Athens  - Hundreds of workers at Greece's largest port, Piraeus, went on strike Friday in opposition to the takeover of the docks by Chinese firm COSCO Pacific.

Workers prevented more than 12,000 containers from being unloaded from cargo ships docked at the port, and traders were unable to move the more than 22,000 tons of goods out of the harbour, reports said.

The strike was called by unions late Thursday and will continue over the weekend.

Workers are threatening further industrial action unless the contract is annulled.

Greece and China signed the 4.3-million-euro (6.32 million dollars) agreement for the new management of the port at the beginning of the year. Under the contract, Pier 2 and 3 of Piraeus' Container Terminal will be under COSCO management for 35 years.

Piraeus is one of the most important ports in the eastern Mediterranean region. The Chinese company plans to make Piraeus the hub of its Chinese exports operation for South-east Europe.

With 2.9 billion euros in trade per year, China is Greece's seventh largest trading partner. (dpa)