Strikes in Athens Force Cruise Ships Diversions

   June 8, 2016 ,   Accidents

Ongoing strikes in the busiest Greek port, Piraeus outside Athens, have forced at least a couple of cruise ships to divert to alternative port and are likely to affect other ships over the next days.

On May 28, Seabourn Odyssey was forced to divert to Port of Lavrion, on the other side of Athens peninsula and more than an hour from the city.

On Saturday, June 4, Celebrity Constellation skipped Piraeus due to absence of dock workers, and instead headed to Turkey. Tomorrow, June 9, Celebrity Reflection is due to overnight in Piraeus.

Port workers are on rolling 48-hour strikes protesting the privatization of Piraeus Port Authority and are due to be on strike until at least June 9, this Thursday.

Talks are due to be held today, June 8, to try and resolve the situation.

A number of cruise ships are due to call at the port, including: MSC Magnifica and Rhapsody of the Seas today; and MSC Orchestra and Celebrity Reflection on Thursday.

Celebrity Cruises confirmed that Celebrity Constellation will be diverted from Piraeus scheduled Saturday (June 4) to Wednesday (June 8).