In all of Greece, you will hardly find a more impressive location for shipyards than that of Ierissos. An inseparable part of the cultural heritage of the place, and despite the modern era which favored the use of plastic and other materials in boat construction, the remaining shipbuilders are facing difficult economic conditions. None of the remaining shipyards exhibits the intensity and vibrancy of the past. Some of the sheds are on the verge of collapse, and not all facilities are operational. However, the shipbuilding plans remain in the minds and hearts of the shipbuilders, to whom, in the old days, 300 tons of “round” wood (mainly pine) were brought, and they would craft large wooden vessels that could hold up to 250 people!
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More than 100 people were employed in the four major shipyards of Ierissos in the last century, and many families lived in the area from this traditionally Greek activity of transforming wood into a living vessel that challenges the sea.