COSCO and Piraeus — the espionage allegation on Chinese ships

Two anonymous Trump administration officials accused China's state-owned COSCO of carrying hidden equipment for collecting military signals on its commercial ships. The company owns 67 percent of the operator of the Greek port of Piraeus and stakes in terminals in Hamburg, Valencia and Bilbao. We are tracking whether evidence is added to the accusation and how Europe responds.

Loosely tracking

1/6 fulfilled ⏳ 5 pending tracking since 1.9.2026 check by 12.11.2026

The article that started it

Čínsky správca prístavu Pireus čelí obvineniu zo špionáže. Tá istá firma má podiel aj v Hamburgu, Valencii a Bilbau

Dvaja predstavitelia Trumpovej administratívy tvrdia, že lode čínskej COSCO nesú skrytú odpočúvaciu techniku. Peking hovorí o nepodloženom naratíve.

1.9.2026

What we are still watching

The United States has presented evidence for the allegation or added COSCO to sanctioned entities.
The Greek government, which approved the privatization of Piraeus, or the European Commission has taken a position on the allegation.
Donald Trump and Xi Jinping discussed the issue at their meeting.
Germany reconsidered COSCO's stake in the Hamburg terminal Tollerort.
The ETCS signalling system began operating on the Hungarian section of the Budapest-Belgrade line, and operations were eased.

What has happened

The trade truce between the United States and China was extended before the November deadline. Doplnené kontrolou 7.10.2026: Prímerie predĺžené do januára, pred novembrovým termínom. → Bessent oznámil predĺženie obchodného prímeria medzi USA a Čínou 24.9.2026

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COSCO and Piraeus — the espionage allegation on Chinese ships

The article that started it

What we are still watching

What has happened

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