ATHENS, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- Ship repair activity at Piraeus port, the largest port in Greece, is showing an increase during the first nine months of 2019, despite the temporary suspension of "PIRAEUS I" floating dock operations in this period for scheduled maintenance works, Piraeus Port Authority S.A. (PPA S.A.) said on Friday.
Ships in docks increased by 11 percent and ships under repair in Ship Repair Zone increased by 7.4 percent compared to the same period of 2018, according to the e-mailed press release.
"PIRAEUS I" has been delivered for use and is operating again, PPA S.A. announced.
The floating dock, 202-meter-long with inner width 31 meters, has lifting capacity of 15,000 tons and can serve ships with capacity of 40,000 tons.
"The Management of PPA S.A. gives high priority to the development of ship repair and the attraction of more ships to the Perama Ship Repair Zone, which will contribute to the creation of new jobs," the press release closed.
China's COSCO Shipping acquired a majority stake in PPA S.A. in 2016 after an international tender and has already started changing the port's image.
The Chinese company's subsidiary Piraeus Container Terminal S.A. (PCT) has also managed the port's container terminals since 2009, posting remarkable results.
Earlier this October, the master plan submitted by PPA S.A. was approved by Greek authorities, opening the way for investments amounting to 611.8 million euros (678 million U.S. dollars) at Greece's largest port. (1 euro= 1.11 U.S. dollars)
