For example, Antwerp saw its container handling fall but had a bumper year in the liquid bulk sector while Zeebrugge recorded rises in container and break-bulk but experienced a drop in overall traffic volume. The ports cite the continuing troubled economy for the drop in container volume. Increased traffic from the UK has helped the port of Zeebrugge while in Amsterdam growth was fuelled mainly by the agri-bulk and coal segments. Rotterdam is steaming ahead with the Maasvlakte II project which sees two terminals opening in 2014 and the port is confident that increased capacity delivered by this project will see container traffic grow in the years ahead eventually doubling by 2023.
Port of Antwerp
- 2013 volume up by 3.6% to set new record
- container traffic down slightly (-0.7%) to 8,578,269 TEU
- dry bulk drops by 24.8%
The Belgian port of Antwerp handled 190,849,079 tonnes of freight last year, an increase of 3.6% compared with 2012. The main driving force behind the growth was liquid bulk, however, container volume witnessed a slight drop as a result of the continuing recession. The volume of liquid bulk rose over the past 12 months by 31.4% to 59,493,776 tonnes. Imports and exports of oil derivatives were well up, (+34.8%) ending at 43,129,916 tonnes. Chemicals and crude oil figures were positive with chemicals showing a 9.75% rise and crude oil increasing by a massive 83.4% to 4,680,763 tonnes. The volume of dry bulk on the other hand fell by 24.8% to 14,376,834 tonnes, mainly due to a reduction in coal volumes (down 62% to 2,178,213 tonnes). The container volume showed a small dip both in tonnes and in the number of containers. In terms of twenty-foot equivalent units the number of containers handled was down slightly (by 0.7%) to 8,578,269 TEU. In terms of tonnage the drop was 1.7%, with the total volume totalling 102.3 million tonnes for the 12 month period. Ro/Ro volume declined by 4.9% to 4,562,397 tonnes, although the number of cars actually rose by 4.8% to 1,299,961. Conventional break-bulk also witnessed a drop during the course of the year, falling by 7.4%, which represents a total of 10,090,138 tonnes. During the past 12 months the number of seagoing ships calling at the port of Antwerp was 14,220, a decrease of 2.3% compared with the previous year. On the other hand the gross tonnage rose by 3.5 to 329,636,387 GT. The number of ULCS (Ultra-Large Container Ships of 10,000 TEU or more) was 198, or 31 more than the previous year. This growth is due exclusively to the category of +13,000 TEU vessels. The current year has got off to a good start with the arrival of the 14,074 TEU CLSL Jupiter. After MSC, Maersk Line and Cosco, China Shipping is the fourth shipping company to send such Ultra-Large Container Ships to Antwerp.
Port of Rotterdam
- container handling down by 2.6% in 2013
- total goods handled totaled 440.5 million tonnes – down 0.2%
- Maasvlakte II project on schedule
Recent figures released by the Port of Rotterdam show that in 2013 container traffic totalled 11,621,249 TEU, which represents a drop of 2.6% on the previous year when 11,865,916 TEU were handled. According to the final figures for 2013, total goods throughput in the port of Rotterdam amounted to 440.5 million tonnes. Compared to throughput in 2012 (441.5 million tonnes), this is a fall of 0.2%. For the separate categories of goods, the deviations are a maximum 0.5% compared to the provisional figures. This concerns differences both upwards and downwards, with the exception of other general cargo, which showed a 19.6% decline, as opposed to 18.2% with the provisional throughput figure. Since January 2013, the sea port of Dordrecht (throughput approximately 3 million tonnes a year) has been operated by the Port of Rotterdam Authority. Dordrecht throughput has therefore been included in Rotterdam’s throughput figures for the first time this year. Construction of the Maasvlakte II project is on schedule and is Europe’s largest land reclamation project. Due to the construction of the Maasvlakte II, the Port of Rotterdam Authority’s level of investment has been very high in recent years, particularly in the period 2010-2012. In 2014, two new terminals are set to open on the new Maasvlakte II – Rotterdam World Gateway and APM Terminals Maasvlakte II. The new APM Terminals facility will open with an initial annual capacity of 2.7m TEU, a 1km quay with a depth of 20m alongside. Once completed the terminal will have a capacity of 4.5 million TEU and will feature 26 automated rail-mounted gantry cranes, a fleet of 37 battery-powered lift AGVs, eight remote controlled ship-to-shore cranes and an on-dock rail terminal. Rotterdam World Gateway facility will be operated by DP World and will have an initial annual capacity of 2.4 million TEU. The terminal features a quay length of 1.9km and in addition a 550m quay for inland and feeder vessels. It will also have it own rail terminal and once the terminal is fully completed it will have an annual capacity of 4 million TEU. Once the Maasvlakte II project is completed the expansion will add 12,000 hectares to the existing port and annual capacity for container transfer is expected to double to 34 million TEU by 2033.
