Cosco’s car carrier division has signed an agreement with European short-sea car carrier Neptune Lines to manage finished vehicle shipments from China to Europe via the Greek port of Piraeus.

Cosco Shipping Car Carriers (CSCC) has set up a hub at the Greek port of Piraeus in an agreement with Neptune Lines. The joint venture will create a direct connection between China and Europe for the import of Chinese vehicle brands and use Neptune Lines’ feeder services out from the hub to 21 ports across 12 countries in the Mediterranean, Black Sea and North Africa. 

Piraeus_Port

Cosco and Neptune Lines have established a hub in the Greek port of Piraeus for transhipment of imported Chinese vehicles

Cosco said the service offered a 30-day transit from China to the Mediterranean ports, initially operating once a month, scaling to a bi-weekly service by the end of 2025 supported by the delivery of 13 new vessels.

The feeder services from Piraeus will call at Koper (Slovenia), Alexandria (Egypt), Limassol (Cyprus), and key ports in Turkey, Romania, Italy, France, Spain, Morocco, Tunisia, Malta and Black Sea regions.

Beyond the direct maritime services, the joint venture with Neptune Lines will also provide onward multimodal distribution via barge, rail and truck across the inland network in Europe. It will also provide bonded storage hubs for vehicles and pre-delivery inspection services.

Cosco’s tie up with Neptune Lines at Piraeus follows a similar move with BLG Logistics at the port of Bremerhaven in Germany, signed at the end of last year. Under that agreement BLG AutoTerminal Bremerhaven (ATB) is being developed into a central port of entry for Chinese exports to the German market, which will also act as a central hub for feeder services to Scandinavia, and central and eastern Europe.

Europe is a target market for Chinese vehicle makers, including for battery electric vehicles despite the tariffs now being applied by the European Union on those Chinese EV imports.

Topics