Na faapefea ona avea Piraeus ma Uafu Koneteina lona 5 aupito tele i Europa i lalo ifo o le 15 tausaga
faʻatomuaga
In the early 2000s, the Port of Piraeus was a mid-tier Mediterranean harbor, ranked 93rd among global container ports, and the world’s biggest shipping lines mostly ignored it. It handles around 5 million TEUs a year now, making it one of the five biggest container ports in the European Union. One of the most impressive infrastructure success stories in modern maritime history is the change that took place over the course of about 15 years.
China’s COSCO Shipping Corporation is what made this happen. It started running two of Piraeus’s container terminals in 2009–2010, bought a majority position in the Piraeus Port Authority (PPA) in 2016, and by 2021, it owned 67% of the PPA. After that, there was a lot of investment in infrastructure, modernization of operations, and strategic repositioning that made Piraeus the most important gateway in the eastern Mediterranean and a crucial part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
This essay explains exactly how that happened, including the investment choices, throughput milestones, geopolitical factors, and what Piraeus’s rise means for shippers, logistics companies, and the future of Europe’s container port landscape.
Where Piraeus Started: The Pre-COSCO Baseline
Before 2010, Piraeus was slowly going down. The port wasn’t doing as well as it could have been because of Greece’s economic troubles, old port infrastructure, and a lack of strategic direction. Piraeus was at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa, with natural deep-water access and close proximity to the Suez Canal route. It possessed every geographic advantage possible, but it didn’t have the money or management vision to take advantage of them.
Around 2010, the number of TEUs that went through the port was about 1.5 million. The port was ranked 93rd in the world because it didn’t handle a lot of cargo and didn’t have many intermodal connections. Its cranes were also old and there were problems with unions that made the work environment difficult. Most of the cargo that major shipping companies sent from Asia to Europe went through Northern European centers like Rotterdam, Antwerp, and Hamburg. They almost never stopped in the Mediterranean for mainline calls.
After the 2008 financial crisis, the Greek government was under a lot of financial stress and was seeking for methods to make money and get foreign investment into its infrastructure. The sale of Piraeus would be the most important part of that strategy, and it would change the way containers are moved around Europe in ways that few people expected.
The COSCO Investment: A Strategic Bet on Mediterranean Geography
Piraeus Container Terminal S.A., a subsidiary of COSCO Shipping, was in business from 2009 to 2010. (PCT) won two international bids to run Terminals II and III at Piraeus. This was the first step in a full takeover of port operations. COSCO quickly started improving the existing quays, putting in contemporary ship-to-shore cranes, and building Pier III. This increased both capacity and operational speed at the same time.
The most important event was buying a 51% share in the Piraeus Port Authority in 2016. COSCO bought the whole port authority, not only the container terminals, for about 368.5 million euros. COSCO’s ownership position grew to 67% by 2021, after it met its investment obligations, which totaled over 600 million euros.
The strategic reasoning was evident. China was working on its Belt and Road Initiative, and Piraeus had the quickest sea connection from Chinese manufacturing to European customers. It takes around four days less time and fuel to get cargo from Chinese ports to Piraeus than it does to get it to Rotterdam or Hamburg. Piraeus became the “dragon’s head” of China’s plans to improve its logistics in Europe.
| tulaga maoae | Tausaga | Faamatalaga |
| COSCO wins first terminal concession | 2009-2010 | Terminals II & III management begins |
| Pier III construction completed | 2013 | Significant capacity addition |
| COSCO acquires 51% of PPA | 2016 | Full port authority control |
| Container throughput reaches 3.7M TEU | 2018 | Massive growth from 1.5M in 2010 |
| COSCO stake increases to 67% | 2021 | After fulfilling investment obligations |
| Piraeus reaches 6.2M TEU capacity | 2022 | Global rank rises into top 40 |
| Piraeus peaks at ~5.1M TEU throughput | 2023 | Ranked 4th in EU |
| PPA posts record revenues of €230.9M | 2024 | Despite Red Sea crisis impact |
Infrastructure Transformation: What €600 Million Built
The scale of COSCO’s capital deployment at Piraeus is hard to overestimate. From crane installations to digital operating systems to totally new quays, the port was practically rebuilt from the inside out over a decade and a half. Today, Piraeus has three container terminals with a combined yearly capacity surpassing 7.5 million TEUs — a fivefold increase from the pre-COSCO baseline.
Pier I, controlled by the Piraeus Port Authority directly, handles around 1.0–1.3 million TEUs yearly. Piers II and III, managed by PCT under COSCO management, combined have a declared capacity of 5.7 million TEUs. The port presently boasts multiple deep-water berths capable of accommodating post-Panamax and ultra-large container vessels (ULCVs) surpassing 16,000 TEUs, with a total quay length of nearly 1,150 meters at the container terminals alone.
