The prospects of Piraeus: A port city in the 21st century

Piraeus, Greece’s largest port and one of the most important commercial hubs in the Mediterranean, finds itself at a critical juncture as it prepares for the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century. With globalization, technological advancement, and pressures for sustainable development shaping the future of port cities, Piraeus is called upon to redefine its role in an ever-changing international environment.

In this interview, we attempt to explore the prospects of Piraeus as a hub of shipping, cruising, trade, culture, and technology, and to identify the strategies that will ensure its growth as a port city of the future—a port city where its citizens also have a say.

Responding to GeoTrends’ invitation are: Dimitra Vini, pediatrician and representative of the movement “No Port in Piraiki,” Stefanos Milesis, author and President of the Piraeus Literary Society, George Benetos, former President of the Network of Insular Chambers of the European Union, Dimitris Gerles, Vice-President of the Piraeus City Council, and Vasileios Tselentis, emeritus professor at the University of Piraeus and representative of the “Piraiki Observatory.”

– How has the port contributed to the development of the city?

Stefanos Milesis: History answers that question itself. In 1835, when the city of Piraeus was founded, the municipal authorities were involved in the administration of the port. There was a so-called port commission—the people of Piraeus would vote for the mayor and also for the president of the port commission. Every development project of the port benefited the city. This arrangement continued until 1931, when the Piraeus Port Authority (PPA) was established. This was a significant shift: before 1931, it was a city with a port; afterward, it became a port with a city. From then on, the profits of the port were no longer reinvested in the city. And not only that—the inhabitants were cut off from the city’s coastlines. Today, we have a company managing the city’s coasts. While the people of Piraeus should be amphibious, as we always were—living on land but with our gaze toward the sea—that’s no longer the case. How many sailors live in Piraeus today? How many shipping companies are headquartered in the city? Most of them have already left. Where is the renowned maritime center that was supposed to be created? Where is the realization of the promises to transform Piraeus into a maritime city? Who talks about the city of Piraeus anymore? Piraeus is now synonymous with the port.

– Under what terms should a strategic plan for sustainable development be implemented that doesn’t only concern the port but also the city?

George Benetos: Let’s not forget that Piraeus was also an industrial city; it was a workers’ town. The working class helped develop trade, which was also served by the port. Bringing it to the present, we, the entrepreneurs in the city, say that with the creation of PPA, a “Vatican” was created within the city, functioning in competition with it. Since 1931, we have been demanding a better life, better quality of life. The port operated in a way detrimental to the interests of merchants and to citizens’ lives. This led shipping companies to leave the city. Also, transportation options were minimal. The transport network we have today was developed under pressure and not in the right way. Moreover, Piraeus has never been a cruise destination—the destination is Athens. Piraeus has always been left in the dust of both the cruise industry and the port. A series of factors led businesses, industry, and shipping companies to leave the city. When companies leave, people follow, as they can’t find jobs in their own city. That’s why, in recent years, we’ve seen a population decline in Piraeus and neighboring municipalities.

– Even under the new situation, with the COSCO takeover of the port, are the economic opportunities still limited to the Piraeus Port Authority and not the city?

Dimitris Gerles: I can talk about the city’s involvement in the planning done by the port authority. Before the transfer to the multinational company, the city had a significant role in the management, which meant the planning started from the city. Through institutions like the municipality, the Chamber of Commerce, or the Labor Center, there was city participation. When PPA became a corporation—and especially after it was sold to COSCO—the municipal authority didn’t realize that it needed to be involved in the board of the company. Indeed, the opposition raised the issue that the Mayor should have been on PPA’s board. Initially, the Mayor participated as a representative of the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF), then as a private individual. However, the city council has never discussed the relationship between the port and the city. No planning has ever begun in the city council. The Mayor does not inform the council about COSCO’s plans.

– Does the city have the ability to intervene?

Dimitra Vini: Even if it wanted to, it couldn’t. By vetoing certain PPA decisions, for example. COSCO has prepared a traffic study for the city, but the city hasn’t? COSCO regulates traffic in Piraeus.

D.G.: It’s true that the municipality hasn’t prepared its own traffic study.

