The independent container terminal at the port of Piraeus broke the one-million unit barrier in the first quarter of 2018, a development that coincides with the operation of a new floating dock by the Cosco-managed Piraeus Port Authority (PPA) the Piraeus III.
By L. Karageorgos
The independent container terminal at the port of Piraeus broke the one-million unit barrier in the first quarter of 2018, a development that coincides with the operation of a new floating dock by the Cosco-managed Piraeus Port Authority (PPA) the Piraeus III.
Both entities are managed by Chinese multinational Cosco, with the latter owning a majority of PPA's shares.
Although the PPA is has not revealed official figures as yet, given that it is a listed company on the Athens Stock Exchange, unofficial reports also point to record-breaking cargo traffic in the first three months of 2018.
Roughly 4.15 million containers passed through the port of Piraeus in 2017, up by 195 percent compared to a decade ago, 2007. The performance landed Piraeus in seventh place among European Mediterranean ports and third in the Mediterranean.
According to figures supplied by Cosco Shipping Ports, the Piraeus Container Terminal handled 1.001.400 teu in the first quarter of 2018, up from 833.900 Teu in the same period of 2017, an increase of 20,1 percent.
In March 2018 alone, the figure was 347.400 Teu, up from 287.400 Teu in March 2017.
The performance makes the Piraeus Container Terminal Cosco's top overseas facility in terms of cargo transport, after Busan Port Terminal Co.