Port of Antwerp-Bruges noted a stable year in 2022 amid persisting geopolitical challenges in the region.
The port said 2022 was a "year of challenges" for the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, but the impact on volumes was relatively mild.
"Geopolitical tensions, the energy crisis and ongoing disruptions in supply chains made their presence felt and, in addition to shifts within the various commodity flows, put sustained pressure on the container segment," Port of Antwerp-Bruges said.
"This affected throughput, which was down 0.7% year-on-year to 286.9 million tons of cargo," it added, noting, however, the flood of new investments and projects confirms the attractiveness of the unified port and the added value of the complementarity of the two port platforms.
The challenges were most palpable in container traffic.
Port of Antwerp-Bruges — the merger of the ports of Antwerp and Zeebrugge, which has been seen to create Europe's largest export port — said global disruptions within container shipping, and the resulting congestion with peak call sizes and delays, put pressure on volumes throughout the year.
Impact of Russia-Ukraine war on throughput
In addition, the conflict in Ukraine caused a decrease in Russia-related traffic by 59%.
"While operational challenges at container terminals and congestion have been slowly easing since the third quarter, high energy prices and economic uncertainty have caused a slowdown in demand for container traffic. As a result, container throughput fell 8.6% in tons and 5.2% in TEUs in 2022, compared with a strong 2021, back to pre-pandemic levels," Port of Antwerp-Bruges said.
The war in Ukraine, the sanctions against Russia and the energy crisis greatly changed the energy landscape and flows in Europe, which translated into strong growth in bulk cargo.
The port noted that dry bulk throughput increased by 13.8% in 2022. Coal throughput, in particular, experienced a sharp increase (+210%) due to the substantial rise in demand for a coal-powered generation.
"After record figures in 2021, conventional breakbulk (+1.1%) held up well in the first half of the year due to growth in the throughput of steel, the main commodity group within this segment," it said, adding that starting in the third quarter, steel volumes declined as a result of the slowing economy.
Investments in the Port of Antwerp-Bruges
The Port of Antwerp-Bruges noted that a "flood of new investments and projects" since the merger of the ports
"The resilience of both port platforms has allowed important steps to be taken in projects that contribute to the port's sustainable growth and pioneering role in the energy transition," the Port of Antwerp-Bruges added.
The projects are ready to be further rolled out in 2023 through unified efforts with partners, the port further said.
Meanwhile, it said the hydrogen strategy to make the port a European hydrogen hub for the import, local production and throughput of green hydrogen and hydrogen carriers would be further refined.
The completion of the first part of the NextGen District, the future hotspot for the circular economy, is almost complete, and the first spade will go into the ground in 2023, it added.
"2022 was, once again, an eventful year with many logistical and geopolitical challenges. As a world port, we are at the centre of this drama and are holding up well. Thanks to the complementarity of both platforms, we can already see the added value of the merger. As a unified port, we are much stronger in the face of future challenges," said Jacques Vandermeiren, CEO of Port of Antwerp-Bruges.
Annick De Ridder, the vice-mayor of the City of Antwerp and president of the board of directors of Port of Antwerp-Bruges, said the port community showed "tremendous resilience" and strong resilience over the past year.
"As a result, we achieved a strong result despite very big challenges. The merger is proving its added value in practice. We are confident that in 2023 we can continue to focus on sustainable economic growth," De Ridder added.
