Containerization

Libra Group exited the container shipping market this week after selling close to 100 vessels for more than $2 billion over several years to focus on innovation and sustainability as new drivers of growth, the company's executive chairman said.

The port of Piraeus has so far weathered the impact of the Red Sea attacks, but will not be able to do so for much longer, ratings agency DBRS Morningstar warns, as it is expected to take a significant blow with a reduction of 30% or more in cargoes over the next period, due to container shipping giants stopping or changing their routes.

Logistic experts foresee serious consequences of the crisis in the Red Sea. The majority of world goods turnover is realized by sea transport. After a series of challenges in 2022-2023, including the Covid-19 pandemic, the lack of equipment and the Suez Canal blockage, at the end of 2023 - a new maritime transport crisis arose. It threatens world trade and negatively affects the economy.

A new regular container train service between Thessaloniki and Nis in Serbia has been launched by the Thessaloniki Port Authority-OLTH SA.

Koper – A 100-metre extension to Quay I of the container terminal at the Koper port was inaugurated on Wednesday in what the port operator’s CEO said was a key strategic project that would allow Slovenia’s sole maritime port to preserve its leadership in container transshipment in the North Adriatic.

Maritime container freight shipping is steaming ahead through the COVID-19 pandemic, boosted by strong demand for Chinese exports and a shortage of vessels according to industry experts.

The Freightos Baltic Global Container Index (FBX), which tracks the cost of container shipping, has almost quadrupled for the China-Europe route since early November to stand at $7,827 on Feb. 5.

Bulgaria could become a bridge for Chinese cargo and open the "New Silk Road"(One Belt One Road Initiative) to Central and Western Europe, said Transport Minister Ivaylo Moskovski in response to a question on the Trans-Caspian transport corridor, reports Bgnes.

The European Court has rejected Greece's appeal against the decision it reached in March 2015, whereby it deemed that state funding to Piraeus Container Terminal SA (SEP), the local subsidiary of China's Cosco Shipping, was not compatible with European legislation.

Container traffic at Greece's biggest port in Piraeus contracted 4.4 percent last month, according to data published by Chinese operator Cosco, which showed that the port handled 309,000 cargo containers this July compared with 323,300 in the same period last year.

Container traffic overseen by Cosco in the port of Piraeus continues to break one record after another, consolidating its position as the main pillar of the Chinese group's overseas activity.