Container Shipping to or from Greece

In the past several years, Greece has had a significant increase in export cargo, and is both export and import oriented. The most common commodities for container shipping to or from Greece are paper waste, cotton, minerals, textiles and chemical products.

Please note that when exporting goods from Greece, it is mandatory to weigh the container and advise your carrier and/or terminal port representatives prior to loading it. This is called Verified Gross Mass (VGM). You can find more information around the VGM in our FAQs.

In Greece, the most common mode of transportation is truck. The use of truck is common for short distances within 300km distance and urgently required cargo. The transit time from port to door is between 1-24 hours.

The most common ocean trade lanes are from China to Greece and from Greece to Oceania and Middle East. The most popular ports shipping from and to Greece on these trades are:

China – Greece:

• Shanghai 

• Xingang

• Qingdao

• Ningbo

Greece – Oceania:

• Adelaide

• Melbourne

• Auckland

Greece – Middle East:

• Port Qasim

• Meerut

• Jeddah

• Tuticorin

• Mundra

• Kuwait

• Aqaba

As a customer, this means that there are vessels frequently leaving and sailing on this corridor and many shipping services available, which can strengthen the trade of your products.

All of these trade lanes are covered within the Twill platform – with a view of pricing and cost breakdown available prior to booking. Discover it now.

Transit times can vary depending on the vessel schedule, whether containers need to be connected to other vessels on their journey and how many ports are on the route. But Greece has good connections with the Middle East and Far East ports such as Mozambique, Mumbai, Qasim, Mundra and Nava Sheva.

For instance, if you want to ship a container from China to Greece, it takes approximately 26 days from a port like Ningbo. From a smaller port like Nanjing, it will take longer as this normally requires moving the container on a connecting vessel to a Chinese main port first.

Our strong transit times ensure you keep your lead times to a minimum while being able to keep cargo moving at a good pace. Twill offers market-leading transit times for Greece from many destinations.

Peak season from and to Greece varies depending on the commodity. For example, a lot of fruits and vegetables have different harvest seasons that may impact the ocean freight as well. The main harvest seasons are in April and May. Peak seasons are often impacting trade lane availabilities and freight prices. That’s why it is important to prepare your cargo well in advance with supply chain forecasting.

At Twill, we specialise in shipping your cargo from door to door, over land and sea. Cargo insurance is not required to ship to or from Greece, but container transportation can entail various risks. So, you should always keep in mind which Incoterms you have agreed on with your supplier.

If you're shipping your cargo across the sea, you want to know that you are quickly being compensated if your cargo is damaged or lost. That's why Twill offers Value Protect, giving you peace of mind that your cargo is protected during transportation with us. When you add Value Protect, it is easier and simpler to make claims compared to traditional insurance. It helps you avoid the many difficulties and annoyances that businesses face when shipping cargo while protecting it from risk and damage.

The customs clearance process can differ from country-to-country and port-to-port. At Twill in Greece, we realise the need to get your goods through customs and understand the challenges it may cause. That's why we can handle Customs Services for you.

You can easily add Customs Services to your booking via our platform.

For this service you will need the following documents when shipping to or from Greece:

• Delivery Order (D/O)HS codes of the cargo

• Packing List(s)

• Commercial invoice(s)

• Consignee’s details

• Customs declaration

• T1 or T2L document

Find more information about these documents here.