Cosco: Container Traffic Decline at Piraeus Port Continues

In June, Piraeus Port, Greece’s largest maritime hub managed by Cosco Shipping Ports, faced a persistent decline in container traffic, marking yet another setback for its operations.

The port recorded a 10.1% decrease in containers for the month, contributing to a broader 12.9% downturn for the first half of the year.

Meanwhile, Cosco-managed terminals in Spain, including Valencia and Bilbao under COSCO SHIPPING Ports (Spain) Terminals, experienced a contrasting trend with a significant 31% increase in June and a 13.2% rise for the first six months of 2024.

Specifically, the two terminals at Piraeus handled 366.5 thousand TEUs in June, down from 407.6 thousand a year ago, while processing 1,958.1 million TEUs for the first half of the year compared to 2,248.2 million TEUs in the same period last year.

In Spain, Cosco managed 344.2 thousand TEUs in June, up from 262.8 thousand the previous year, and handled 1,747.5 thousand TEUs in the first half of 2024, compared to 1,543.2 thousand in the first half of 2023.

The decline at Piraeus is influenced by challenges in global shipping routes through the Red Sea, where Houthi rebel attacks have redirected major shipping companies to circumvent the Red Sea and Suez Canal on routes from Asia to Europe, opting instead for the longer journey around Africa.

This strategic shift has diminished Piraeus’s standing as a prominent Mediterranean port and a key transshipment hub post-Suez Canal.