Greek transport network in chaos

Freight and shipping to and from Greece has been severely disrupted by the 48 hour general strike which began on Tuesday.  Thousands of protesters took part in the strike, including port staff, air traffic controllers, rail workers, hauliers and seafarers.

The port of Piraeus near Athens links most of the Greek islands with the mainland.  The blockade of this port by protesters means that the supplies usually carried by freight lorries on the ferries must be getting low.

The strike was an attempt to force the government of Greece not to accept the austerity programme imposed on them by the EU, but the Greek parliament voted yesterday to accept the programme.

However, the civil situation in Greece remains extremely unstable with a very unpredictable outcome for exports and imports to the country.