The Port of Piraeus is Greece’s largest port and the main gateway for the country’s passenger and container traffic, located a few kilometers southwest of Athens on the Saronic Gulf.

## From ferry hub to container gateway

Piraeus has long been one of the world’s busiest passenger ports, serving ferry routes to the Greek islands, but its modern significance rests on its container terminal. Chinese state-owned COSCO Shipping acquired a majority stake in the Piraeus Port Authority in 2016 and has since built it into the largest container port in the Eastern Mediterranean, positioned as a gateway between Suez Canal traffic and Central and Eastern European markets — a key node in China’s Belt and Road-linked shipping investments.

## Greek shipping context

Piraeus is also the traditional home of Greece’s shipowning and shipbroking community, which controls one of the largest merchant fleets in the world by tonnage even though much of that fleet rarely calls at Greek ports; see [Greek shipping](greek-shipping).

## Structured port data

```json
{
  "osmInfrastructure": {
    "captured": "2026-08-30T07:24:28.184Z",
    "subject": {
      "type": "port",
      "name": "Piraeus Port",
      "osmUrl": "https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/4094075"
    },
    "features": [
      {
        "type": "passenger port",
        "name": "Passenger Port of Piraeus",
        "osmUrl": "https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/2732591"
      },
      {
        "type": "cruise port",
        "name": "Piraeus Cruise Port",
        "osmUrl": "https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/2731767"
      },
      {
        "type": "ferry terminal",
        "name": "Piraeus Ferry Port",
        "osmUrl": "https://www.openstreetmap.org/node/575362772"
      },
      {
        "type": "dry dock",
        "name": "Μεγάλη Δεξαμενή Βασιλειάδη",
        "osmUrl": "https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/155531859"
      },
      {
        "type": "dry dock",
        "name": "Μικρή Δεξαμενή Βασιλειάδη",
        "osmUrl": "https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/155531861"
      },
      {
        "type": "car terminal",
        "name": "Piraeus Car Terminal",
        "osmUrl": "https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/252604641"
      }
    ]
  },
  "portRoles": [
    "container",
    "general-cargo",
    "roro",
    "ferry",
    "passenger",
    "ship-repair"
  ],
  "portRoleSources": [
    "https://www.olp.gr/en/news/press-releases/high-standards-for-sustainability-en"
  ],
  "updated": "2026-08-29T00:00:00.000Z",
  "harbor": {
    "indexNumber": 42230,
    "sailingDirections": "Pub. 132",
    "chart": "54346",
    "size": "L",
    "type": "Cb",
    "shelter": "E",
    "entranceRestrictions": {
      "other": true
    },
    "depths": {
      "channel": "A",
      "anchorage": "A",
      "cargoPier": "F",
      "oilLngTerminal": "J"
    },
    "maxVessel": "L",
    "goodHoldingGround": true,
    "firstPortOfEntry": true,
    "etaMessage": true,
    "pilotage": {
      "compulsory": true,
      "available": true,
      "advisable": true
    },
    "tugs": {
      "salvage": true,
      "assist": true
    },
    "quarantine": {
      "pratique": true,
      "derattCert": true
    },
    "communications": {
      "telephone": true,
      "telegraph": true,
      "radio": true,
      "radioTelephone": true,
      "air": true,
      "rail": true
    },
    "loadOffload": {
      "wharves": true,
      "medMoor": true
    },
    "medicalFacilities": true,
    "dirtyBallast": true,
    "cranes": {
      "fixed": true,
      "mobile": true,
      "floating": true
    },
    "lifts": {
      "tons50to100": true,
      "tons25to49": true,
      "under25Tons": true
    },
    "services": {
      "longshore": true,
      "electrical": true,
      "steam": true,
      "navEquipRepair": true,
      "electricalRepair": true
    },
    "supplies": {
      "provisions": true,
      "water": true,
      "fuelOil": true,
      "dieselOil": true,
      "deck": true,
      "engine": true
    },
    "repairCode": "A",
    "drydock": "L",
    "railway": "M"
  }
}
```

## Related records

- [Containerization](/en/industry/containerization/index.md)
- [Greek shipping](/en/industry/greek-shipping/index.md)