Piraeus
UN/LOCODE GRPIR · Greece · Europe · I
Crew guide
Shore leave
Piraeus is Greece's principal container + cruise + ferry port, serving Athens. Standard Schengen. Stella Maris Piraeus + Mission to Seafarers coordinate. Piraeus is 20 minutes from central Athens.
Walking distance + transit
The container terminals (COSCO-operated Piraeus Container Terminal on the S/S/W sides of the port) are 20-30 minutes from central Athens by taxi or the Metro Line 1 (electric railway) direct from Piraeus station. Athens International Airport is 45-60 minutes from Piraeus.
Essentials
- ATMs: throughout Piraeus and central Athens
- Money changers: airport + Syntagma Square area + Piraeus
- Hospital: Tzaneio General Hospital of Piraeus, Athens has several major hospitals
- Prayer rooms: Athens Central Mosque (Votanikos) — Greece's first official mosque, opened 2020
- Halal food: growing selection in central Athens (Kypseli district)
- Supermarket: Sklavenitis, AB Vassilopoulos, Lidl
- SIM card: Cosmote, Vodafone, Wind at any airport or central shop
Seafarer tips
Do: take the Metro Line 1 electric railway to central Athens — direct and cheap. Don't: leave the ship without cash for taxis + tips (Greece is still card-shy compared to Northern Europe). Watch for: the Piraeus port area at night can be quiet + unfamiliar; use only registered taxis or Uber.
Last verified: 2026-07-01. Confirm with ship's agent before going ashore — local policy changes.
Piraeus (UN/LOCODE GRPIR) is a designated seaport in Greece (I) in the northern European / African Atlantic region. The port operates on Europe/Athens, uses the Euro (EUR), runs shore power at 230V/50Hz (Type C/F). Nearest major airport for crew changes is Athens Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport (ATH), 29 km from the port.
Reference
- Coordinates
- 37.9333, 23.6167
- Time zone
- Europe/AthensUTC +02:00observes DST
- Local currency
- EUR— Euro
- Languages
- el
- Nearest airport
- ATHAthens Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport~29 km
- Electricity
- 230 V50 Hzplugs C, F(country default — verify at berth)
- Climate
- CsaHot-summer Mediterranean
Country-coastal Köppen zone (most ports cluster on the coast). For port-coordinate resolution use Kottek 2006 0.5° grid.
- Function codes
- 1-------
seaport
- Port authority
- Piraeus Port Authority
Operational details
Compiled from public port-authority and P&I-club directories. Always verify current contacts via your agent before arrival.
P&I correspondents
- · Hill Dickinson Piraeus
- · Holman Fenwick Willan Piraeus
- · Petrofin Marine Piraeus
Port agents
- · Goltens Hellas
- · Inchcape Greece
- · Wallem Greece
ISPS security level (normal): 1
Cosco-operated container terminal; ferry traffic (Aegean); strong winds (Meltemi) Jul-Aug.
Helplines for seafarers in Greece
Welfare, abandonment, wages, medical, mental health, harassment — 24/7 lines where available. See full helplines directory.
- ITF Greece (PNO)Mediterranean · Office hours, 24/7 emergencies · en, el
- ITF Inspector — Piraeus, GreeceEurope · Mon-Fri 9-17 EET · el, en
- ISWAN SeafarerHelpGlobal · 24/7 · en, ar, es, fr
- ISWAN Mental Health & Wellbeing helplineGlobal · 24/7 · en, es, ru, tl
- ITF SeafarersGlobal · 24/7 for emergencies · en
- ISWAN — Family helpline (for relatives of seafarers)Global · 24/7 · en, hi, tl
Other ports in Greece
Survival information
Practical information for crew arriving here. Verified where possible — see sources. Spot a mistake or missing detail? Tell us.
Emergency contacts
- Greece Emergency: 112 · 24/7
- Hellenic Coast Guard — Piraeus Central Port Authority: +30 210 422 6000 · 24/7
- PNO (Panhellenic Seamen's Federation) ITF affiliate: +30 210 411 6610 · business hours
Hospitals / clinics
- Tzaneio General Hospital of Piraeus1 Zanni and Afentouli, Piraeus
Shore leave
Greece (Schengen) rules. Schengen transit C-visa required for non-visa-waiver nationalities. Piraeus is one of the busiest crew-change ports in the Med; agent arranges shore pass. Reference: mfa.gr.
Plan it: /tools/shore-leave-port-card
Transport
Nearest major airport: Athens Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport (ATH (~29 km)). Vessel agent normally arranges taxi or seafarer-centre shuttle to/from the airport at sign-on / sign-off. Confirm transport with the agent at least 24 hours before disembarkation.