D.V.: The EU will halt funding for the new cruise terminal if certain conditions aren’t met, many of which were actually raised by the “No Port in Piraiki” movement and the “Piraiki Observatory,” which has existed since 2018. A critical issue, then, is that COSCO has a Traffic Study, but the city does not.

– What if the city develops a Traffic Study that contradicts COSCO’s?

D.V.: Two or three years ago, Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMP) were developed throughout Greece. Who was the consultant for the SUMP? The same person who prepared COSCO’s Traffic Study. I was the only one to vote against the SUMP in all the communities and in the city council. The Traffic Study, that was announced three years ago by the Municipality of Piraeus and the Region of Attica, will be done by the same person.

– You’ve mentioned remedial measures. Could you give examples?

D.V.: One remedial measure would be to channel the cruise tax, which has been imposed, to the community that bears this burden—by planting trees, for example. Piraeus is a concrete jungle, and it’s getting worse. But no—the cruise tax will go elsewhere. And who will speak up? The Mayor, who sits on COSCO’s 11-member board? Nevertheless, there is the “Piraiki Observatory,” which is both a grassroots and scientific initiative that keeps raising the necessary issues.

– How did you react to the port concession given to COSCO by the SYRIZA government?

Vasileios Tselentis: A key question that needs to be answered is what exactly the state is conceding to the port. The case of Piraeus is unique worldwide because we handed the entire port over to a private company. That alone answers the question of what the city will gain from this deal: nothing. A strong and demanding businessman came to Piraeus and wants everything. You can’t argue that this is how the free market works. How free is a market with just one player? Economic experts have shown that such infrastructure should be split into smaller portions, selling up to 10% to different buyers, who would then compete with each other.

The state’s approach of “sell it all”—an approach also applied to other infrastructures—sets the foundation for the relationship between the company and the city. The company does not want the city and does not accept its limitations. All it offers in return is a small fee, some turkeys at Christmas, free tutoring at middle schools, etc.

– You, as the “Piraiki Observatory,” are conducting air pollution measurements in Piraeus and neighboring municipalities. When did you start, and what do the measurements show?

V.T.: We had already started research earlier in collaboration with the University of Piraeus. The “Piraiki Observatory” (PO) began focusing on this issue about a year ago. In two months, we will have a year’s worth of data, especially concerning a very dangerous pollutant: nitrogen oxides. Greece has already been convicted for exceeding pollution levels in the Attica region, including Athens. Although Piraeus has a large population and many activities—industrial, maritime, urban, and traffic—it only has one air pollution monitoring station, located in Agia Triada.

– Is the Municipality of Piraeus supporting your efforts?

V.T.: I believe it was in 2022 when we sent letters to various organizations to inform them of the prevailing situation. The Municipality of Piraeus did not respond. Some responded with various theories, but the municipality didn’t bother.

S.M.: Let’s also point out that COSCO is not fulfilling its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) obligations. It’s now mandatory for companies to develop CSR initiatives. Let’s visit their website to see what their CSR entails. What have they done? How many desks have they bought, how many air conditioners for schools? What have they contributed to the city’s community in which they operate and grow? When a shipping company sets up in London, one of the first things the regulatory authorities investigate is their CSR.

© Kleanthis Mitsioulis

– What do your measurements show about air pollution levels in Piraeus?

V.T.: Air pollution is extremely severe on all levels. You don’t need measurements to realize how polluted Piraeus’ air is. Just sit by the Lion’s statue when a cruise ship has opened its smokestacks, and you’ll see exactly what’s happening.

– However, the PPA’s Master Plan includes provisions for shore power connections at the port for ships.

D.G.: The Master Plan outlines many things, but very few are actually implemented.

– Aren’t they obliged to implement everything outlined in the Master Plan?

V.T.: Take the traffic issue, for instance. The EU, seeing that Piraeus’ traffic would worsen due to the continuous flow of buses transporting cruise passengers, intervenes and suggests using ferries to transport them to Trocadero. This is one of the two critical conditions the EU has set for releasing the funds. The second is that the funds will be withheld if four shore power stations for cruise ships are not built.

– How many cruise ship berths are there?

D.V.: There are currently 11, with plans to add at least two more.

