July 20 - The port of Antwerp handled almost 94 million tonnes of freight during the first six months of this year, a drop of 2.1 percent compared with the same period last year, due mainly to the Belgian Refining Corporation (BRC) suspending its activiti

Container volume tonnages increased slightly during the past half year, whilst ro-ro and dry bulk cargoes returned to good growth, of 16.2 percent and 5.0 percent respectively.

In the conventional/breakbulk area 5,375,642 tonnes of freight was handled, a decrease of 16.5 percent compared with the same period last year. The drop is mainly due to the lower volume of steel, reflecting the current economic climate. During the first half year 2012 a steel volume of 3,378,612 was handled, which is 23.4 percent less than the 4,410,803 tonnes for the corresponding period in 2011.

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