Colombo Port rises to 20th among world’s leading container ports

Colombo Port has moved into the world’s top 20 container ports, driven by strong growth in container throughput, which increased by nearly 12% during the first six months of the year.

According to the latest data from Alphaliner, Colombo Port handled 4.44 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) during the first half of 2026, recording an 11.9% increase compared with the corresponding period of the previous year. The performance further consolidates Colombo Port’s position as one of the world’s fastest-growing major container hubs.

As a result, Colombo Port climbed to 20th place in the global rankings in the first half of 2026, from 26th place at the end of 2025, marking a significant rise among the world’s leading container ports.

Colombo Port handled 4,444,034 container units during the first six months of 2026, compared with 3,972,053 units during the corresponding period of 2025. This represents an increase of 471,981 container units.

The latest achievement follows a record year in 2025, when Colombo Port handled approximately 8.3 million container units.