PPA S.A.: First cruise ship departure of the year at the Port of Piraeus – Historical cruise passenger record achieved in the year 2024
PPA S.A. welcomed the Viking Saturn, the first cruise ship of the new year, to the Port of Piraeus through a special ceremony that included a traditional exchange of plaques and treats for passengers during check-in at the cruise terminal.
The Viking company, which operates homeport cruises throughout the year at Piraeus, is expected to call at Greece’s largest port 41 times in 2025 with 10 of its ships, a significant increase compared to 28 calls with 7 ships in 2024.
Notably, preliminary data highlights record-breaking achievements for cruise passengers in 2024, with more than 1.7 million passengers compared to 1.5 million in 2023. Homeport passengers also exceeded 1 million, up from 800,000 in 2023. The port served 810 cruise ship calls, of which 600 were homeport, compared to 760 in 2023. Additionally, pre-booking data suggests strong momentum for the cruise industry in 2025, with approximately 940 ship arrivals already booked for the year.
The CEO of PPA S.A., Mr. Su Xudong, shared his satisfaction with the significant and steady growth of the cruise sector in Piraeus, highlighting that the port’s strategic location, combined with PPA S.A.’s investments and upgrades to infrastructure and services, are delivering the desired results.
The luxurious Viking Saturn, with a capacity of 930 passengers, is 228 meters long, has 9 decks and is scheduled to call Piraeus five more times this year.
PPA S.A.: Port of Piraeus honored as Ferry Shipping Port of the Year 2024
The Port of Piraeus has once again been recognized for excellence in passenger transport, receiving the prestigious “Ferry Shipping Port of the Year 2024” award at a special ceremony during the European Ferry Shipping Summit.
This award highlights Piraeus’ commitment to strategic development, ongoing investments, and comprehensive modernization, resulting in consistently positive upward trajectory across all sectors of port operations. In particular in recent years, passenger transport is noteworthy, meaning ferry shipping and cruise sector. The port of Piraeus, now serving approximately 20 million passengers annually, is the largest port in Europe and one of the largest in the world. By providing high level services, Piraeus port is acting as a critical transportation hub, connecting mainland Greece with the Aegean islands and Crete, while also functioning as a primary gateway from Europe to its southeastern borders.
The CEO of PPA S.A. Mr. Su Xudong shared his pride in this accomplishment, stating: “At PPA S.A., we are delighted and deeply proud of the continuous recognition the port receives. The dedicated and systematic efforts of our team combined with their extensive experience and expertise are key to Piraeus’ success as a model port, exemplifying efficiency and responsible operations.”
Held in Greece for the first time, this year’s European Ferry Shipping Summit took place in early November, bringing together industry leaders across Europe, with the participation of approximately 200 delegates from almost all European countries. During the conference, a tour was held at the Piraeus Port facilities and were presented the port services at the passenger and cargo piers.
PPA S.A.: Successful transportation of the electric busses through the Port of Piraeus
A total of 140 Ytong electric busses were successfully transported, reaching the Port of Piraeus and efficiently unloaded at the car terminal station for immediate integration into Attica’s urban transport network. PPA’s specialized personnel orchestrated the seamless unloading process of the busses from the car vessel at the car terminal pier ensuring swift transfer to their designated reception areas.
Specifically, the Chairman of PPA S.A. Mr. Yu Zenggang, expressed full satisfaction with the exceptional quality of services provided at the Port of Piraeus, stating that “At PPA S.A. we are proud of the level of services offered, along with the excellent infrastructure and facilities that have transformed the Port of Piraeus into a significant transshipment hub for vehicles, goods, and passengers. In this particular transportation endeavor, we are pleased that the busses transported through our facilities will positively impact citizen’s lives, while contributing to the national environmental protection objectives and addressing the challenges posed by climate change.
PPA SA: First cruise ship of the year arrived at the Port of Piraeus – A large increase in arrivals and passengers
The Management of PPA S.A. welcomed COSTA Deliziosa, the first cruise ship to arrive at the port of Piraeus in the new year, through a special ceremony with exchange of plaques and Christmas treats for all passengers, during their arrival at the Cruise terminal.
The cruise ship COSTA Deliziosa, arrived from Izmir with 2,500 passengers and according to its schedule, continues its trip to Dubrovnik and Italy. COSTA liners’ cruise ships are operating in the port of Piraeus throughout the whole year, having performed 16 calls in 2023, while in 2024, 22 calls are expected based on the pre-bookings data.
