Falling maritime traffic and geopolitical turmoil weigh on Flemish seaports
According to Statbel, traffic across all Flemish seaports declined by 3 per cent last year. The four seaports in the Flemish Region - Antwerp, Zeebrugge, Ghent and Ostend - together handled just under 300 million tonnes of goods. Container traffic at the Flemish seaports also continued to decline.
The geopolitical climate is having an increasingly significant impact. Russia, formerly the Port of Antwerp-Bruges' fourth-largest trading partner, has seen its share plummet. Trade with China, the United States and the United Kingdom is also under pressure. Positive developments, such as growing trade with Turkey, are few and far between.
"Global ports are always on the front line when it comes to absorbing geopolitical shocks," said Guy Janssens of Port of Antwerp-Bruges. "There has been very little growth since the crisis in Ukraine. Many trade relationships are under pressure. We haven't been able to speak positively about the sector for years."
Rotterdam remains European leader
Traffic volumes are still higher than they were ten or twenty years ago, but the ambition of overtaking Rotterdam as Europe's leading port - which once seemed within reach - has faded. The Dutch control around 30 per cent of the container market; Antwerp-Bruges accounts for 29 per cent. Janssens attributes the gap partly to congestion and strikes.
"Fortunately, things have calmed down somewhat in the pilotage sector, but last year was a very difficult one in that respect," he said, referring to repeated pilot strikes that frequently brought shipping to a standstill.
Despite the geopolitical headwinds, the container terminals are overflowing. The Waasland Port, a key component of the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, currently faces a shortfall of around 300 hectares of land.
"Demand for available land remains very high," said Boudewijn Vlegels, chairman of MLSO, which handles the port, land and industrialisation policy for the Left Bank of the Scheldt area. "For the concession of a small plot, there are already a dozen interested parties."
The Extra Container Capacity Antwerp (ECA) project is meant to address the congestion problem, but that is expected to take at least another decade.
#FlandersNewsService | © BELGA PHOTO JONAS ROOSENS
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