500% boost in containers throughput from Mediterranean ports has been noted during the last 20 years.
According to a recent research held by the Italian research institute “Studi e Ricerche per il Mezzogiorno”- SRM, it has been estimated that the 30 largest ports in Mediterranean have operated more than 50 million TEUs during last year, while in 1995 the relevant cargo volume was only 9 million TEUs.
The SRM research notes that the Mediterranean occupies an important position in sea trade, as it is part of major sea crossings.
Moreover, due to China’s “New Silk Road” initiative, there have been investments in mediterranean ports raising this marine area’s value in the shipping sector, due to its important geostrategic position.
As pointed out by the SRM research, the containers throughput for 19 Mediterranean ports has been boosted over 1 million TEUs, while during the last years Mediterranean ports show a significant rise in containers throughput than ports in Northern Europe. From 2008 till today the total containers throughput for ports in Northern Europe has been decreased by 6% while, on the contrary, ports in Mediterranean showed a reduction of 5%.
In the future, there would be an even bigger increase in containers throughput for mediterranean ports, as China is going to invest more than 4 billion in port infrastructure and terminals in the specific marine area.
Source: www.naftikachronika.gr