It is worth noting that according to preliminary figures, historical records were achieved for cruise passengers, both in total number of passengers, with approximately 1.5 million passengers, compared to 880,000 ones in 2022, as well as in homeport passengers with approximately 800,000 passengers, compared to 380,000 ones in 2022. The number of cruise ships served was 760 and 525 of them were homeport.
In addition, based on the pre-bookings data, the cruise industry at the port of Piraeus sees a momentum also this year, since pre-bookings have been made for 1042 arrivals, with a big increase and an expected new record in homeport arrivals (approximately 800 calls).
PPA’s Chairman Mr. Yu Zenggang welcomes the excellent course of the cruise business at the Port of Piraeus, by highlighting the fact that continuing the dynamic path of the cruise industry is a vital component of PPA’s strategy since it constitutes a beneficial activity for many stakeholders, but mainly for the local community, the neighboring municipalities, the Attica region and also the country overall.
PCT S.A. welcomed in the port of Piraeus, one of the largest container ships in the world
On April 17th, 2023, Piraeus welcomed OOCL SPAIN on its maiden voyage – one of the largest container ships (mega vessels) in the world and the first one of its size that that will be regularly calling at the Terminal’s facilities.
“OOCL SPAIN” – owned by Orient Overseas Container Line, member of COSCO SHIPPING Group – launched in March this year on a round trip that connects Asia with Europe.
On its maiden voyage of 84 days, “OOCL SPAIN” calls at 13 different ports, from China and Southeast Asia to Northwest Europe. The choice of Piraeus as an intermediate transfer station is primarily attributed to the high level of services provided by PCT S.A., in terms of the speed of service of vessels and cargos in transit, the technological superiority of the services offered, as well as the strategic location of Piraeus, which makes it a key hub in maritime freight flows to and from Asia as well as other parts of the world.
With an overall length of 399.9 meters and a molded width of 61.3 meters, the “OOCL SPAIN”, built in 2023, has a nominal container capacity of 24,188 TEUs. The use of the latest intelligent technology on board combined with the acquisition of big data, upgrade the functions of OOCL SPAIN, allowing improvements in fuel efficiency, and long-term navigation safety.
PPA SA: First cruise ship of the year, Viking Sky arrives at the Port of Piraeus
The management team of PPA S.A. welcomes Viking Sky, the first cruise ship to arrive at the port of Piraeus in the new year through a special ceremony for the exchange of plaques and Christmas treats for all passengers during their arrival at the Cruise terminal.
According to Viking Sky’s annual schedule, 12 more additional arrivals (homeport) are expected in 2023 with the passenger occupancy rate to exceed 85%, despite the fact that it just launched in January. Overall, the liners’ cruise ships perform homeport arrivals at the Piraeus port throughout the whole year; in 2023, according to bookings’ data, 35 additional arrivals of the liners cruise ships are expected at the port of Piraeus, indicating a significant growth rate of 13%.
Overall, based on the pre-bookings data, the cruise industry at the port of Piraeus sees a momentum this year, since 786 arrivals with a growth of 16% from previous year are expected. In 2022, the arrivals growth rate has already exceeded the pre-pandemic performance indicators. Moreover, an increase of approximately 5% from last year is also expected in homeport arrivals, while it is worth noting that in 2022 the homeport arrivals saw an increase of more than 30% compared to 2019.
PPA’s Deputy CEO, Capt. Jin Beiyuan, welcomes the dynamic path of the cruise business at the Port of Piraeus, by highlighting the fact that this result is a combination of the consistent and focused work, the significant investments and all the modernization and upgrade works, alongside Greece’s and the port of Piraeus’ undeniable strategic location. Continuing the dynamic path of the cruise industry is a vital component of PPA’s strategy, since it constitutes a win-win activity for all stakeholders, but mainly for the local community, the neighboring municipalities, the Attica region and the country overall.
PPA S.A.: Strong Cruising Growth at the Port of Piraeus
A dynamic cruising season has already kickstarted at the Port of Piraeus, after some of the world’s largest, most advanced and luxurious cruise ships of the leading cruise companies internationally made their debut.
More specifically, in the previous period the ultra-luxury mega yacht “Scenic Eclipse” owned by the Australian Scenic – Luxury Cruises & Tours which is described as the first six-star yacht, as well as the Royal Caribbean mega cruise line “Odyssey of the Seas” which can accommodate up to 5,500 passengers, but also the “Celebrity Beyond”, the newest and most luxurious vessel of Celebrity, with a capacity of up to 3,937 passengers, made their maiden arrival at the Port of Piraeus.
Overall, PPA S.A. is expecting within the fiscal year 2022 the arrival of 750 cruise ships, 66% of which will be homeported at the Port of Piraeus, while arrivals of new companies are also scheduled for 2022.