Port of Zeebrugge
- 2013 container traffic up slightly
- Break-bulk up by 23%
- Shortsea volumes up
A revival in the volumes to and from the United Kingdom, a rise in the number of new vehicles, a status quo in containers and a fall in the LNG volume, mark the past year in the Belgian port of Zeebrugge. According to provisional figures released by the port the total volume handled is expected to reach 43 million tonnes, which is slightly less than the 43.5 million tonnes handled in 2012. The figures for roll-on/roll off traffic show little change holding at 12.5 million tonnes. After a difficult 2012, the traffic to and from the UK significantly rose particularly in the second half of 2013. However, Scandinavian paper volumes witnessed a drop. The number of new vehicles handled in Zeebrugge grew by 10%, to a total of 1.92 million. While new car sales stagnate in the European market, Zeebrugge saw shortsea volumes go up. Container volumes show a slight improvement with 20.5 million tonnes or 2 million TEU being handled. Fewer containers were shipped in the first half of the year, due to the slow economic growth. The second half of 2013 showed improvement, especially thanks to new services in Zeebrugge like Evergreen/Hanjin and CMA CGM FEMEX 1. Break-bulk closed a record year with 1.7 million tonnes – a rise of 23%. Liquid bulk volumes were down due to the 21% drop in liquid natural gas volume. The low supply of LNG is a consequence of the high demand for LNG on the Asian energy market. The negative figure for liquid natural gas presses on the total volume handled in the port of Zeebrugge, which has done quite well overall. Solid bulk fell 20% to 1.3 million tonnes. The main reason is the current economic crisis in the building sector, where more and more large projects are being postponed. As expected, 2013 was a record year in cruise calls with 108 cruise ships bringing over 447,000 cruise passengers to Zeebrugge. For 2014, the port already expects 114 cruise ships. In late 2013 Adani Ports & SEZ Ltd, India’s largest private port developer and part of the Adani Group, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Zeebrugge, to act as a strategic entry port for the lucrative European market. It will now collaborate with the Belgian port to explore joint business opportunities between the two ports along with other forms of trade, shipping, railway infrastructure across India and Europe. The MoU over a period of time will help in an enhanced movement of traffic to and from APSEZ into Europe and beyond. It will also enable sharing of global best practices including technical know-how between two of the leading port developers globally. In early 2014 Transfennica dec
ided to increase capacity on its Zeebrugge-Bilbao route. From early January mv Forerunner and mv Forecaster will operate 2 sailings per week in each direction. Transfennica currently operate two sailings a week in each direction.
Port of Amsterdam
- record trans-shipment volume in 2013
- containers and mixed cargo up by 12%
- growth mainly in agri-bulk and coal segments
According to recently published provisional figures the seaports of Amsterdam, IJmuiden, Beverwijk and Zaanstad achieved record trans-shipment volume totalling 95 million tonnes in 2013. This represents an increase of 1% compared to 2012. The last record was set in 2008 when the trans-shipment volume amounted to 94.8 million tonnes. The total trans-shipment volume of Port of Amsterdam amounted to 78.5 million tonnes in 2013. This represents an increase of 2% compared to 2012 and sets a new record. Growth was achieved primarily in the agri-bulk (+17%) and coal (+14%) segments. Imports rose by 3.5% to nearly 52.2 million tonnes in Amsterdam. Exports decreased by 1% to 26.3 million tonnes. The tentative trans-shipment volumes of the other North Sea Canal seaports are as follows: IJmuiden decreased slightly in 2013 (3.4%) to 16.3 million tonnes. The trans-shipment volume in Beverwijk rose by 9% to 260,000 tonnes, while in Zaanstad trans-shipment increased by 95% to 230,000 tonnes. Liquid bulk cargo fell by approximately 5% to 41.1 million tonnes while dry bulk cargo rose by approximately 11% to 33.7 million tonnes. Containers and mixed cargo rose by 12% to 3.7 million tonnes mainly due to the increase in mixed cargo (+40%). The number of sea cruise ships that called at the port decreased slightly to 137 (2012: 144). A number of cruise ships had to divert to another port due to strong winds. Port of Amsterdam CEO Dertje Meijer commented on 2013 results saying: “I am extremely proud of what we have been able to achieve together in 2013. The corporatisation on 1 April 2013 means we can now anticipate market developments more effectively and we have now also set a new record. The recovery in the port region began in 2010 and is continuing steadily. We see this reflected in these excellent figures.” Amsterdam is Western Europe’s fourth largest port and plays a large role in the trans-shipment and processing of energy products. Lats year, the North Sea Canal Area trans-shipped approximately 95 million tonnes of goods, with the port of Amsterdam accounting for approximately 78 million tonnes of the total.