The port of Piraeus became the Mediterranean’s third largest in terms of container traffic last year, according to a report released by the Piraeus Port Authority S.A. Piraeus Container Terminal (SEP), the local subsidiary of China’s Cosco, handled 2.52 million twenty-foot equivalent units (teu) at terminals II and III in Piraeus in 2013, against an estimate of 2.4 million teu. When that is added to the 644,000 containers handled at Terminal I, operated by Piraeus Port Authority (OLP), Greece’s biggest port handled a total of over 3.16 million containers last year.

Moreover, passenger traffic in the sea cruise sector jumped 11.10%, while passenger traffic in the port of Piraeus fell to 17,669,774 passengers in 2013, from 17,978,728 in 2012, official figures showed. George Anomeritis, chairman and chief executive of Piraeus Port Organization, commenting on the report said that despite a small deviation of figures “the port of Piraeus remains Europe’s largest passenger port and one of the top 10 in container traffic in Europe.” Anomeritis said he expected traffic to move around the same or slightly higher levels this year.