Piraeus port shakes off pandemic impact

Thanks to its strong footing, Piraeus port remains resilient in the face of the unprecedented turmoil caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, said Tassos Vamvakidis, commercial manager at Piraeus Container Terminal (PCT), Cosco Shipping’s Piraeus subsidiary, in an interview with Xinhua.

While such sectors as shipping, transport and supply chains suffered worldwide, Piraeus managed to weather the coronavirus storm in strict compliance with safety rules set by Greek authorities, he said.

Last year, though the port saw a roughly 3% reduction in terms of containers compared to 2019, the lost ground has been recovered.

“Overall, we think we managed well. This has been appreciated by our clients. We have not stopped operating, even one day, because of the pandemic,” Vamvakidis said, adding that everybody at the company felt proud of this achievement.

PCT now needs a new pier – Pier IV, said Vamvakidis, referring to future plans.

“Our activities are getting better and better every day. There are clients who diverted their hubs, and they prefer Piraeus because of that. We need space.”

Once another pier is added, Piraeus’ annual capacity will surpass 10 million TEUs, and the port will move up the rankings from its current fourth place among European container ports, he noted. [Xinhua]