The port of Antwerp says Russia is its fourth-largest trading partner. In 2016 the port handled 11.2 million tonnes of cargo from or destined for the world's largest country. Steel and container freight continue to do particularly well in this area.
In 2016 steel imports from Russia rose from 268,000 to no less than 424,000 tonnes, an increase of 58%, confirming Antwerp's role as an international steel hub for Europe. The various specialist steel centres in the middle of the port area offer a wide range of value-added services for cutting, galvanising, sand-blasting, painting, packaging and labelling the steel to suit the end customer's requirements.
Container transport to and from Russia has also experienced systematic growth over the past few years. In 2016 the Antwerp port companies handled a total of 261,381 TEU (150,084 containers), representing growth of 16%. The growth was achieved both on the import and on the export side.
Russia's Northern Shipping Company (NSC) has been a faithful customer of the port of Antwerp for many years now. The company operates liner services between Russia and Antwerp, contributing significantly to the growth in the steel and container volumes. There is a weekly container-plus-conventional connection with Saint Petersburg, while the port of Archangelsk is served on a monthly basis. NSC is represented in Antwerp by TSR Europe.
"Last year we saw an increase of 50% in our steel volume between Saint Petersburg and Antwerp, to 120,000 tonnes. The main success factors are the favourable exchange rate of the Russian rouble, the higher steel prices in Europe and the shorter transit times to Antwerp," declared Nikolay Sukhanov Deputy, fleet manager at JSC NSC, Arkhangelsk.