2013 a record year for Port of Antwerp

The main reason for the increase was a larger volume of liquid bulk products such as crude oil and petrochemicals, the report says. That went up to 59.7 million tonnes, an increase of almost a third.

Port authority CEO Eddy Bruyninckx described the results as “the best growth figures in Flanders and the Benelux”. The total volume of traffic was not only better than last year’s, it also narrowly broke the record set in 2008, before the global economic crisis, at 189.39 million tonnes. 

The port’s main business activity – container freight – fell by 1.7% or 1.8 million tonnes to 102 million tonnes. “In the circumstances, that’s an extremely stable outcome, given how neighbouring ports, including Rotterdam, saw a much more pronounced reduction,” Bruyninckx said.

The most serious negative result concerned dry bulk goods, which saw a fall of more than a quarter, largely as a result of lower volumes of coal. “The explanation lies in the disappearance of markets such as Arcelor Mittal, as well as the conversion of coal-fired power stations to bio-mass,” Bruyninckx said.

Photo credit: Port of Antwerp