Port of Antwerp feels the pinch

Overall, the port saw a 2.1% drop in tonnage to 93,822,976 tonnes, due mainly to the Belgian Refining Corporation (BRC) temporarily suspending its activities. This saw liquid bulks down 9.2% to 21,976,798 tonnes, although tonnage is beginning to recover following BRC restarting operations last month.

Ro/ro and dry bulk managed growth figures of 16.2% and 5.0% respectively, while conventional/break-bulks resulted in 5,375,642 tonnes of freight being handled, a decrease of 16.5% over the first half of last year.

During the period 7,361 calls were made by seagoing ships, down 5.0% on the same period last year.