For 2300 years, since its foundation in 315/6 BC and up until today, the port of Thessaloniki constitutes the most important port in Macedonia and one of the most important ports in Southeast Europe.
Due to its advantageous geographical location and its excellent road links and train connections, it is the largest transit-trade port in the country and it services the needs of approximately 15 million inhabitants of its international mainland.
It is located on the inner part of the Bay of Thermaicos, on the northern section of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, to the west of the center of the city of Thessaloniki. Approach of the ships is accomplished through a natural channel of substantial depth, not needing thus any further deepening.
It occupies a total space of 1.5 million square meters and it spreads across a length of 3.5km.
After having a meeting with senior management of the port we were very encouraged with the aggressive program for modernisation and to increase standards to excel and become more competitive with other newer ports in the Mediterranean. By the end of 2020 the port will have 2 new cranes in place and refurbished 2 of their older cranes. This will make it much more efficient and allow unloading and loading to be even faster and more cost effective.
The advantages for Bulgarian client using Thessaloniki port today are as follows
Distance between Sofia (the capital of Bulgaria) and Thessaloniki is 320km, while to Burgas is 410km and to Varna is 460km (Bulgaria’s main ports). This means we can offer lower trucking costs and a faster service throughout western Bulgaria.
Shorter transit times via Greek ports. For instance transit time from Ningbo to Piraeus is approximately 24 days, Thessaloniki is approximately 32 days. Transit time from Ningbo to Varna is a minimum of 38 days. This again allows us to offer a faster service.
Also due to the larger volumes Thessaloniki has compared to the Bulgarian ports there is a greater choice of shipping lines and services to/from Thessaloniki port. This means that freight rates are more competitive, usually up to 100USD per TEU due to competition.
We have a lot of imports and exports going through Thessaloniki port, so if you would like more information please contact us.
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