V.T.: Meanwhile, the PPA is receiving EU funds for these studies. A critical point to highlight is that at the European Scientific Symposium on “Air Pollution in Piraeus and Mediterranean Port Cities” in November 2023, it was announced that Piraeus ranked first in air pollution among 14 measured ports.

– Won’t shore power reduce pollution?

D.V.: Let’s not forget that, in Piraeus’ case, the requirement is that electricity comes from renewable energy sources, like solar power. COSCO has a very small solar infrastructure in Ikonio, so the power will have to be brought from far away. They’re even discussing bringing it from Crete.

V.T.: The cost of infrastructure and materials needed for the shore power program will be its Achilles’ heel. I imagine the government is trying to secure EU resources to fulfill the obligations from the Master Plan. However, neither the PPA nor the shipping companies will cover these costs.

D.V.: We attended a related conference with representatives from the PPA, shipowners, Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO), and the Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE). Everyone agreed that this plan is very challenging to implement.

G.B.: It’s important to note that cruise ships aren’t the only contributors to air pollution—ferries also play a significant role. Every ship entering the port should be included in the shore power system.

D.V.: The most unbelievable thing is that cruise ships and ferries seem to be competing to see who can release more exhaust and pollution into Piraeus port.

G.B.: There’s political responsibility here. There’s experience from other ports abroad. What’s happening in Piraeus doesn’t happen anywhere else. People abroad are aware of these issues, and they no longer face the problems we are discussing. They have been resolved, while we are “resolving” them with fines from the EU. At some point, both the citizens and politicians here need to wake up and take action. Abroad, they first agree on environmental issues and then proceed with implementation. In Piraeus, nothing has been solved.

D.V.: We should also highlight the negative role of the port authority, which fails to conduct inspections as it should—unlike Denmark, for instance, where a helicopter flies over ships to check for emissions of pollutants. The port authority is in close cooperation with COSCO. Naturally, the municipality doesn’t react either. It can’t intervene. Let’s look at how the municipalities of Barcelona and Rotterdam operate. The municipality here only spoke up when the EU proposed that cruise passengers be transported by ferries to Trocadero. Only then we did hear the municipal authority object, insisting that the cruise passengers should take buses through Piraeus to shop in the local market.

S.M.: One thing affects the other. When the driving force is “let’s see what happens”—and in Piraeus, the port is the driving force—everything else follows: culture, sustainable development, and more. There are no municipal spaces for cultural expression. Right now, Piraeus artists have no space to exhibit their work. The Municipal Art Gallery, being a landmark building, decided that artworks must pass the judgment of a committee. The same building is used for pre-election speeches. In these cases, the building isn’t “damaged.” This is control over thought. As President of the Philological Society, I can’t satisfy the members. Should we exhibit in a square? At the Lion’s statue? We need permission from another authority.

– Apart from air pollution, the issue of dredging is also crucial.

V.T.: In 2020, the works for the new port began. That’s when the large protests happened, and appeals were filed with the Council of State. This was because the waste was toxic, despite the authorities relying on a study from the Polytechnic University, which used only one factor to prove it wasn’t toxic. However, the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR), the state’s primary advisor on such matters, requires about 15 factors to determine toxicity. Based on this incomplete study, they obtained the necessary permits—and they’re dumping the waste in areas where people fish, between Aegina and Salamina. Now, COSCO considers this waste toxic. The question is: “Now it’s toxic. Wasn’t it back then?” Obviously, it was. So how did you dump it? Something needs to be done. No one is talking about this.

The other issue is with the dredging inside the port. Their logic is that since it’s already polluted, it doesn’t matter. An incredible carelessness on environmental matters.

– Why dredging is dangerous for public health?

V.T.: In the seabed, in the sludge, heavy metals, organic substances, and other dangerous materials stick — these come from ships, industries, and urban activity. Sometimes, they say it’s better to leave them undisturbed rather than stir them up. By stirring, toxicity spreads to even more marine populations.

G.B.: We’re discussing all this for a project that had no reason to be built. The port could already accommodate cruise ships as it was. Keep in mind this: Other cities that receive cruise ships are trying to get rid of them. In contrast, Piraeus is choosing to create more space for them while the city remains without infrastructure. At some point, the people of Piraeus need to realize this.

The entire interview can be watched on the GeoTrends YouTube channel.