Containers and liquid bulk lead 6.4% volume growth at Antwerp

Container volumes were up 9.5% in teu terms to 4.8m teu, as the port benefits from the business of a container alliance.

Liquid bulk cargoes rose 7.4% 32m tonnes, led by a 32% increase in chemical volumes to 7.2m tonnes.

There was slower growth in the dry bulk sector, with a 3.2% increase in handling to 7m tonnes. Coal gains recorded in the first quarter were reversed, as volumes dropped 1.5% to 827,353 tonnes.

The port continues to serve as an expample of the increasing size of merchant vessels. The 7,075 vessels calling at Antwerp in the first half is a 1.2% increase over H1 2014, but the total tonnage of those ships jumped 5.9% to 174m gt.