Beyond containers, Piraeus has developed into a multi-modal logistics hub. The car terminal can accommodate 12,000 vehicles concurrently. The freight terminal handles up to 25 million tonnes annually. The port also became Europe’s largest passenger ferry terminal — a designation reflecting its importance as the entrance to the Greek islands — and has extensive cruise terminal facilities. Ship-to-shore cranes, automated guided vehicles (AGVs), and the proprietary CATOS container management system all represent investments that placed Piraeus operationally in line with top-tier Northern European facilities.
| Infrastructure Category | Pre-COSCO (~2009) | Current Capacity (2024) |
| Fa'ato'a fa'aulu | ~1.5M TEU/year | ~4.8–5.1M TEU/year |
| Container Terminal Capacity | ~1.5M TEU | 7.5–8.3M TEU |
| Global Port Ranking | 93rd | Top 40 i le lalolagi atoa |
| EU Container Port Ranking | Outside top 10 | 5th (2024) |
| Car Terminal Capacity | Limited | 12,000 taavale |
| La'u uta | Limited | 25M tonnes/year |
| Total COSCO Investment | - | ~€600 million |
Throughput Growth: The Numbers Tell the Story
Container throughput is the best way to tell how well a port is doing commercially, and Piraeus’s growth curve is amazing by any metric. According to PortEconomics data, throughput rose from over 1.5 million TEUs in 2010 to 3.7 million TEUs in 2018 and then kept going up to 6.2 million TEUs in 2022, a 284.7% increase since 2007.
In 2023, Piraeus handled almost 5.1 million TEUs, making it the fourth busiest container port in the EU, its highest-ever position, ahead of Valencia and just behind Hamburg. The 2% growth rate in 2022–2023 was impressive because it happened when the top three European ports (Rotterdam, Antwerp-Bruges, and Hamburg) all witnessed reductions of over 7%. This shows how competitive Piraeus is, especially when it comes to transshipment business.
The outlook for 2024 is more complicated. Piraeus saw an 8% drop in TEU volumes, mostly because of the Red Sea crisis, which cut down on Suez Canal traffic and made the Eastern Mediterranean into what one analyst called “a maritime cul-de-sac.” As shipping companies changed their routes around the Cape of Good Hope, transshipment volumes at Piraeus fell. Valencia moved up to 4th place in the EU ranking, pushing Piraeus down to 5th. The PortEconomics ranking only takes into account COSCO-operated Piers II and III, therefore the whole situation is more difficult. When you include in the PPA’s own container terminal, Piraeus’s actual total throughput is higher than Algeciras’s, which is its closest opponent in the rankings.
Even though there were problems with volume, PPA had record-breaking financial results in 2024. The company’s total revenue was up 5% from 2023 to 230.9 million euros. Pre-tax earnings went up 17.4% to 112.9 million euros. Profits after taxes rose 30.8% to 87.4 million euros. For the fourth year in a row, the company’s finances got better. This was due to more business coming from vehicle terminals (up 28.2%), coastal shipping, and cruise activities.
Piraeus as a Transshipment Hub: Gateway, Not Just Destination
One important thing that people frequently miss when they look at Piraeus from the outside is that it is not just an import/export gateway, but also a transshipment hub. Most of the containers that go through COSCO’s Piers II and III are transhipped. This means that they come on big mainline ships from Asia and are then sent to smaller ships that go to Black Sea ports, Adriatic ports, Eastern European markets, and North African ports.
COSCO was first drawn to Piraeus because of this transshipment model. It lets huge ships make just one stop in the Mediterranean, in Piraeus, instead of several, which saves fuel and time on the trip. Feeder networks then move cargo quickly to secondary markets. Piraeus is the main port for places like Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine (before the war), Egypt, Israel, and the rest of the Levant region.
Multimodal rail links have also made it easier for the port to connect to markets in the European interior. The Balkans freight corridor and connections to Central Europe make Piraeus a competitor not only as a Mediterranean transshipment point but also as an alternative gateway to Southeastern and Central European consumers. This is a direct challenge to the dominance of Northern European ports that used to handle that cargo flow.
Geopolitical Dimensions: BRI, NATO, and Washington’s Concerns
Piraeus is not in a geopolitical vacuum. The port’s change by a Chinese state-owned company in a NATO member country has caused a lot of problems with Western officials, especially in Washington. The main worry is simple: COSCO is a Chinese state-owned enterprise, so the Chinese Communist Party has control over it. This could make NATO allies vulnerable in terms of intelligence access, logistics chokepoints, or diplomatic leverage.
