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Piraeus, Rafina, Lavrio: 24-Hour Seafarers' Strike on 30 Oct

Greek seafarers' union PENEN has called a 24-hour strike at Attica's ports on Friday 30 October 2026. What it means for Turkey-island ferries and Piraeus links.

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Update 29 Oct: The strike now covers seven locations (including Elefsina and Rio–Antirrio), and Blue Star has published its overnight sailing times to the Dodecanese and North Aegean. Details: 30 Oct ferry strike: overnight sailings and seven ports. Also as of the morning of 29 October: the PNO federation’s website still shows no strike call, and we found no report of a court ruling against the strike. Sailings to Crete move to the night: ANEK’s Ariadne (to Heraklion) and Elyros (to Chania) and Minoan Lines’ Kydon Palace (to Heraklion) leave Piraeus at 23:00 on Friday (Creta24, 27 October; Alpha Free Press, 28 October). Seajets is not running several Friday departures, including Superjet 2 (07:40) and Eurochampion Jet (09:30) from Piraeus and Superstar (16:30) from Rafina (Naxos Times, 27 October). All times are Greek time; Turkey is one hour ahead. No source reports any effect on crossings between the islands and Turkey.

Update 24 Oct: The marine engineers’ union PEMEN and the engine-room crew union “O Stefenson” have published the exact hours in a joint announcement: from 00:01 to 24:00 on Friday 30 October, on all categories of ships at Piraeus, Rafina, Lavrio, Patras and Igoumenitsa. The seafarers’ federation PNO has not called a nationwide strike: we found no strike announcement on its website, and the two unions criticise its leadership for not answering their call. As of 24 October we found no report of a court ruling against the strike. According to e-Nautilia (24 October), Blue Star Ferries’ morning departures from Piraeus to the Cyclades on 30 October are cancelled (Blue Star 1 at 07:25, Blue Star Paros at 07:30), and several ships are listed to leave Piraeus late on Friday evening, including Blue Star Myconos at 23:00 (calling at Karlovasi, Vathy, Chios, Mytilene and Lemnos) and Nisos Samos at 23:59 (Chios at 09:50 and Mytilene at 13:50 on Saturday). These times fall before the 24:00 end given by the unions, so confirm them with the company. No cancellations had been confirmed for Rafina. Ferries between the Turkish coast and the islands remain unaffected.

PENEN, a Greek union representing merchant seafarers, has called a 24-hour strike covering all categories of ships at the ports of Attica on Friday 30 October 2026. The strike covers Piraeus, Rafina and Lavrio, and the marine engineers’ union PEMEN is joining on the same day. Ferries from the Turkish coast to the islands do not use these ports, but if you plan to continue from an island to Athens by ferry, sailings that day may be disrupted.

What happened?

  • Date: Friday 30 October 2026, 24 hours, from 00:01 to 24:00 according to the joint PEMEN and “O Stefenson” announcement (published 21 October, checked 24 October). PENEN’s own announcement gives no hours.
  • Who: On 1 October PENEN (the Greek merchant seafarers’ union) called a 24-hour strike “across Attica, in all categories of ships”. According to Cyclades24 on 12 October, the engineers’ union PEMEN is also taking part and the strike covers the ports of Piraeus, Rafina and Lavrio. The PEMEN and “O Stefenson” decision also covers the ports of Patras and Igoumenitsa.
  • Dockworkers: CNN Greece reported on 20 October that dockworkers and other trades in Piraeus will also hold a 24-hour strike or work stoppages that day. The strike is linked to an international day of action by port workers at more than 100 ports worldwide.
  • No nationwide strike: Greece’s seafarers’ federation, PNO, was asked to call a nationwide strike. As of 24 October it had not done so: its website shows no strike announcement, and in their joint announcement PEMEN and “O Stefenson” criticise the PNO leadership for not responding. Ports outside the five named above are therefore not covered by this strike.
  • Court ruling: As of 24 October we found no report that a court has ruled the strike illegal.

Company changes (as of 24 October): e-Nautilia reported cancellations of the Blue Star 1 (07:25) and Blue Star Paros (07:30) morning departures from Piraeus on 30 October, and Friday evening departures for Blue Star Naxos (23:30), Blue Star Myconos (23:00), Blue Star Chios (23:00, to Rhodes) and Nisos Samos (23:59). RafinaNews wrote that no cancellations had been confirmed at Rafina. We could not find a notice for 30 October on the Blue Star Ferries or Hellenic Seaways websites, or from Seajets or Minoan Lines. Check with your company, as further changes are possible.

What it means for travellers

  • Taking a ferry from Turkey to an island: routes such as Ayvalik-Lesbos, Çeşme-Chios, Kusadasi-Samos, Bodrum-Kos, Marmaris-Rhodes and Kas-Kastellorizo do not use Attica’s ports and are not named in the strike call. Winter sailings on these routes are collected in our winter timetable article.
  • Going on to Piraeus from an island: if you plan to continue by ferry from Lesbos, Chios or Samos to Athens, check any tickets between 29 and 31 October. The strike directly affects departures from Piraeus; how sailings arriving at Piraeus are affected depends on what the companies announce. Watch for an SMS or email from your ferry company and check its website before you go to the port.
  • If your sailing is cancelled: under EU Regulation 1177/2010 you can choose between a refund within 7 days and re-routing to your destination at no extra cost, and the company must offer meals and, if you have to stay overnight, accommodation (it may cap this at 80 euros a night for up to 3 nights), according to the EU’s Your Europe page. The regulation counts labour conflicts as extraordinary circumstances, so the company can refuse the separate compensation for late arrival if it shows the disruption could not have been avoided.
  • For Turkish passport holders on the visa on arrival: this visa, available only to Turkish citizens, is valid only on the island of entry and does not allow onward travel to Athens, so these travellers are not directly affected. Details are in our visa on arrival guide.
  • Planning a return via Chios: Chios airport closes on 15 November, so over the winter the island will only be reachable by sea (our report). 30 October falls before that period, so flights from the island are still an option that day.
  • 28 October holiday: 28 October is a public holiday in Greece (Ohi Day). If your plans between 28 and 30 October involve Athens, allow for both the holiday and the strike day.

For the islands themselves, see our Chios and Lesbos guides, and for island-to-island and onward routes, our island hopping from Turkey guide.

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Before you go

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Where to stay, island by island

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