TRIESTE – The year just ended at the Port of Trieste closes just short of 60 million tonnes of cargo handled: containers slump, while oil and Ro-Ro grow.
Pending the official figures from the Eastern Adriatic Sea Port System Authority (which also oversees the Port of Monfalcone), the Friuli Venezia Giulia gateway handled 59.9 million tonnes in 2025. The figure was 59.5 million in 2024. The most striking element, as previously reported on these pages, is the collapse in container traffic, which over the year posted a -19% drop, down to 681,733 TEU from 842,198 in 2024. The numbers still need to be confirmed, but the official data are unlikely to differ significantly from this initial analysis, with the risk that, at least as far as containers are concerned, the Port of Trieste could be almost overtaken by its rival Koper (Slovenia) and “caught up” by Rijeka (Croatia). In detail, the fall in transhipment remains steep, while the so-called “domestic market” is broadly holding up.
Ro-Ro traffic is up, as already reported in recent months, along the Motorway of the Sea corridor with Turkey and on the new route to Egypt. The 7.82% increase in the total number of units and vehicles handled confirms the positive trend for this segment.
Crude oil handling is also up by 4.3% which, together with other liquid bulks, brings the total to just over 43 million tonnes over twelve months. General cargo remains down (-7.48%), as does cruise traffic. Passengers totalled just over 425,000—still a significant figure, but about 15% lower than in 2024.
