PRESS RELEASE
Regarding reports on “air pollution” at the Port of Piraeus
23 September 2025. In light of recent reports concerning air quality in the Piraeus area, PPA (Piraeus Port Authority S.A.) responsibly provides the following clarifications:
PPA implements a comprehensive air quality monitoring program throughout its entire area of responsibility. Specifically, within the port operates a network of five (5) certified stations for continuous (24/7) recording of air quality, equipped with calibrated measuring instruments, located at key points of the Passenger Shipping, Cruise, and Commercial Port areas. This program is implemented and evaluated in cooperation with reputable academic institutions.
The results of the monitoring program are submitted annually to the competent authority of the Ministry of Environment and Energy and are published through the annual environmental report, which is available on the PPA S.A. website. According to official data, the burden referred to in the relevant reports is not substantiated. It is further noted that the specific measurement locations are not identified, and therefore it cannot be demonstrated that the reported results concern exclusively the port area.
It should be emphasized that the Port of Piraeus is in direct proximity to the urban fabric, which creates an interaction between the city and the port in terms of air quality. In this context, PPA has conducted pollutant dispersion studies in cooperation with the National Technical University of Athens, which do not confirm the claims presented in the article. For a comprehensive assessment, the monitoring data produced by the Municipality and the Region of Attica should also be taken into account.
PPA highlights that, according to its available measurement records, the conclusions of the publication are not confirmed. Furthermore, for such data to be considered valid, they must be produced with certified instruments and methodologies as required by national and European legislation.
At the same time, PPA invests in projects that will substantially contribute to reducing atmospheric load. It is already in the process of implementing shore-side electricity supply projects (Cold Ironing/OPS), in line with European directives. The Company has actively participated in the EALING and CIPORT programs, through which technical, environmental, and economic studies, engineering designs, and Cost-Benefit Analyses were completed for the installation of OPS infrastructure.
- Under the EALING project, final studies and engineering designs were prepared for the development of OPS technology at five berthing positions at the Passenger Terminal of the Port of Piraeus (at “Perikleous”, “Hetionia” and “Poseidonos” quays).
- The CIPORT project included, among other things, technical and environmental studies for the installation of OPS at four cruise ship berths.
The implementation of these projects, which will build upon the completed studies and results, also depends on the capacity of the national electricity grid to meet the increased demand for supplying ships.
PPA remains committed to safeguarding environmental protection and applying the highest European standards, actively contributing to the improvement of quality of life in Piraeus.