The United States put COSCO on its blacklist in 2025 because of national security concerns. This made U.S.-Greece and U.S.-China relations even more complicated at the same time. Greece has been very careful with its diplomacy, using its ties to China to bring in jobs and investment while keeping its promises to NATO and EU members. The Greek government still owns 7.1% of PPA, and the free float is 25%. PPA has been traded on the Athens Stock Exchange since 2003.
The geopolitical aspect is more than just background noise for enterprises. It makes port access less assured, raises the possibility of sanctions, and makes long-term concession security less certain. COSCO’s concession lasts until 2052, which means it can operate for 30 years. However, the changing relationship between the U.S. and China could change the port’s political standing in ways that affect how multinational shippers route their shipments.
What Piraeus Means for China-to-Europe Shippers
Piraeus has become an important routing alternative for enterprises that move goods from China to European markets, especially in Southeastern Europe, the Balkans, and the Eastern Mediterranean. When compared to Northern European ports, the transit time advantage can be four to five days. This means cheaper inventory carrying costs, faster replenishment cycles, and a more responsive supply chain.
Multinational corporations have also set up distribution centers near the port since it is easy to get to growing e-commerce hubs and retail distribution centers in Greece and the surrounding area. After COSCO invested, HP opened a distribution facility in Greece. In 2013, Huawei announced similar intentions that didn’t happen until 2024. This made Piraeus a key part of the global supply chains of tech titans, which further solidified the port’s strategic importance.
Piraeus is no longer just an option for logistics companies working in the China-Europe corridor. It has become the preferred gateway for certain types of cargo flows, especially time-sensitive manufactured goods, consumer electronics, automotive parts, and retail goods going to Southern and Eastern European markets.
Spotlight: Navigating China–Europe Logistics with Topway Shipping
“Topway Shipping, based in Shenzhen, China, has been a professional provider of cross-border e-commerce logistics solutions since 2010. As ports like Piraeus change the way freight moves between Asia and Europe, it’s more important than ever to have a logistics partner with a lot of experience.”
The emergence of Piraeus as the main gateway to the Mediterranean has made things easier and harder for exporters in China. Routing choices that used to go to Northern European ports now need a more detailed look at transit times, feeder connections, how quickly customs clearance happens, and last-mile delivery possibilities in a number of target markets.
The people who started Topway Shipping have more than 15 years of experience in international logistics and customs clearance, with a strong focus on China and the U.S. Transportation is one of their services, but they also serve major ports throughout the world, such as Piraeus and other important European gateways. They can handle all of the logistics from the initial leg of shipping from Chinese factories to overseas warehouses, customs clearance, and last-mile delivery. For shippers looking at the Piraeus route, this kind of integrated service capability, which covers the whole chain from the factory gate in Shenzhen or Guangzhou to the warehouse shelf in Athens or Belgrade, is exactly what makes a port’s strategic advantage a real business opportunity.
Topway Shipping also has flexible full-container-load (FCL) and less-than-container-load (LCL) ocean freight services. This means that both big shippers and small e-commerce sellers can get good deals on shipping. As the Mediterranean route takes more business away from the China-Europe corridor, partnering with logistics partners who know how the port works and how customs work in the area might give you a real edge over your competitors.
Competitive Landscape: Where Piraeus Stands Today
In 2024, Rotterdam and Antwerp-Bruges were still at the top of the European container port hierarchy. The margin between them was less than 300,000 TEUs, the smallest it had ever been. Hamburg was next, followed by Valencia and Piraeus, who traded places depending on how volumes were calculated. Algeciras is now close enough to Piraeus to reach it, especially since Tanger Med (which handled 10.24 million TEUs in 2024, an 18.8% increase from the previous year) is changing the flow of goods in the Western Mediterranean.
The medium-term competitive position of Piraeus depends a lot on two things: how the Red Sea situation is resolved and how business on the Suez Canal route is restored, as well as COSCO’s ongoing investment in growing capacity and enhancing connections. The port wants to be the biggest in Europe, which would mean that TEU growth would have to be in the double digits for several years. For now, that ambition is still only a dream, but COSCO’s infrastructure platform makes it a realistic long-term goal instead of just a wish.
| EU Container Port | 2024 TEU Volume (approx.) | Suiga i lea tausaga ma lea tausaga | Ranking (2024) |
| Rotterdam | ~14.8M TEU | + 4.1% | 1st |
| Antwerp-Bruges | ~14.5M TEU | + 8.1% | 2nd |
| Hamburg | ~8.3M TEU | + 4.5% | 3rd |
| Valencia | ~5.8M TEU | +High single digits | 4th |
| Piraeus (Piers II & III) | ~4.8M TEU | -7.8% | 5th |
| Algeciras | ~4.7M TEU | ~Flat | 6th |
| Gioia Tauro | ~4.0M TEU | +Double-digit | 7th |
Source: PortEconomics.eu, 2025. Note: Piraeus figures reflect COSCO-operated Piers II & III only; full port volumes including PPA terminal are higher.
