Antwerp reports 17% drop in volume

Antwerp reports 17% drop in volume    The Belgian port of Antwerp said it handled about 158 million tons of cargo in 2009, a drop of about 31.5 million tons or 16.7 percent from 2008.
   The global recession resulted in a decline in cargo after seven successive years of record volumes.
   The port handled about 100 million tons of general cargo, about 18 percent less than in 2008.
   Container volumes were down 14.1 percent to 87 million tons. The port said there was a significant shift in container trade “with shipping companies cutting entire loops and using fewer and above all larger vessels.”
   However, the port said new regulations approved in December for navigation on the Scheldt River “are important confirmation of Antwerp's accessibility” and that “as many as 30 of the very largest container carriers called at Antwerp during the trial period that ran from April 7 to mid-November. The deepening of the navigation channel in the Western Scheldt will further strengthen Antwerp's position in the future.”
   Port Authority Chairman Marc Van Peel and Eddy Bruyninckx, the chief executive officer, expect dredging work to begin in January or February, as soon as the Dutch Council of State has reached a decision.
   The port noted conventional general cargo was down 39.4 percent to
10.3 million tons and this “had repercussions on port employment, as handling this type of freight is very labor-intensive. Accordingly, unemployment among dockers was the highest it had been in the past 15 years.”
   The port said bulk freight is expected to finish the year with 57.3 million tons, down 14 percent on the previous year. The decrease is entirely due to dry bulk, the port said with coal down 36 percent and ore down 65 percent mainly due to reduced steelmaking. Liquid bulk, especially petrochemicals, was up 0.9 percent. The port said it is the world’s second-largest petrochemical complex.