EU Maritime Transport: Rotterdam and Antwerp-Bruges Lead Busiest Ports in 2024

Maritime transport plays a key role in moving goods.

Globally, around 13 billion tonnes of traded goods were transported by sea in 2024. In the EU, ports handled around 3.4 billion tonnes of goods. This corresponds to 26% of the global total.

Almost 90% of the EU’s external freight trade is also carried by sea according to the EU Blue Economy Observatory.

So, which are the busiest ports in the EU and which countries handle the most goods?

Shipping mainly consists of two types: short sea shipping and deep sea shipping. Short sea shipping refers to transporting goods over relatively short distances by sea whereas deep sea shipping covers longer, intercontinental routes across oceans.

For the EU, short sea shipping does not only cover maritime transport within the bloc. It also includes candidate countries, Iceland, Norway, the Baltic Sea area, the Mediterranean Sea area and the Black Sea area.

Rotterdam and Antwerp-Bruges are the EU’s busiest ports

As of 2024, two EU cities are by far the busiest ports when measured by total sea shipping according to Eurostat. Rotterdam in the Netherlands is the busiest port, with 397.3 million tonnes of goods transported to and from the port.

Antwerp-Bruges in Belgium follows Rotterdam, with 243.7 million tonnes of goods handled.

Hamburg ranks as the third-busiest port, but its volume is considerably lower than the top two. The German port handled 97 million tonnes of goods.

After the top two ports, the total weight of goods transported to and from ports falls gradually, and the differences between cities are relatively small.

Spain’s Algeciras is the fourth-busiest port, with 81.5 million tonnes. Amsterdam, another Dutch port, completes the top five at 78.8 million tonnes of goods transported.

France’s busiest port ranks sixth in the EU. HAROPA (Le Havre and Rouen) handled 76.6 million tonnes of goods in 2024. The Polish port of Gdansk follows closely at 71 million tonnes.

Another French port, Marseille, is also among the top 10 at 66 million tonnes.

Valencia is another busy port at 64.5 million tonnes.

Romania’s Constanta is in the top 10

One port from Romania, Constanta, is also in the top 10. The port handled 57.6 million tonnes of goods.

Among the ports ranked 11th to 20th, the gross weight of goods transported by sea ranges from 36.8 million tonnes in Dunkerque, France, to 55.5 million tonnes in the Spanish port of Barcelona.

The busiest Italian port is Trieste, at 53.5 million tonnes, followed by Genova at 47.4 million tonnes.

Sines in Portugal is also among the top 20 busiest EU ports at 44.1 million tonnes. Greece’s Piraeus follows at 43.7 million tonnes.

Apart from Hamburg, Bremerhaven is another busy port in Germany, handling 42.5 million tonnes.

Sweden’s Göteborg is also in the top 20 at 38.5 million tonnes.

Zeeland Seaports is another Dutch port contributing to the Netherlands’ strong position in the EU.

Dutch ports handle the most goods

Looking at countries by the gross weight of goods handled in all ports, the Netherlands is the champion in the EU. Dutch ports handled 538.1 million tonnes of goods.

Although Italy has three ports in the top 20, the country ranks second in the EU at 488.6 million tonnes, very closely followed by Spain at 486 million tonnes.

These three countries are well ahead of the rest, as fourth-ranked Belgium handled only 274.9 million tonnes of goods.

France, a Mediterranean country, handled 269.8 million tonnes, slightly less than Germany at 273.9 million tonnes.

Greece, Sweden and Poland also handled more than 100 million tonnes of goods.

Turkey ranks second with candidates included

When EU candidate countries and EFTA members are included, Turkey ranks second at 524.7 million tonnes while Norway ranks eighth at 212.1 million tonnes.

The European Commission emphasises that “maritime transport has been a catalyst for economic development and prosperity throughout its history” in Europe.

In March 2026, the Commission adopted two strategies to boost competitiveness, sustainability, security and resilience across the EU’s wider waterborne sector, including ports, shipping and shipbuilding.