Piraeus rises to 4th largest container port in Europe

PortEconomics co-director Theo Notteboom compiled statistics showing the EU container port landscape in 2023, while providing a comprehensive overview of the trends, challenges, and notable developments within the sector in 2023. 

According to the numbers, Piraeus, managed by China’s Cosco Shipping rose to fourth position last year, up from 5th in 2022.

The Greek port showed a growth rate of 2% in the year 2022-2023 with container traffic reaching 5.1 million units. 

“Among the top 15 ports, only Gioia Tauro [Italy], Piraeus [Greece] and Sines [Portugal]  handled more containers in 2023 compared to 2022,” Notteboom highlighted, adding that a high transhipment incidence characteries these three ports. 

Piraeus along with Gdansk, and Sines recorded the biggest traffic gains in the period 2007-2023, while Valencia performed the best among the more long-established container ports. 

The top three European ports in terms of container handling were Rotterdam, Antwerp-Bruges and Hamburg, which remain by far the largest container ports in the region. 

The figures show that all three ports recorded a traffic decline of around 7% in 2023, following a teu drop of over 5% in 2022. 

Overall, the top 15 EU ports combined handled 72.5 million teu in 2023, a decrease of 5.3% compared to 2022. This compares with a 4.2% decline in 2022 and a 5% increase in 2021. 

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Notteboom attributed these decreases to the economic and geopolitical situation, which has impacted container volumes handled.