The port of Antwerp closed 2016 with an anticipated record volume of more than 214m tonnes of freight handled, according to provisional figures released by the port authority.
The statistics showed that shipping container volume rose above 10m TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) for the first time in the history of the port.
Indeed, container volume rose by 4.1 per cent on 2015, and is expected to end the year at 117.9m tonnes, representing 10.05m TEU.
'With these excellent growth figures Antwerp has further expanded its market share in the Hamburg – Le Havre range,' the port authority stated. 'Antwerp has also managed to considerably improve its position in the Far East trade over the past few years, at the expense of its direct competitors Rotterdam and Hamburg.'
According to the port authority, a continuing trend towards containerisation depressed the volumes of, among other products, fresh fruit, on a year-on-year basis.
Therefore, conventional breakbulk volume contracted by 2.4 per cent, ending the year at 9.7m tonnes.
The number of seagoing ships calling at Antwerp rose by 0.7 per cent in 2016, and by 31 December a total of 14,523 ships are expected to have visited Antwerp.
Meanwhile, the port confirmed that Antwerp port authority chief executive Eddy Bruyninckx retired on 31 December, succeeded by Jacques Vandermeiren.
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