This dynamic cruising restart is not an accidental event, but the result of the implementation of the strategic growth path of the Port of Piraeus. The new enhanced and modernized Port infrastructure as well as the high-end, quality services provided, backed with the unique geographic location of the largest harbor in Greece have turned the Port of Piraeus into one of the most attractive hub destinations for the cruise industry worldwide.
PPA SA: Green technologies and applications at the Port of Piraeus – Event for the presentation of the European Green C Ports Project in Athens
On the occasion of the Green C Ports Project, PPA S.A. has organized a special hybrid event in collaboration with the ICCS of NTUA, the Municipality of Piraeus, and the companies Glomar and ZEN Travel. At the event, held in Athens Marriott, the first project results were presented concerning the specifications and the installation of the environmental sensor network as well as the implementation of the pilot IT platform at the participant ports.
The event was attended by Cpt. Weng Lin, DCEO of Port of Piraeus, Dr. Evangelos Kyriazopoulos, Secretary General of Ports, Port Policy & Maritime Investments – Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy, Mrs. Antonia Karakatcani, Deputy Mayor οf the Directorate οf Environment and Landscape, Piraeus Municipality, Stefano Campagnolo, Project at CINEA, European Commission.
It is noted that the Green C Ports Project involves the installation of a sensor network measuring environmental and meteorological data (temperature, atmosphere pressure, humidity, air quality, noise, vessel emissions), alongside the implementation of a technological platform for environmental footprint monitoring with real time notifications. The project is implemented in 6 European ports including the Port of Piraeus, while it is considered to be a pioneer in the application of green technologies and applications in European ports. The range of digititalization technologies and tools developed create a new operational framework for ports and can become a reference point to other ports internationally.
In the second part of the event, the project partners presented in detail the pilot actions of the project concerning the installation of sound and air pollution sensors and of data management platforms at participant ports aiming at predicting and notifying noise levels and air quality as well as CO2 emissions at the Port of Piraeus and Valencia. Also, reduction of port traffic and CO2 emissions at the port of Valencia and vessel optimization calls due to bad meteorological conditions at the port of Venice, etc.
The implementation of the Green C Ports project is another key PPA initiative, in the context of the company’s broader holistic corporate strategy framework towards environmental protection and dealing effectively with climate change impacts, through systematic and truly targeted actions to help further driving the development forward and act as a role model in top environmental matters.
Port of Piraeus vehicle logistics goes digital with INFORM
To further expand the strategic importance of its port for the international vehicle trade, the Piraeus Port Authority (PPA) S.A., member of COSCO SHIPPING group, has decided to invest into end-to-end digitization and optimization. The company has awarded a project to the well-known optimization specialist INFORM from Aachen, Germany, to improve the efficiency and transparency of vehicle handling at the port’s car terminal.
In order to continue its growth of recent years and to further expand its strategic position, PPA is implementing an intelligent IT system from INFORM Vehicle Logistics that is designed to enable end-to-end transparency of all processes in the supply chain. Customers, suppliers, 3PL and customs authorities will be able to track via a web portal where and when a car has been delivered. In addition, the algorithms of this system are capable of optimizing the operational processes in the compounds through real-time decisions and advanced planning. Consequently, this system gives PPA the advantage of improving its offered services and the flexibility of planning new business processes.
The system will allow PPA to more effectively use available resources and to continuously improve their processes. In addition, it will allow PPA to increase their capacity to operate their car terminal. Covering over 145,000 square meters, the PPA’s car terminal provides a capacity of over 600,000 movements per year. Located close to the centre of Athens, the Port of Piraeus occupies a geostrategic position for the eastern Mediterranean region. It is also considered an important transit hub for trade between Europe and Asia.
Digital decision making in terminal operations
“Digital decision making for us means both making automated optimized decisions as well as helping our customers’ management to make operational and tactical decisions more easily by providing reliable real-time data,” says Hartmut Haubrich, Director Vehicle Logistics Systems at INFORM. “In the case of PPA, for example, we will automatically generate work orders and optimize the work orders in real-time to ensure that operations are smooth and target dates are met efficiently. In this way, we will increase the service capacity of the terminal, but also the availability and intelligent allocation of storage spaces”.
For the purpose of identifying a suitable system for their project, PPA executives had visited various ports in Europe. Among others, the International Car Operators (ICO) terminals in Zeebrugge, Belgium, where INFORM’s applications have been successfully implemented. Through an open international tender the above system was evaluated as the best one for PPA, thanks to its effectiveness, modularity and innovative design.
