The Western Ligurian Sea Port Authority reports an all-time container throughput record for 2025, as it hovers just below the 3 million-TEUs threshold. Box throughput totalled 2,999,486 TEUs, a +6.3% increase on 2024. Notwithstanding the challenges posed by the geopolitical risks and economic turmoil which continued to characterise the past year, together with the recent major carrier line reshuffles, the Ports of Genoa and Savona-Vado achieved a historic result.
The growth in volumes was bolstered by container gateway traffic which registered 1,919,700 TEUs in full containers import/export, a +4.8% advance on the previous year. These figures underscore the overall resilience of global trade and of the diverse Italian industrial sectors which use the Ports of Genoa as their choice port of call. However, transhipment traffic, a total of 547,790 TEUs, a 31.5% increase on 2024, was also a key driver behind the port’s strong performance.
Specifically, Savona–Vado Ligure surged by +58.4% on the previous year to a total of 590,000 TEUs, composed primarily of transhipment traffic. Whilst the Port of Genova handled a total of 2.4 million TEUs, a slight drop (-1.6%) on 2024, above all due to a decrease in the transhipment volumes recorded.
Alongside the container-handling facilities, the passenger port also posted strong annual results, with a +6.1% upturn in the cruise passenger count recorded at the Ports of Genoa and Savona to a total of 2.4 million, in addition to the 2.6 million ferry passengers recorded in 2025, pointing to an advance of +0.6% in total passenger throughput on the previous year.
Total cargo throughput remained flat at 62,922,508 tonnes, a -0.8% contraction on 2024, and reflected the nuanced market conditions which had varying impacts on the Ports of Genoa and Savona-Vado Ligure’s diverse commodity sectors, in line with overall trends registered across the global supply chain industry.
Specifically, solid bulk traffic experienced a +2.3%, gain on 2024 to a total of 2,457,728 tonnes The upward trend was above all bolstered by a strong performance of the sector in the 4th quarter, with a +24.3% surge on the corresponding period of the previous year. In 2025 the Port of Genova handled a total of 713,321 tonnes (+3,8%), whilst Savona-Vado recorded 1,744,407 tonnes (+1,6%).
Conventional cargo, which accounts for approximately 21% of total cargo throughput handled by the Western Ligurian Sea Port Authority, amounted to almost 13 million tonnes, a contraction of -3.3% on 2024, as a result of the impact of the general slowdown in the automotive, steel and construction industries. Nevertheless, it is important to note that the 4th quarter showed a +4.5% increase on last year’s comparable period, with a strong focus on ro-ro and vehicles. In 2025 steel and metal products registered a +1.3% annual advance, driven by Genoa’s terminals, whilst forest products jumped by +30% on 2024.
With reference to the liquid bulk sector, 2025 posted a slight drop of -1.9% in energy products, for a total of 18 million tonnes, whilst other liquid bulk products rose by +4.7%, driven by a +39% surge in vegetable oils and wine.
With reference to the liquid bulk sector, 2025 posted a slight drop of -1.9% in energy products, for a total of 18 million tonnes, whilst other liquid bulk products rose by +4.7%, driven by a +39% surge in vegetable oils and wine.
Non-containerised freight trains increased by +17% in 2025, driven by the introduction of new rail services at the Port of Savona. However, overall, the number of freight trains fell by -14.2% to 7,935 units and volumes by -11.6% to 322,451 TEUs across the Ports of Genoa, due to disruptions across the national rail network for planned engineering works.
Matteo Paroli, President of the Western Ligurian Sea Port Authority declared:
“2025 will stand out as a momentous year for the Western Ligurian Sea Port Authority: for the first time the Ports of Genova and Savona-Vado moved almost 3 million TEUs, an all-time record high. A decisive moment for Italy’s premier port which consolidates its position as an international maritime and trade hub. Against an ongoing backdrop of global uncertainties - marked by geopolitical tensions, shifted trade routes and a reshuffle of supply chains -, this achievement underscores the ability of the Ports of Genoa to adapt rapidly to changing circumstances, attract sizable investments and boost its role as a modern logistics platform serving Italy and the shipping community worldwide”.
