Port of Antwerp makes strong start to year
The Port of Antwerp, Europe’s second largest port, handled 44.7 million tons of cargo in the first three months of 2007, an increase of 11.8 percent compared with the first quarter of 2006.
The Belgian port attributed some of its gain to ships being diverted to it amid recent congestion and strikes at the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
Antwerp’s container volume in the quarter grew by 18 percent year-on-year to 22.7 million tons or 1.95 million TEUs, up 17.4 percent on the corresponding period last year.
March was a record month for the port, handling a best-ever 16.5 million tons of freight, due in large part to a 24.3 percent rise in containers to 8.6 million tons or 741,255 TEUs, up 24.9 percent.
During the first quarter, a total of 4,034 ships called at Antwerp, 6.7 percent more than in the same period last year.
Port of Antwerp makes strong start to year
