Have you ever wondered where the largest 10 shipping ports in terms of turnover are located? Now you have the chance to find out! The handling capacity of each port mentioned below is measured in terms of TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units) , derived from the measurements of a standard shipping container which is approximately 20 feet long, 8 feet wide and 8 feet tall.
Rotterdam, The Netherlands
The Port of Rotterdam is not only the largest seaport in Europe, but also the world’s largest seaport outside of Asia. In 2020, Rotterdam was named the world’s tenth-largest container port, handling 14.35 million TEU of containers. The port covers 105 square kilometers and stretches over a distance of 40 kilometers (25 miles), which consists of the city’s historic harbor area. The Port is known for its contribution to the petrochemical industry and general transshipment between Europe and the rest of the world.
Tianjin, China
The Port of Tianjin is the first of many Chinese ports in this list. Tianjin handled 18.35 million TEU of containers in 2020, making it the largest port in Northern China. The port covers over 120 square kilometers of land surface and is a key maritime gateway to the major city of Beijing. It was recorded in August 2021 that Tianjin’s cargo throughput exceeded 300 million tons, which is a record in the port’s history. The most imported items include agricultural products, vehicles and crude oil.
Hong Kong, S.A.R, China
Hong Kong has been home to one of the world’s busiest container ports for many years, holding the title of the world’s busiest port many times throughout the 1980s and 1990s. It comes in at 8th place in this list, as it handled 20.7 million TEU of containers in 2020. This deep-water seaport is known for trade in containerized manufactured products but also deals with a lot of passenger traffic.
Busan, South Korea
The biggest port in South Korea, the Port of Busan, handled 21.59 million TEU of containers in 2020, making it to number 7 on this list. The Busan Port has four ports, an international passenger terminal and six container terminals. Nearly 40% of the country’s marine cargo, 80% of its container cargo and 42% of national fisheries production is processed at the port.
Qingdao, China
The Port of Qingdao is located in the Shandong Province of China, and it has four main sections to the port. Qingdao handled 22.0 million TEU of containers in 2020 and in 2019, the port’s cargo throughput exceeded 515 million tons, which was an increase of 6.1% from the previous year. The main operations of the port include handling imports and exports of containers, crude oil, coal, iron ore, grain and passenger services.
Guangzhou, China
The Port of Guangzhou is the largest comprehensive port in South China, as its trade reaches over 300 ports in over 80 countries worldwide. In 2020, Guangzhou handled 23.19 million TEU of containers, making it into the top 5 on our list. The port serves as an important center for the Pearl River Delta region and the Guangdong province as they handle a range of products such as oil, coal, grain, steel ore and automobiles.
Shenzhen, China
The Port of Shenzhen is one of the busiest and fastest growing container ports in the world and is home to many shipping companies as well as being used for passenger ferry services across the Pearl River Delta. Shenzhen handled 26.55 million TEU of containers in the previous year despite facing various challenges associated with the pandemic.
Ningbo- Zhoushan, China
The Port of Ningbo-Zhoushan in Eastern China is at the crossroads of the north-south inland and coastal shipping route. This port makes it into the top 3 in our list, as it handled 28.72 million TEU of containers in 2020. Ningbo-Zhoushan is involved in the trade of raw materials and goods from North and South America and Oceania. The port handles a significant amount of cargo throughput, hitting over 100 million tons a year.
Singapore
Singapore Port makes it into second place, as it reached 36.6 million TEU of containers last year. A third of the world’s shipping containers are transshipped here, along with half of the world’s crude oil. In the first half of 2021 alone, Singapore handled more TEU of containers (24.83 million) than Guangzhou (number 5 on this list) handled last year in total, showing the capabilities of the port. A “mega” port is currently being constructed at the site, which will be able to handle nearly 65 million TEUs annually, which will put them in the top spot.
Shanghai, China
The title is held by Shanghai, which has been the world’s busiest container port since 2010, when they overtook Singapore. In 2020, the port handled 43.5 million TEU of containers, 6.9 million more than Singapore. The port covers an area of 3,619.6km² along the 18,000km-long Chinese coastline. The Port of Shanghai is critically important for the economy and foreign trade and is fact considered to be the world’s fastest-growing economy.
