Port of Antwerp-Bruges sees slight growth in total throughput although container volumes decline in first half of 2022

The Port of Antwerp-Bruges saw a slight increase year-on-year in total overall throughput to 147.2m tonnes for the first half of 2022, although container throughput fell 6%.

Global disruption to container liner shipping, vessel delays and high volumes of import cargo have been attributed to the decline in containers, as well as a 39% decline in containers related to Russia due to the conflict in Ukraine.

Jacques Vandermeiren, CEO of Port Antwerp-Bruges, said: “Given the current geopolitical and macroeconomic context, this slight growth is definitely a relief. These figures confirm that we are stronger together as a unified port.