Tourist season a stress test for Greek ports

Piraeus port terminal

Greek island ports are struggling to cope with traffic as the tourist season reaches its peak. Years of insufficient investment in infrastructure has resulted in ports unable to accommodate the number of passengers coming through, much to the frustration of the authorities, the passengers, and coastal shippers.



The problem became more acute this year with the increase in tourist arrivals and the growing competition between ferry companies. This has resulted in major delays at ports such as Paros, Karpathos, Naxos, Santorini, and Rafina when two or three big ships arrive to dock at almost the same time.

According to industry officials, 90 per cent of the Greek ports are facing these problems with no solution in the foreseeable future, due to lack of funding.