Port of Antwerp sees Q1 volumes rise 3.9%

The Belgian port handled 53.3 million metric tons of cargo during the first three months of 2016, a 3.9 percent increase from the corresponding period in 2015.    The Port of Antwerp handled 53.3 million metric tons of cargo during the first quarter of 2016, a 3.9 percent increase from the first quarter of 2015, the Belgian port said.
   Container tonnage inched up 3.2 percent year-over-year during the first quarter of 2016 to 29.1 million metric tons, while in terms of TEUs, volumes rose 4.6 percent year-over-year to 2.5 million TEUs. Data gathered from ocean carrier schedule and capacity database BlueWater Reporting’s Port Dashboard tool illustrates that over 100 liner services frequent the port, 74 of which are fully cellular container services.
   Meanwhile, the Port of Antwerp handled 17.7 million metric tons of liquid bulk during the first quarter of 2016, a 10.6 percent increase from the corresponding period last year.
   However, dry bulk volumes for the quarter sank 17.9 percent year-over-year to 2.9 million metric tons. The port attributed the decline to coal volumes plummeting 81.1 percent from the first quarter of 2015 to 69,975 metric tons. “The planned conversion of the coal-fired power station in Langerlo (Belgium) weighed heavily on the result, but ports in general where coal is stored are faced with falling imports and declining stocks,” the port said.
   Roll-on/roll-off volumes for the first quarter of 2016 reached 1.1 million metric tons, while conventional break-bulk volumes totaled 2.4 million metric tons, a year-over-year increase of 0.4 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively.
   Overall, a total of 3,535 seagoing ships called the Port of Antwerp throughout the first three months of 2016, a 3.7 percent increase from the corresponding period in 2015.