Ports are essential for the international distribution of goods – global trade would be inconceivable without the major container ports. We present the most important European seaports according to their annual container throughput.
WHICH FACTORS ARE DECISIVE FOR THE RANKING
The most important tool for comparing the (economic) importance of container ports is container throughput. For this summary of the largest ports in Europe, the annual volumes of this container throughput were therefore used.
The RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index
However, there are other ways of classifying this. The RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research (formerly the Rhenish-Westphalian Institute for Economic Research) records developments in global container throughput using the RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index, for example. This is based on the figures that are continuously collected in 94 international ports as part of the ISL Monthly Port Monitor.
The data collected in this way – which covers over 60 percent of international container handling – allows conclusions to be drawn about current developments in global trade. The results of the index are given in points.
The North Range Index
In addition to the internationally valid RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index, the North Range Index provides information on import and export developments. However, it only includes the most important continental European ports on the North Sea.
The container ports of Antwerp, Rotterdam, Bremerhaven and Hamburg are taken into account. The handling figures for other ports can also be included in the index, including Le Havre, Zeebrugge, Amsterdam, Wilhelmshaven, Dunkirk and Gothenburg.
The North Range Index is so meaningful because around 80 percent of European imports and exports pass through these few ports.
Nevertheless, it is easier to compare the individual container ports if the direct container handling figures are used. The data for the ranking comes from Port Economics (as at April 2023).
WHAT DOES THE UNIT “TEU” MEAN?
The abbreviation TEU stands for “Twenty Foot Equivalent Unit” and refers to the standard container size of 20 feet. The figures in the ranking therefore provide information on how many of these standard containers were handled in the respective ports over the course of the year.
RANKS 15 TO 4 OF THE LARGEST EUROPEAN CONTAINER PORTS
Fifteen container ports have made it into the ranking for 2022. With a few exceptions and changes in position, the list is nominally the same as in previous years. This applies in particular to the top positions, which are well ahead of the other ports in terms of handling volume.
Again, this does not mean that there are no surprises. However, some of these will probably only become more concrete in the future. This is because there is some competition on the horizon for ports that handle between 1.5 and 2.5 million TEU per year.
Ports such as La Spezia, Koper and Klaipeda are now also handling more than 1 million TEU, while other ports such as Gothenburg, Gdynia, Dublin and Trieste continue to catch up. It is therefore not unlikely that the top 15 European container ports will become more dynamic in the coming years.
15th place: Marseille | 1.53 million TEU
The port of Marseille looks back on a long tradition. The foundation stone for today’s Europort was laid in 1844 to replace the Vieux Port (Old Port), which had existed since ancient times. The new port was intended to provide better connections for shipping on the Mediterranean and the Rhone.
It is made up of various facilities; containers and oil are mainly handled via the Port-de-Fos. Marseille is one of the most important ports in the Mediterranean, although there is strong competition from the comparatively nearby ports of Valencia, Barcelona, Genoa and Giaio Tauro. In France, the Europort of Marseille is the largest seaport.
14th place: Sines | 1.66 million TEU
Portugal’s largest container port is located south of Lisbon in Sines. The deep-sea port is to be significantly expanded in the near future, with investments running into billions. The planned expansions include an expansion of the existing Terminal 21 and the construction of another terminal, which is to be named after the city’s most famous son, Vasco da Gama.
The new facilities should be able to handle more ships and make the port of Sines internationally competitive. This also includes plans to equip the Vasco da Gama terminal with the infrastructure for handling liquefied natural gas (LNG). In addition, a logistics center is being set up in Sines, which would make the port the main transshipment point for fruit from Brazil in the Mediterranean.
13th place: Gdansk | 2.07 million TEU
Gdansk has the largest port in Poland and one of the most important container ports in the Baltic Sea region. As the easternmost ice-free deep-sea port in Europe, it plays an important role in connecting the Scandinavian countries with Southern and Central Europe (Transport Corridor No. 6) and could expand its position even further.
This is partly due to the strong growth in crude oil handling and the planned expansion of capacity by 50 percent by 2025. A new terminal (Terminal 3) is currently being built for this purpose, while Terminals 1 and 2 are being renovated.
12th place: Genoa | 2.8 million TEU
The container port of Genoa benefits from its excellent logistical connections, in particular the highway and rail links and the airport located in the port basin. Italy’s largest seaport in terms of area is to be further expanded in order to be able to handle larger container ships. New transport connections are also intended to improve the transportation of goods from Genoa to northern Alpine Europe.
11th place: Marsaxlokk | 2.89 million TEU
Like almost all Mediterranean ports, the port of the Maltese municipality of Marsaxlokk can look back on a long history. It is not only known for its colorful, traditional fishing boats. The container port is also the second largest on the island and one of the most important in the Mediterranean.
10th place: Le Havre-Rouen | 3.1 million TEU
The port of Le Havre is part of the HAROPA PORT network, together with the ports of Rouen and Paris. Together they form the fifth largest port for Northern Europe, and the container port of Le Havre alone handles more than half of all containers for the whole of France. Like many other container ports, the northern French seaport is being redesigned to be able to handle mega-carriers with a capacity of up to 24,000 TEU in the future.
9th place: Gioia Tauro | 3.37 million TEU
Italy’s largest seaport is now located at the “tip of the boot”: The port of Gioia Tauro was only opened in 1995 and has developed into one of the most important container ports in the Mediterranean thanks to its favorable location between Gibraltar and the Suez Canal. The port also acts as a transshipment hub on this route.