SIM & Wi-Fi
Major operators: Cosmote, Vodafone, Nova. Prepaid SIM at any kiosk (periptero) with passport. Free Wi-Fi at Apostleship of the Sea Piraeus + the Greek Seamen's Federation (PNO) office.
Consular contacts
Related rights: shore leave · medical care · abandonment · unpaid wages.
Port-state-control region: paris MoU · how to file a PSC complaint.
Piraeus: seafarer FAQ
- Is shore leave allowed at Piraeus?
- Shore leave at Piraeus: Greece (Schengen) rules. Schengen transit C-visa required for non-visa-waiver nationalities. Piraeus is one of the busiest crew-change ports in the Med; agent arranges shore pass. Reference: mfa.gr.. Shore leave policy is set by the port authority, the flag administration, and the visa regime of Greece. Confirm with the agent before stepping ashore.
- What visa or shore-pass do I need for Piraeus?
- Seafarers calling at Piraeus on a vessel are generally exempt from regular tourist visas under Convention 108 / 185 (Seafarers' Identity Documents) if their flag administration has ratified the convention and they hold an SID. The standard document is the seaman's book + ship's crew list. Greece may also require a shore pass issued by the agent. Confirm before you board the vessel — visa rules vary by nationality and by recent immigration-policy changes.
- Is there a seafarer welfare centre at Piraeus?
- Yes — 2 seafarer welfare centres are listed for Piraeus in our directory. The centres are typically run by the Mission to Seafarers, Stella Maris (Apostleship of the Sea), or a regional ministry, and offer wifi, transport, shop, chaplaincy, and advocacy. Walk-in is normal; no appointment needed.
- Is there a crisis or welfare helpline I can call from Piraeus?
- Yes — 6 helplines are listed for Greece in our directory, plus ISWAN's 24-hour multilingual SeafarerHelp (+44 20 7323 2737) and the ITF Helpline. Helplines handle crisis support, abandonment, wage theft, mental health, and bereavement.
- What's the nearest hospital to Piraeus?
- Most major ports have a port-area hospital with seafarer-accustomed admissions; the welfare centre and the ship's agent can both advise. For serious cases, the nearest international hospital is normally in the same city or the next major city. The nearest major airport is Athens Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport (ATH), about 29 km away — useful for medevac planning.
- Is Piraeus a recognised crew-change port?
- Yes — Piraeus is listed in our directory of recognised crew-change hubs, consolidated from IMO MSC.1/Circ.1636, ICS/IFSMA briefings, and ITF priority-port reports. Recognised hubs typically have better port-state and immigration facilitation for crew-change operations, faster visa processing for seafarers, and more welfare-centre presence.
For the arriving crew
- Pilot ladder (SOLAS V/23) — rigging + inspection + Master's duty of care.
- Pre-arrival checklist — the standard bridge + engine + agent workflow before entering port.
- Ships' agent — role + documentation + interface with pilotage + tug + immigration.
- Currency at port — cash-carrying limits + declaration + safe practices.
- Hours of rest — STCW VIII/1 + MLC A2.3 rest rules during port operations.
Sources & verification (14)
- country_iso3 · ISO 3166-1 (GR)retrieved 2026-05-05
- country_name · ISO 3166-1 (GR)retrieved 2026-05-05
- currency_code · ISO 4217:2015 (EUR)retrieved 2026-05-05
- currency_name · ISO 4217:2015 (EUR)retrieved 2026-05-05
- languages · CIA World Factbook (public domain), national-language listing (GR)retrieved 2026-05-05
- timezone_iana · IANA tz database (Europe/Athens)retrieved 2026-05-05
- timezone_dst · ECMA-402 Intl.DateTimeFormat (computed) (Europe/Athens)retrieved 2026-05-05
- electricity · IEC TR 60083 plug-and-socket standard list (GR)retrieved 2026-05-05
- function_codes_expanded · UNECE Rec. 16 — UN/LOCODE function-code mask (1-------)retrieved 2026-05-05
- timezone_utc_offset · ECMA-402 Intl.DateTimeFormat (computed) (Europe/Athens)retrieved 2026-05-06
- nearest_major_airport · OurAirports (CC0) — davidmegginson.github.io/ourairports-data (ATH)retrieved 2026-05-07
- wikidata_qid · Wikidata SPARQL (P1937 UN/LOCODE join) (Q82310)retrieved 2026-05-07
- port_authority · Wikidata SPARQL (P1937 UN/LOCODE join) (Q109331637)retrieved 2026-05-07
- climate_classification · Kottek et al. 2006 / Beck et al. 2018 — country-coastal Köppen zone (GR)retrieved 2026-05-07
Last verified
High confidenceEditorial confidence: how we grade. Data sources and methodology: /sources.