The port of Piraeus saw a drop in container throughput between January and November 2025, according to data from COSCO Shipping Ports, which controls two of the three piers through the SEP. Specifically, 3,645.9 thousand teu were handled compared to 3,861.7 thousand in the same period last year, recording a 5.6% decline.

In November, from the two piers alone, the handling reached 301.1 thousand teu, down 17.1% compared to the same month in 2024. COSCO attributes the decline to the ongoing insecurity in the Red Sea following Houthi attacks on merchant ships since November 2023. Shipping companies have rearranged their routes, opting to circumnavigate Africa, with the result that Piraeus is losing its strategic advantage as the first port of call after the Suez Canal.