8th place: Barcelona | 3.52 million TEU
The Port de Barcelona covers an area of around 20 km2 and the entire facility comprises 35 terminals with special functions – from ferry operations and cruises to the four container terminals. There are also transshipment points for tropical fruit, cocoa, coffee, non-ferrous metals, refrigerated goods and new terminals for liquids, bulk goods and liquid gas.
The resulting throughput makes the port of Barcelona the third largest in Spain.
7th place: Bremerhaven | 4.57 million TEU
The container terminal in Bremerhaven is one of a total of eight ports in Bremen and, by comparison, the largest facility in the federal state. It was built in 1968 and the container port has been in operation since 1971.
With a quay length of 5 km, the container terminal is one of the largest contiguous facilities of its kind in the world. It is the second largest container port in Germany after Hamburg.
6th place: Algeciras | 4.76 million TEU
At the southern tip of Spain, directly on the Strait of Gibraltar, lies Algeciras, the second largest container port in Spain. The facility owes its importance not least to the busy east-west shipping route that runs past the port.
While Algeciras only just missed out on the top 5 in Europe in 2022, the port of Tangier on the Moroccan side of the Strait of Gibraltar is a strong competitor for container handling in this region.
5th place: Piraeus | 5 million TEU
Greece’s largest seaport has a long history, as the beginnings of the port of Piraeus date back to the 5th century BC – when the port for nearby Athens was built here. The seaport is historically and economically significant.
This circumstance is also likely to have been a decisive factor for the Chinese company COSCO to invest in the port of Piraeus: The group has been a leaseholder alongside the original operating company since 2009, and in 2016 COSCO acquired 51% and therefore a majority stake in the Greek seaport.
4th place: Valencia | 5.08 million TEU
In the Mediterranean region and in Spain, the port of Valencia maintained its leading position in 2022. With investments of around one billion euros by the Swiss MSC subsidiary Terminal Investment Limited, capacities are to be expanded by an additional fourth terminal. In addition to further berths, the plans for the new facility also include a rail terminal.
| CONTAINER THROUGHPUT OF THE LARGEST EUROPEAN SEAPORTS IN 2022 | ||
| Place | Port | Container throughput
(in million TEU) |
| 1 | Rotterdam | 14,46 |
| 2 | Antwerp – Bruges | 13,48 |
| 3 | Hamburg | 8,27 |
| 4 | Valencia | 5,08 |
| 5 | Piraeus | 5 |
| 6 | Algeciras | 4,76 |
| 7 | Bremerhaven | 4,57 |
| 8 | Barcelona | 3,52 |
| 9 | Gioia Tauro | 3,37 |
| 10 | HAROPA (Le Havre – Rouen – Paris) | 3,1 |
| 11 | Marsaxlokk | 2,89 |
| 12 | Genoa | 2,8 |
| 13 | Gdansk | 2,07 |
| 14 | Sines | 1,66 |
| 15 | Marseille | 1,53 |
THE TOP 3 EUROPEAN CONTAINER PORTS
Europe’s three largest seaports are truly in a class of their own when it comes to the differences in annual handling volumes compared to the other ports: In 2022, Rotterdam handled just over 9 million TEU more than the fourth-placed port of Valencia.
3rd place: Hamburg | 8.27 million TEU
The Port of Hamburg remains undisputedly the largest in Germany, and the handling figures of its four container terminals even make it one of the largest ports in the world. Although plans to expand the facilities with new container terminals have been in place for several years, they are not a priority due to the fluctuating throughput of goods.
The involvement of a COSCO subsidiary could bring a new boost in the form of additional cargo. After all, China is the Port of Hamburg’s largest trading partner, accounting for around 30 percent of goods that are shipped to or come from China.
2nd place: Antwerp-Bruges | 13.48 million TEU
Since 2022, the ports of Antwerp and Zeebrugge have merged, consolidating the seaport’s second place in Europe and closing the gap on Rotterdam in terms of throughput figures. Its economic importance is due to its favorable location: five European capitals and the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region are within a radius of 250 km.
Like Hamburg, Antwerp is also not a “real” seaport; the dock port is located around 80 km inland at the mouth of the Scheldt. However, thanks to the world’s largest dock lock, even large container ships can land here without any problems.
1st place: Rotterdam | 14.46 million TEU
Even though the merger has enabled Antwerp-Zeebrugge to catch up with the Port of Rotterdam, the Dutch port in the Rhine-Meuse delta remains number one in Europe. Thanks to its location on one of the world’s busiest waterways, the seaport is a significant economic factor not only for the Netherlands, but for the whole of Europe: in 2021, the port’s turnover alone will account for around 8 percent of the Netherlands’ gross domestic product.
This is why the port, whose area stretches around 40 km from the city center to the Hoek of Holland and covers over 100 km2, is to be further expanded. For example, deepenings are planned for the Nieuwe Waterweg and Botlek to improve accessibility for large ships. By mid-2024, the Masvlakte II container terminal is also to be extended by new quay walls with a length of around 1,000 m – for an estimated increase in capacity of around 2 million TEU.
Although there has been an overall decline in handling figures at European seaports in recent years, demand remains so high that many of these ports are planning or already implementing such expansions.
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