Cool change at Port of Antwerp

Port of Antwerp’s investment in refrigerated storage is paying off, recording a 7.5 per cent increase in the handling of refrigerated containers and perishable goods in 2017.

With a total of 9,969,036 tonnes, the growth measured in TEU at Europe’s second largest seaport is as high as 8.5 per cent.

The Belgian port has already expanded its infrastructure with additional refrigerated and fresh storage facilities, using blockchain technology and sustainable transport concepts such as groupage freight transports or modal shift.

The port handled 223,606,610 tonnes of freight, an increase of 4.4 per cent compared with the previous year.

The container volume expanded in tonnage by 4.3 per cent (123 million tonnes), liquid bulk such as oil derivatives by 5.7 per cent (73.1 million tonnes), conventional breakbulk such as steel by 4.8 per cent (10.3 million tonnes), and ro/ro completed the growth list with 10.5 per cent (5.1 million tonnes).

Only dry bulk such as coal and ores lagged behind in the tables, finishing the year with a drop of 3.7 per cent (12.2 million tonnes).