July 16 - The port of Antwerp handled 98,229,046 tonnes of freight in the first six months of 2014 - 2.7 percent more than the same period in 2013.
Ro-ro cargoes handled in the first six months of 2014 was 1.3 percent more than the same period last year, at 2,346,506 tonnes. Conventional breakbulk on the other hand was down 6 percent to 5,028,876 tonnes.
Steel handled, however, experienced a stronger second quarter and the port posted a 0.2 percent growth in the first half of 2014, at 3,293,418 tonnes.
During the first six months of 2014, 6,991 ships called at the Belgian port. This is 3.4 percent fewer than in the same period in 2013, but gross tonnage rose by 1 percent to 165,121,359 tonnes, which the port says confirms the trend towards fewer but larger and more heavily laden ships being served in Antwerp.
