Source: Landgeist
The first area that stands out, is the North Sea. In particular the ports of the Netherlands and Belgium. Rotterdam is by far the largest port in Europe, moving 434,846,000 metric tonnes of cargo in 2021. That’s more than double the amount of cargo compared to Europe’s second biggest port, Antwerp (215,852,000). Which moves almost double the amount of Europe’s third largest port, Novorossiysk (142,800).
Other areas in Europe with a large concentration of busy ports are the area around Bremen and Hamburg, the Gulf of Finland, the Sea of Marmara and the Northern shores of the Black Sea. Note that this data is from before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Maritime shipping in the Black Sea has dropped significantly since then.