Top European container ports in the Mediterranean have same ranking in 2019 led by Piraeus

(total container throughput in 1,000 TEUs and percentage change from 2018): Valencia (Spain) 5,441 (5%); Algeciras (Spain) 5,120 (7.3%); Barcelona (Spain) 3,324 (-2.9%); Le Havre (France) 2,786 (-3.4%); Marsaxlokk (Malta) 2,720 (-17.8%); Genoa (Italy) 2,635 (1%); and Gioia Tauro (Italy) 2,523 (8.4%). Spain three main ports handled a total of 13 million TEUs, while the two main ports of more industrialised Italy had a total of only 5.1 million. A very large part of the container traffic growth in the top Mediterranean ports was from transhipment business: Piraeus and Algeciras are almost pure Mediterranean transhipment hubs, while Valencia and Barcelona combine significant transhipment flows with gateway cargo to the (mainly Spanish) hinterland. As an interesting comparison, the Moroccan transhipment port of Tanger Med handled nearly 4.8 million TEU in 2019, growth of 38% compared to 2018. With the new capacity at its container terminal as of 2019, Tanger Med is challenging the European hubs around the Straits of Gibraltar (Spanish Algeciras, Valencia and Portuguese Sines), and the hubs in the central Mediterranean Sea like Italy’s Gioia Tauro and Cagliari and Malta’s Marsaxlokk. According to the Piraeus Port Authority, the port’s final financial results for 2019 were: revenues of €149.2 million, compared to € 132.9 million in 2018, an increase of €16.3 million or 12.3%; profit before tax was €47.6 million (€42.3 million), an increase of around 12.5%; net profit increased by 27% to €35.4 million (€27.9 million). Copyright (C) PortSEurope. All Rights Reserved. 2020.