The Port of Antwerp has announced that it expects to have handled 186.4m tonnes of freight during 2011, representing a 4.6 per cent increase on the previous year, when volumes came in at 178.2m tonnes.
Results have been boosted by record years for both containers and liquid bulk, with the former climbing 2.2 per cent to just under 105m tonnes. Expressed in standard containers, volumes were up 2 per cent to 8.64m TEUs – demonstrating that in comparison with other ports in the Hamburg-Le Havre range, relatively few empty containers are repositioned in Antwerp.
There were increases in areas such as Ro-ro, conventional/breakbulk and bulk freight, the Port Authority revealed, while dry bulk dropped by 6.5 per cent.
The number of seagoing ships calling at the port also climbed in 2011, up to 15,230 calls or an increase of 3 per cent, while gross tonnage jumped 8.3 per cent to 314m tonnes.
