By A. Tsimplakis
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The port of Piraeus' goal is to become the biggest container shipper in the Mediterranean by 2019, as it already ranks third on the relevant list, with 3.67 million teu on an annual basis, behind Algeciras in extreme southern Spain, which is first with 4.76 million teu, and Valencia, with 4.72 million teu.
The goal for 2018 is to reach second place, with the push for 2019 being none other than the Mediterranean's biggest container port, according to Anastasios Vamvakidis, the commercial manager of the Piraeus Container Terminal (PCT).
Speaking to a maritime forum hosted by the International Propeller Club, Vamvakidis essentially confirmed the intent of Chinese multinational Cosco, which controls PCT and the entire Piraeus Port Authority (OLP), to increase competition for a bigger share of the wider region's container traffic.
Next up for the Shanghai-based group is the establishment of a 12-hectare logistics center within OLP to further boost Piraeus' lure as the southeast gateway into the EU, complete with a direct rail line linking Greece's biggest and busiest port to the rest of Europe.
