Antwerp sets new shortsea record
With a volume of 89 million tonnes Antwerp has the largest amount of shortsea trade in Flanders. The four Flemish seaports together handled a shortsea freight volume of 136.9 million tonnes last year, a new record, the Antwerp Port Authority said in a press release.
With a shortsea freight volume of 89 million tonnes Antwerp took the lion's share of shortsea trade in 2013, up 3.5% on the figure in 2012. The four Flemish seaports between them handled a shortsea volume of 136.9 million tons, a new record and 2% more than the previous year. Antwerp, Ghent and Zeebrugge all experienced growth in volume.
“Shortsea shipping” is the modern equivalent of coastal shipping or what used to be called "cabotage." Nowadays, however, it covers everything which is not trans-oceanic, which in practice includes the Baltic, the North Sea, the Atlantic seaboard, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. Antwerp offers weekly shortsea and feeder departures to more than 200 destinations in Europe and North Africa, with the emphasis quality, flexibility and comprehensive service. This permits daily just-in-time transport to European end destinations.
Shortsea offers a sustainable alternative to traditional road transport. It also permits significant cost and time savings by avoiding road congestion and long waiting times. A further advantage is the much greater capacity compared with road transport, leading to much lower costs per freight unit. Thanks to its location deep inland, Antwerp permits shortsea vessels to bring their cargoes very close to the main centres of production and consumption in Europe.
This environment-friendly alternative fits in which the sustainability policy of the port of Antwerp, with economic and ecological benefits going hand-in-hand.