As PPA BoD Chairman Mr. Yu Zenggang stated: “Under this new cooperation, PPA targets to increase its Car Terminal’s efficiency and competiveness and to make it more attractive for its customers. We believe that the vehicle logistics system of INFORM can guarantee the successful digital transformation of PPA Car terminal”.
International Award for Green C Ports Project implemented with the participation of the port of Piraeus
The Green C Ports European Project has been awarded the 2020 World Port Sustainability Award of the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) in the ceremony which took place online on June 24, with the participation of port authorities from around the world and representatives of the European Commission and of the project itself. Specifically, Green C Ports was distinguished in the category of “Resilient Infrastructure”.
The Green C Ports, supported by the Connecting Europe Facility program of European Union, is being implemented by twelve transnational partners from four European countries, including Greece, and aims to create a platform for measuring the port’s environmental performance. Through the use of sensors and artificial intelligence technology, this platform will process large volumes of data, allowing monitoring of environmental pollution caused by port facilities and ships in the urban environment, as well as informing authorities and citizens about the main environmental impacts caused by port services.
In order to reduce the environmental impact of the ports, the project partners will study a number of innovative solutions to reduce traffic congestion, improve air quality, reduce noise levels, predict crane productivity and measure in real-time the emissions in the ports of Piraeus, Valencia, Bremen, Venice and Wilhelmshaven.
Responsible partners for the pilot studies in the port of Piraeus are the Research Institute of Communication and Computer Systems (ICCS) of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), the Piraeus Port Authority and the Municipality of Piraeus while the companies Zen Travel Ltd and Global Maritime Agency Ltd participate in the implementation of the pilot activities.
“In the port of Piraeus, two very important pilot actions will be implemented for the project and the city of Piraeus itself, in collaboration with the ICCS of NTUA and the Municipality of Piraeus.The pilot actions include the installation of a network of environmental and meteorological sensors, as well as sensors for measuring noise levels at strategic points within the port by the PPA. Similar sensors will be installed by the Municipality of Piraeus near the port area, while the companies Zen Travel Ltd and Global Maritime Enterprises Ltd will install a set of sensors in a number of trucks and tourist buses, which move in and around the port area”, said Mr. Dimitris Spyrou, project manager of PPA for the Green C Ports project.
Data from all sensors will be collected on the Green C Ports digital platform. From there, with the support of appropriate tools, information will be obtained about the levels and sources of air pollution and noise pollution in the pre-selected port areas, while at the same time, it will be provided the possibility of forecasting the future total pollution in the wider area of the port.
“We are really happy for this important award of Green C Ports, in which ICCS actively participates with the implementation of pilot tests in the port of Piraeus, one of the ten largest European ports, both in terms of freight and passenger volumes. The international recognition which Green C Ports gained proves that our goal of minimizing the environmental footprint caused by ports apart of being a key issue on the new European agenda towards a climate-neutral continent is a global priority and a catalyst for the sustainable development of transport and supply chain sectors. Through the use of digital tools and advanced artificial intelligence technologies, we intend to achieve a transition to an era where the achievement of environmental goals and the development of the port will go hand in hand, for the benefit of institutions, end users and society”, added on the occasion of the award Dr. Angelos Amditis, responsible for the pilot tests in the port of Piraeus and Research Director at the ICCS of NTUA.
World Ports Sustainability Awards & World Ports Sustainability Program
The World Port Sustainability Awards were created to recognize the best projects registered in the IAPH World Port Sustainability Program (WPSP), created in May 2017 with the aim of coordinating the future sustainability efforts of ports around the world and foster international cooperation with supply chain partners, always guided by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA), the European Organization of Sea Ports (ESPO), the International Association of Cities and Ports (AIVP) and the World Association for River Transport Infrastructure (PIANC) are part of this program as strategic partners.
The international initiatives presented to these awards and specifically the winners will undoubtedly serve as inspiration for ports seeking to integrate the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals into their strategy, in their daily activities and in their clusters.
The GREEN C PORTS project is co-financed by the Connecting Europe Facility Programme of the European Union. The consortium consists of twelve partners from four European countries, Greece, Spain, Germany and Italy, including the Port Authority of Piraeus, the Port Authority of Valencia, the Port Authority of Venice, the Municipality of Piraeus, the global maritime organization DBH, , the Institute of Communication and Computer Systems (ICCS) and important maritime organizations such as the Greek Global Maritime Agency and Spanish companies such as the Gas2Move, the Baleària and the VIRA Gas. From Greece, five partners participate in the project; ICCS of NTUA, Port Authority of Piraeus, the Municipality of Piraeus and the companies Zen Travel Ltd and Global Maritime Agency Ltd.