Cosco controls Greece’s largest port

Athens Work was suspended almost everywhere in Greece on Friday. It was national holiday. But the port of Piraeus was busy. Ten container ships were docked at the three piers, as well as two large car transporters with thousands of vehicles. While the cargo was being handled, the next two container ships in the Saronic Gulf were already heading for the port, the “Cosco Bohai Sea” and the “Cosco Jupiter”.

Both ships fly the flag of Hong Kong. But Piraeus is a kind of second home port for them. Because the China Ocean Shipping Company, Cosco for short, controls the operating company Piraeus Port Authority (PPA) and manages the port.

What is still to come in Hamburg, provided that Cosco accepts the conditions of the federal government, has long been reality in Greece’s largest port. And unlike the minority stake of 24.9 percent approved by the federal cabinet on Wednesday, Cosco even holds two-thirds of the shares in Piraeus.