TRIESTE – Assoporti and SRM present the 2025 edition of “Port Infographics”, updating figures and trends for Italy’s port sector and global maritime traffic. The report confirms a positive first half for Italian ports and highlights the Mediterranean’s growing role in the container landscape.
The national port system closed the first six months of the year with nearly 250 million tonnes handled, up 1.2% on 2024. Growth was driven by containers (+2.6%) and solid bulk (+18.9%), while liquid bulk (-3.5%) and Ro-Ro (-1%) remained down. The passenger segment was also strong: almost 30 million travellers and 5.6 million cruise passengers, both up 5.8%.
On the sustainability front, quay electrification continues to progress: 25 cold ironing points have been contracted or are already installed in Italian ports.
The international picture points to seaborne trade reaching a new peak in 2025, with 12.8 billion tonnes transported by sea. Containers remain a key segment, expected to grow by 14% by 2029. In this context, the Mediterranean strengthens its position: in 2024, ports in the area handled over 82 million Teu, well above Northern Europe’s 61 million.
The new issue includes a focus on intra-Mediterranean traffic, a segment that is emerging as one of the main maritime businesses. Alongside Italy, Turkey, Egypt and Spain stand out as particularly dynamic, with a growing offer of container Short Sea services for import-export. In EU countries, Mediterranean Short Sea traffic is worth nearly 630 million tonnes. Among ports, Tanger Med, Valencia and Port Said top the container rankings in the first half of 2025, all growing. The top five carriers operating in this market account for 66.6% of the intramediterranean fleet capacity.
«Our strategic collaboration with Assoporti continues and we are very satisfied with it. I would like to highlight — said SRM’s director general, Massimo Deandreis — that in this issue we have placed particular emphasis on intra-Mediterranean traffic, considering it a driver for the development of maritime transport. In a context of increasing port competition, Short Sea Shipping is an ever more strategic traffic segment, and Italy, with a market share of around 40%, is the undisputed leader both in the Mediterranean and in the EU. In today’s complex geopolitical environment there is one element we cannot ignore: Mare Nostrum is becoming increasingly central to the global economy, and Italy can play a key role only if it continues along the path of strengthening its ports, which are essential infrastructure for a major exporting country».
