LE HAVRE REPORTS 15% JUMP IN CONTAINERIZED TRAFFIC

LE HAVRE REPORTS 15% JUMP IN CONTAINERIZED TRAFFIC    The port of Le Havre handled 15 percent more containerized traffic in 2002, reaching a tonnage of 16.8 million tons.
   Expressed in twenty-foot equivalent units, container traffic rose by about 200,000 TEUs or 13 percent last year, to 1.72 million TEUs.
   The increase in box traffic represents “one of the best growth rates not only in France, but also among the major ports of the North of Europe,” the French port said.
   General cargo traffic, including non-containerized freight, increased by more than 2 million tons in 2002, to 20.1 million tons.
   Like general cargo traffic, dry bulk volume also increased, with a gain of 29 percent when compared with 2001.
   Crude oil traffic fell by 11 percent over the same period, to 32.2 million tons last year.
   The port’s total traffic, including all commodity types, was down 2 percent, to 68 million tons in 2002.
   In a separate development, the port authority of Le Havre said that it has signed a “memorandum of intent” with Maersk and the Perrigault group for the operation of two berths at the new Port 2000 container terminal complex.
   Maersk plans to handle a yearly traffic of 600,000 TEUs in Le Havre after two years of operation of the new terminal, the port authority said.