Oil shipments give Rotterdam boost
ROTTERDAM port handled a total of 293.2 million tonnes of transshipment cargo last year, a slight rise of 0.4 per cent compared with 1991.
According to a statement by authorities at the port of Rotterdam, the large quantities of crude oil shipped in from the Middle East in December played a particularly important role in improving the annual result.
Imports in the fourth quarter of last year soared to 24.6 million tonnes, 12.3 per cent higher than the corresponding period in 1991.
Container transshipment rose by 9.9 per cent from 3.8 million to 4.1 million 20 ft equivalent units (TEUs), representing a tonnage record of 44.3 million tonnes despite the continuing deterioration of the European economy.
Imports rose by 7.1 per cent to 20 million tonnes, largely attributed to the labour unrest in French ports resulting in huge quantities of cargo being transported through Rotterdam.
Exports of containerised cargo rose by 12.3 per cent to 24.3 million tonnes, partly due to the reviving United States economy.
Transshipment of general cargo rose by 6.6 per cent while the dry bulk sector fell by 5.2 per cent and mineral oil products transshipment fell by 19 per cent.
The export of roll-on, roll-off (ro-ro) cargo rose by 5.8 per cent to 3.8 million tonnes due the poor economic situation in the United Kingdom where, in order to meet domestic demand, the country had to import more.
Ro-ro imports fell slightly to 3.4 million tonnes.
Imports of other general cargo rose by 5.2 per cent to 8.7 million tonnes, largely due to the massive supply of Russian aluminium on the western European market.
Exports of other general cargo were 15 per cent below the level of the previous year at 3.5 million tonnes.
