by Donald Wood
Last updated: 12:45 PM ET, Wed June 8, 2016
Cruise ship operators in Greece are showing concern about the cruise industry due to an ongoing strike by port workers who are protesting the sale of the country's largest port to a Chinese company.
According to Reuters, officials in Greece agreed to sell a 67 percent stake in the Piraeus Port to Chinese shipping company COSCO for an astounding 368.5 million Euros (around $420.4 million) under a third international bailout.
In response, port workers in Greece have conducted 48-hour rolling strikes since late May which have disrupted cargo operations and limited service to the cruise ships docking at the Piraeus Port.
In a report from GreekReporter.com, the strikes have impeded cruise ships from docking at Piraeus Port, and as a result, several cruise lines have cancelled stops at the port and are now stopping in Turkey, Italy or other ports in the area instead.
"We are very worried," Greek cruise ship owners association head Theodoros Kontes told Reuters. "If they keep striking, we are expecting a 10 million euro impact on our business in Piraeus only for June."
The cruise industry is very important to Greece, as it generated 560 million Euros in revenue for the country from an estimated 2.5 million cruise ship passengers in 2015. The cruise sector has grown in Greece following the turmoil in Turkey and Egypt.
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