The Port of Algeciras appears in the seventh position of the estimates for the closure of 2026 among the main container ports of the European Union. The Bay facility accounted for around 2.38 million TEUs during the first semester, 3.5% more than between January and June of last year.
The projection is part of the analysis prepared by PortEconomics, with Theo Notteboom among its main specialists, based on the recorded traffic during 2025 and the known evolution in the first six months of this fiscal year. The positions attributed to 2026 are therefore estimative and do not yet correspond to a closed classification for the entire year.
Algeciras finished 2025 with 4.738 million TEUs, a figure that placed it as the sixth container port in the EU. The estimate for this fiscal year contemplates its move to seventh position as a consequence of the potential rise of Gioia Tauro, which closed last year with 4.491 million TEUs.
The position of the Italian port presents a particularity. Gioia Tauro has not yet communicated its official figures corresponding to the first semester of 2026, so there is no published semiannual rate that allows for a direct comparison with Algeciras.
The top three positions would remain unchanged. Rotterdam continues to lead the ranking and moved around seven million TEUs during the first six months of the year, 0.1% less. Antwerp-Bruges was around 6.8 million TEUs, with a decrease of 1.5%, while Hamburg recorded approximately four million, 3.8% less.
In Antwerp-Bruges, the strikes that occurred in March and June and the incident recorded at Deurganckdok in April represented, according to the data collected in the analysis, around 260,000 TEUs of unmanaged traffic. Exports of full containers fell by 5.7%, while the movement of empty units increased by 13.7%.
Hamburg, for its part, had been growing by 7.3% during 2025. The German port authority has linked the reduction recorded in the first half of this year to HHLA's terminal modernization program, which temporarily reduced the available capacity, along with the weather disruptions registered at the beginning of the fiscal year.
The three main community ports accounted for around 17.8 million TEUs in the first semester of 2026. During 2025, they had concentrated more than 36 million of the approximately 79 million TEUs registered by the fifteen leading container ports in the European Union.
The fourth position continues to belong to Valencia, with around 2.82 million TEUs in the first semester and a variation close to 0.3%. Within its traffic, imports of full containers increased by 11.1%, to about 560,000 TEUs, while full exports experienced a slight reduction.
Bremerhaven occupies the fifth place and records a growth of nearly 5.7%, with approximately 2.6 million TEUs during the first six months.
The performance of the German ports shows significant differences. While Hamburg reduces its traffic, Wilhelmshaven registers a 36% increase and reaches about 900,000 TEUs in the semester. The port had grown by 74% in 2025 and 58% in 2024. The estimates contemplate that it could join the group of the top fifteen container ports in the EU.
In Spain, the main enclaves show different behaviors. Barcelona moved approximately 1.93 million TEUs, 4.3% more, while imports of containers grew by 6.7%, to about 380,000 TEUs. The total traffic of the Catalan port grew parallelly by 3.5%, to 35.87 million tons.
Algeciras, with its nearly 2.38 million TEUs, remains above Barcelona in volume and presents a growth of 3.5%. The evolution of full containers and reefer traffic is among the segments that increased during the semester. The port combines traffic linked to its hinterland with a high participation of transshipment derived from its position in the western access to the Mediterranean.
Las Palmas recorded approximately 763,000 TEUs, 3.2% more, while its total cargo traffic remained practically stable.
Among the largest growths of the semester is Gdansk, with a 23% increase. Baltic Hub handled around 1.6 million TEUs during the first six months of the year. The commissioning of the T3 terminal added 1.5 million TEUs of annual capacity, placing the joint capacity of the complex around 4.5 million. In 2025, new services from Maersk, MSC, and ONE were also added.
The estimates place Gdansk in the eleventh position, against the thirteenth place it occupied at the end of 2025.
French ports also show increases. HAROPA, considering the container maritime traffic of Le Havre and Rouen, reached approximately 1.64 million TEUs, an 8.6% increase, and appears around the tenth position.
Marseille-Fos accounted for about 823,000 TEUs, with a 13% growth. The estimates still place it outside the top fifteen positions, around the sixteenth position. The evolution of the French enclave coincides with modifications in certain maritime routes and the arrival of new services.
In contrast, the system formed by Genoa, Savona, and Vado Ligure moved approximately 1.45 million TEUs, 2.7% less. Transshipment traffic fell by 21.3%, while hinterland-linked movements grew by 1.6%. Imports of full containers increased by 6.3%.
Piraeus also maintains negative rates. The traffic of Piraeus Container Terminal fell by 2.9%, down to 1.995 million TEUs during the semester. COSCO Shipping Ports has attributed this evolution to the slowdown in Mediterranean demand and meteorological conditions. The estimates place the Greek port in eighth position, compared to the seventh place occupied during 2025.
Sines registers a reduction of 4.3% after finishing 2025 with 1.719 million TEUs. The Portuguese port would remain within the group of the top fifteen community enclaves according to the estimated positions.
The evolution of the Mediterranean ports is also conditioned by the composition of their traffic. Enclaves with a high transshipment participation show greater exposure to changes introduced by shipping companies in their networks and to the redistribution of stops among different hubs. The incoming and outgoing movements linked to the hinterland respond, in turn, to the evolution of the markets served from each port.
The estimate for the closure of 2026 keeps Rotterdam, Antwerp-Bruges, Hamburg, Valencia, and Bremerhaven in the top five positions. Gioia Tauro appears in sixth place, Algeciras in seventh, and Piraeus in eighth, although the position attributed to the Italian port remains pending its official results corresponding to the first semester.