The Road Ahead: Expansion Plans and Strategic Priorities
Even though the volume at Piraeus Port Authority dropped in 2024, their investment ambitions are still big. The port is moving forward with measures to expand its terminals, improve its intermodal rail links, and grow its cruise and auto terminal operations as new sources of income. COSCO has said in public that it wants to make Piraeus the biggest container port in Europe. To do this, it would have to beat Hamburg and then the Benelux heavyweights.
Digitalization is becoming more and more important. Port community systems, blockchain-based documentation procedures, and container monitoring that works with the Internet of Things (IoT) are all on the list of things to work on. These upgrades are important not only for making operations run more smoothly, but also for making the port more appealing to global shipping lines that are looking at port calls on the Asia-Europe mainline.
There is also an environmental side that is becoming more and more important. European ports are under more and more pressure to go green by installing shore power, LNG bunkering facilities, hydrogen pilot projects, and green shipping corridors. Piraeus’s capacity to attract the next generation of ultra-low-emissions ships will help it stay competitive when the maritime industry changes in the 2030s.
iʻuga
Piraeus went from being the 93rd-best Mediterranean port to Europe’s 5th-largest container hub in less than 15 years. This shows how money, a clear plan, and a good locati0n can all work together to change the flow of trade throughout the world. COSCO’s 600 million euro investment thesis was basically a bet on the geography of the Mediterranean. This bet has paid off a lot, even though geopolitical tensions and the Red Sea situation have made things more unstable.
For shippers, the most important thing to remember is that Piraeus is now a genuine, well-funded, and high-capacity option for transferring goods between Asia and Southern/Eastern Europe. There are significant savings of four to five days in transit time compared to other ports in Northern Europe. The port’s feeder network covers the entire Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea. The drop in throughput in 2024 was mostly due to outside factors, such the Red Sea interruption, and not because the port was structurally weak. As Suez Canal routing returns to normal, some of this drop is likely to be reversed.
Piraeus’s capacity to compete with Rotterdam and Antwerp for the top spots in European port rankings will depend on continued investment, political stability, and how well the port can turn its transshipment volumes into strong multimodal connections. It is clearly clear that the port has permanently changed the center of gravity of European container logistics. This change will affect supply chain strategy for many years to come.
FAQs
Q: Why did COSCO choose Piraeus over other Mediterranean ports?
A: Piraeus was the quickest way for ships from East Asian ports to reach European customers through the Suez Canal. It cut transit time by about four to five days compared to Northern European ports. COSCO’s European logistics plans under the Belt and Road Initiative were best served by Greece’s natural deep-water harbor, its lack of development (which means there is room to grow), and its readiness to privatize during the financial crisis.
Q: Is Piraeus still ranked 5th in Europe in 2025?
A: According to PortEconomics’ 2024 data, Piraeus is the fifth busiest port in the EU for container traffic on its COSCO-operated piers. If you count the overall port volumes, including the PPA’s own terminal, the effective ranking may be greater. The Red Sea crisis produced a short-term drop of 7.8% in 2024, while the port’s long-term trend is still increasing.
Q: How does the Red Sea crisis affect cargo routing through Piraeus?
A: Because of the Red Sea issue, several shipping companies had to change their routes to go around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope instead of using the Suez Canal. This made it such that fewer mainline Asia-Europe ships stopped at Piraeus to transfer goods, which is why the volume went down in 2024. Restoring the Suez Canal route would immediately help the amount of transshipment that goes through Piraeus.
Q: What is COSCO’s ownership stake in Piraeus Port Authority?
A: COSCO Shipping owns 67% of Piraeus Port Authority S.A. (PPA), which was gradually bought up, starting with 51% in 2016 and growing to 67% by 2021 after meeting investment requirements. The Greek government owns 7.1% of the company, and 25% is traded on the Athens Stock Exchange.
Q: Can small and mid-sized businesses access Piraeus routing for China-Europe shipments?
A: Yes. LCL consolidation services and freight forwarders like Topway Shipping make Piraeus-routed freight available to lower cargo quantities, even though large FCL shippers can proceed straight to the port. LCL services combine smaller shipments from Chinese exporters into full container loads. This spreads out the costs fairly and gives firms of all sizes access to Piraeus’s geographic and time advantages.
