Port of Zeebrugge posts 9.9% volume decline in 2015

The Belgian port reported a surge in vehicles throughput in 2015, but container volumes fell dramatically compared to the previous year.    The Port of Zeebrugge handled 38.3 million tons of cargo in 2015, a 9.9 percent decline from 2014, the Belgian port said.
   Container volumes tumbled 23.8 percent year-over-year in 2015, which the Port of Zeebrugge attributed to the downsizing of container services to and from Asia and the regrouping of ocean carriers into alliances.
   The formation of the 2M Alliance in 2015 caused the port to lose it calls from both alliance members Maersk Line and MSC.
   On a bright note, the formation of the Ocean3 Alliance – comprised of CMA CGM, UASC and CSCL – bound the alliance’s most important services to the Port of Zeebrugge.
   BlueWater Reporting’s Port Dashboard tool illustrates the Ocean3 Alliance has two services that call the Port of Zeebrugge, both of which serve the Asia-Europe trade. These loops include the FAL1 and the AEX1/AEC1, which have an average vessel capacity of 15,925 TEUs and 18,208 TEUs, respectively.
   Roll-on/Roll-off (ro-ro) traffic in 2015 totaled 13.5 million tons, a 3.1 percent increase from 2014. The Port of Zeebrugge handled 2.4 million vehicles in 2015, its largest amount ever and a 10.3 percent year-over-year increase.
   Terminal operator ICO Zeebrugge scored its first contract in 2016 for the shipment of Ford vehicles assembled in Turkey and Spain. The contract will increase ro-ro volumes by 15,000 units a year, according to the port.
   Mediterranean Car Carriers Line will ship the vehicles to the Port of Zeebrugge and from there, Euro Marine Logistics will ship those vehicles to the Scandinavian market.
   Liquid bulk volumes totaled 6.8 million tons in 2015, while dry bulk volumes reached 1.3 million tons, a year-over-year increase of 2.9 percent and 6.3 percent, respectively. Breakbulk volumes fell 1.6 percent from 2014 as more paper pulp arrived at the Port of Zeebrugge in containers, which means these goods are not added to the breakbulk volumes.
   Overall, a total of 7,888 vessels called the Port of Zeebrugge in 2015, a 2.2 percent increase from the prior year.